ABS BMW MOTORRAD K 1200 S 2004 Rider's Manual (in English)

471Riding
ABS anti-lock braking
system
ABS prevents the wheels from
locking on braking, making a
major contribution to road
safety.
Lifting up the rear wheel
With strong adhesion between
the tyres and the road, the
front wheel locks either very
late or not at all when the
brakes are applied hard.
Accordingly, the ABS control
only has to intervene very late
or not at all. In this case, the
rear wheel can lift up, which
can lead to the motorcycle
rolling over. Heavy braking can cause
the rear wheel to rise.
Bear in mind that the ABS
control is unable to prevent
the rear wheel from lifting up in
every instance.c
Residual braking function
With the ignition switched off,
during the self-diagnosis and
in the event of a fault in the
BMW Integral ABS, the brake
circuits concerned only have
the residual braking function.
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 con-
siderably 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 sys-
tem in question. When the
residual braking function is
active, the integral braking
function is partially or entirely
unavailable.
Without the ABS func-
tion, the wheels may lock
under braking; without braking
power assistance, considera-
bly greater force is required to
brake.
Brake carefully and safely.
Avoid braking sharply. Have
the fault remedied as soon as
possible by a specialist work-
shop, preferably an authorised
BMW motorcycle dealer.c

689Maintenance
Topping up the coolant • Unscrew cap of the coolant
filler aperture 1.
• Add coolant.
• Check the coolant level.
• Repeat the filling and check-
ing procedure until the cool-
ant level is located between
the MIN and MAX marks.
• Screw on the cap of the filler
aperture for coolant.
BrakesA properly functioning brake
system is a basic requirement
for the road safety of your
motorcycle.
Improperly performed
work jeopardises the
operating reliability of the
brake system.
Have all work on the brake
system performed by a spe-
cialist workshop, preferably by
an authorised BMW motor-
cycle dealer.cChecking the functionDo not ride the motorcycle if
you have any doubts about the
safety of the brake system.
In this case:• Have the brake system
checked by a specialist
workshop, preferably an
authorised BMW motorcycle
dealer.
Vehicles without ABS
• Press the handbrake lever.
» A resistance point must be
noticeable.
• Press the footbrake lever.
» A resistance point must be
noticeable.
Vehicles with ABS
• Switch on the ignition.
•Wait for the ABS self-
diagnosis.
• Press the handbrake lever.
» A resistance point must be
noticeable.
» In the case of BMW Integral
ABS, the hydraulic pump
must be heard to run.
• Press the footbrake lever.

Maintenance690
» A resistance point must be
noticeable.
» In the case of BMW Integral
ABS, the hydraulic pump
must be heard to run.Brake pads
Falling short of the mini-
mum pad thickness leads
to reduced braking power and
under certain circumstances
to brake damage.
In order to ensure the operat-
ing reliability of the brake sys-
tem, make sure that the mini-
mum thickness is exceeded.c
Checking the brake pad
thickness at the front• Place the motorcycle on the
centre stand
OA or side
stand, ensuring that the
ground is firm and level.
• Perform a visual inspection
of the brake pad thickness
on the left and right.The brake pads must have a
clearly visible wear indicating
mark 1. If the wear indicating
mark is no longer clearly
visible:
• Have the brake pads
replaced by a specialist
workshop, preferably by an
authorised BMW motorcycle
dealer.

Maintenance692
1Rear brake-fluid reservoir
2MIN mark
• Hold the motorcycle verti-
cally or place it on the centre
stand
OA, ensuring that the
ground is firm and level.
• Straight ahead handlebar
position.
• Read off the brake fluid level
at the reservoir.Vehicles without ABS
In the event of brake pad
wear, the brake fluid level
in the brake-fluid reservoir
falls.c
The brake fluid level must not
fall below the MIN mark. If the
brake fluid level falls below the
MIN mark:
If there is too little brake
fluid in the brake-fluid
reservoir, air can enter the
brake system. This causes a
serious reduction in braking
efficiency.
Brake carefully and safely.
Avoid braking sharply.c
• Have the fault remedied as
soon as possible by a spe-
cialist workshop, preferably
an authorised BMW motor-
cycle dealer.Vehicles with ABS
In the event of brake pad
wear, the brake fluid level
remains constant.c
If the brake fluid level falls -
even above the MIN mark -
this indicates a defect in the
brake system. If the brake fluid
level falls:
If there is too little brake
fluid in the brake-fluid
reservoir, air can enter the
brake system. This causes a
serious reduction in braking
efficiency.
Brake carefully and safely.
Avoid braking sharply.c
• Have the fault remedied as
soon as possible by a spe-
cialist workshop, preferably
an authorised BMW motor-
cycle dealer.

