BMW MOTORRAD K 1200 R 2008 Rider's Manual (in English)

Brake system, generalDescending mountain
passes
There is a danger of the
brakes fading if you use
only the rear brakes when
descending mountain passes.
Under extreme conditions,
the brakes could overheat
and suffer severe damage.
Use both front and rear
brakes, and make use of the
engine's braking effect as
well.
Wet brakes
After the motorcycle has
been washed, ridden
through water or ridden in
the rain, the brake discs and
pads might be wet and the
brakes might not take effect
immediately.
Apply the brakes in good time until the brakes have dried
out.
Salt on brakes
The brakes may fail to
take effect immediately
if the motorcycle was ridden
on salt-covered roads and the
brakes were not applied for
some time.
Apply the brakes in good
time until the salt layer on the
brake discs and brake pads
has been removed.
Oil or grease on brakes
Oil and grease on the
brake discs and pads
considerably diminish braking
efficiency.
Especially after repair and
maintenance work, make
sure that the brake discs and
brake pads are free of oil and
grease.
Dirt or mud on brakes
When riding on loose
surfaces or muddy
roads, the brakes may fail
to take effect immediately
because of dirt or moisture on
the discs or brake pads.
Apply brakes in good time
until the brakes have been
cleaned.
Brake system with
BMW Integral ABS
OE
Sensitive electronic con-
trolIt takes skill and sensitive
control of the brakes to pull
up safely on a motorcycle. If
the front brakes lock and the
wheel skids, the necessary
longitudinal and lateral stabil-
ising forces are lost, and a fall
can result. For this reason,
the rider seldom makes full
579zRiding

use of available braking per-
formance in an emergency.
BMW Integral ABS provides
improved braking deceler-
ation by means of anti-lock
braking for both wheels and
braking force distribution by
means of the integral brak-
ing function. Making full use
of the motorcycle's technical
braking capacity will minimise
braking distances noticeably,
even when road conditions
are poor. When the motor-
cycle is ravelling in a straight
line, BMW Integral ABS en-
ables safe optimised emer-
gency braking adapted to
match the road-surface con-
ditions.Reserves for safetyThe potentially shorter brak-
ing distances which BMW
Integral ABS permits must
not be used as an excusefor careless riding. ABS is
primarily a means of ensur-
ing a safety margin in genuine
emergencies.
Take care when cornering.
When you apply the brakes
on a corner, the motorcycle's
weight and momentum take
over and even BMW Integral
ABS is unable to counteract
their effects.
Partially integral brakesYour motorcycle is equipped
with partially integral brakes.
Both front and rear brakes
are applied when you pull the
handbrake lever. The foot-
brake lever acts only on the
rear brake.
The electronic controller in
the BMW Integral ABS regu-
lates braking-force distribu-
tion between front and rear
wheels. Braking-force distri-
bution depends on load andis recalculated every time the
ABS controller comes into ac-
tion.
Brake boosterThe hydraulic pump in the
BMW Integral ABS boosts
the braking force acting on
the wheel when the brakes
are applied. By boosting the
braking force in this way,
BMW Integral ABS achieves
higher braking efficiency than
standard brake systems.ABS anti-lock braking
systemABS prevents the wheels
locking under braking, thus
contributing significantly to
road safety.
580zRiding

Rear wheel liftEven under severe braking,
a high level of tyre grip can
mean that the front wheel
does not lock up until very
late, if at all. Consequently,
ABS does not intervene until
very late, if at all. Under these
circumstances the rear wheel
can lift off the ground, and the
outcome can be a highsiding
situation in which the motor-
cycle can flip over.Severe braking can
cause the rear wheel to
lift off the ground.
Bear in mind that ABS can-
not be relied on in all circum-
stances to prevent the rear
wheel from lifting clear of the
ground.
Residual braking func-
tionWhen the ignition is switched
off, during self-diagnosis,
or if the BMW Integral ABS
malfunctions, only a residual
braking function remains
available in the brake circuits
in question. The residual
braking function is the braking
power without the hydraulic
servo assistance of the BMW
Integral ABS. Under these
circumstances, therefore,
you must apply considerably
higher pressure to the brake
levers in question in order to
apply the brakes, and lever
travel is longer. When the
residual braking function
is active, the ABS function
is unavailable in the brake
system in question. When the
residual braking function is
active, the integral braking function is partially or entirely
unavailable.
Without the assistance
of the ABS function, the
wheels could lock when the
brakes are applied hard. You
have to apply considerably
more force to the brake
levers to brake without
servo-assisted brakes. The
changed braking response
can cause accidents.
Avoid hard braking if possible.
Apply brakes in good time as
increased effort is required.
Have the fault rectified as
soon as possible by a spe-
cialist workshop, preferably
an authorised BMW Motorrad
dealer.
The brake-lever travel
needed to build up brak-
ing pressure can be consider-
ably longer when the system
is in residual braking function
mode, so BMW Motorrad re-
581zRiding

commends setting the brake
lever to a wider span.When the residual brak-
ing function is active for
both brake circuits, the noise
of the pump is no longer aud-
ible when you operate the
brake levers.
582zRiding

Accessories
General instructions . .......... 84
Power socket . . ............... 84
Luggage . . .................... 87
Case
OA
....................... 88
683zAccessories

General instructionsBMW Motorrad recommends
the use of parts and ac-
cessories for your motorcycle
that are approved by BMW for
this purpose.
Genuine BMW parts and ac-
cessories and other products
which BMW has approved
can be obtained from your
authorised BMW Motorrad
dealer, together with expert
advice on their installation
and use.
These parts and products
have been tested by BMW for
safety, function and suitability.
BMW accepts product liability
for them.
Conversely, BMW is unable
to accept any liability whatso-
ever for parts and accessor-
ies which it has not approved.BMW cannot examine
or test each product of
outside origin to ensure that it
can be used on or in connec-
tion with BMW motorcycles
without constituting a safety
hazard. Country-specific of-
ficial authorisation does not
suffice as assurance. Tests
conducted by these instances
cannot make provision for all
operating conditions experi-
enced by BMW motorcycles
and, consequently, they are
not sufficient in some circum-
stances.
Use only parts and accessor-
ies approved by BMW for
your motorcycle.
Whenever you are planning
modifications, comply with all
the legal requirements. Make
sure that the motorcycle does
not infringe national road-
vehicle construction and use
regulations.
Power socketRatingsThe supply to socket 1is cut
off automatically if battery
voltage is low or the load ex-
ceeds 5 A.Operating electrical ac-
cessoriesYou can start using electric-
al accessories only when the
ignition is switched on. The
accessory remains opera-
tional if the ignition is sub-
sequently switched off. Ap-
prox. 15 minutes after switch-
684zAccessories

ing off the ignition and/or dur-
ing the restart operation, the
on-board socket is switched
off to take the load off the
vehicle electrical system.Cable routingThe cables from the power
socket to the auxiliary device
must be routed in such a way
that they:Do not impede the rider
Do not restrict or obstruct
the steering angle and
handling characteristics
Cannot be trapped
Incorrectly routed cables
can impede the rider.
Route the cables as
described above.
685zAccessories

686zAccessories

Luggage
Correct loading
Overloading and
imbalanced loads
can adversely affect the
motorcycle's handling.
Do not exceed the permiss-
ible gross weight and be sure
to comply with the instruc-
tions on loading.
Set spring preload, damping
characteristic and tyre pres-
sures to suit total weight.
Ensure that the case
volumes on the left and right
are equal.
Make sure that the weight
is uniformly distributed
between right and left.
Pack heavy items at the
bottom and toward the in-
board side.
Max. load in each case (left
and right): 8 kg. Max. load in tank rucksack
5 kg.
687zAccessories

Case
OA
Opening casesTurn the lock barrel in the
OPENdirection.
Pull the grey release lever
up. Lock straps
1open.
Pull the grey release lever
up again.
Pull case lid 2out of the re-
tainer.
Case fully opened.
Closing casesPress catches 1of the case
lid into retainers 2.
The catches engage with an
audible click.
Press catches 3on the lock
straps into retainers 2.
The catches engage with an
audible click. Check that the catches are
locked securely into place.
Adjusting case volumeClose the case lid.
Turn the lock strap
buckles
1of the lock straps
out.
Pull the lock straps up and
out.
This expands the case to
maximum volume.
688zAccessories