695Maintenance
Removing the front wheel
You will find an overview
of the types of screw
used on (
b 124).c
During the following
work, parts of the front
brake, in particular of the
BMW Integral ABS, can be
damaged.
Ensure that no parts of the
brake system are damaged, in
particular the ABS sensor with
cable and the ABS sensor
ring.c
Motorcycles without centre
stands
OA
:
To ensure a secure stance of
the motorcycle during the
following work:
• Place the motorcycle on the
BMW Motorrad rear wheel
stand (b 104). • The rest of the procedure is
the same as for motorcycles
with centre stands.
Motorcycles with centre
stands
OA
:
• Place the motorcycle on the
centre stand
OA.
• Remove screws1 on the left
and right.
• Pull out the front wheel
mudguard towards the front.• Remove the mounting
bolts2 of the brake calipers
on the left and right.

Maintenance696
• Press the brake calipers3
apart slightly using rotary
motionsA against the brake
discs4.
When removed, the
brake pads can be
pressed together to such a
degree that they do not make
contact with the brake disc on
fitting.
Do not operate the handbrake
lever when the brake calipers
are removed.c
• Mask off areas of the rim
that could be scratched on
removal of the brake
calipers.
• Pull the brake calipers back-
wards and outwards from
the brake discs. If the motorcycle is on the
centre stand
OA: If the
front of the motorcycle is
raised too far, the centre stand
rises from the ground and the
motorcycle can fall over
sideways.
Make sure that the centre
stand remains on the ground
when the front is raised.c
• Lift the motorcycle using the
BMW Motorrad front wheel
stand (
b 103) until the front
wheel rotates freely.• Remove the right-hand axle
clamping screw 5.
• Remove the quick-release
axle 6, holding the wheel as
you do so.
Loosening or removing
the left-hand axle clamp-
ing screw can lead to a failure
of the ABS sensor.
Do not loosen or remove the
left- hand axle clamping
screw.c

697Maintenance
BMW Motorrad provides
an adapter for removing
the quick-release axle. This
adapter can be combined with
any commercially available
open-end or ring spanner with
width across flats 22. The
adapter with BMW special tool
number 36 3 690 can be ob-
tained from your authorised
BMW motorcycle dealer.c
• Place the front wheel in the
front wheel guide on the
ground.• Roll out the front wheel
forwards.
Installing the front wheel
An overview of the types
of screw used and the
corresponding tightening
torques can be found on
(
b 124).c
Screw connections tight-
ened to the incorrect torque
can come loose or damage
the screw connection itself.
Make sure that you have the
tightening torques checked by
a specialist workshop, prefer-
ably by an authorised
BMW motorcycle dealerc
During the following
work, parts of the front
brake, in particular of the
BMW Integral ABS, can be damaged.
Ensure that no parts of the
brake system are damaged, in
particular the ABS sensor with
cable and the ABS sensor
ring.c
The front wheel must be
fitted in the direction of
rotation.
Observe the direction of rota-
tion arrows on the tyres or on
the rim.c
• Roll the front wheel into the
front wheel guide.

Maintenance698
• Raise the front wheel, fit
quick-release axle 6 and
tighten to the appropriate
tightening torque.
• Tighten right-hand axle
clamping screw 5 to the
appropriate tightening
torque.
• Remove the front wheel
stand.
• Fit the brake calipers onto
the brake discs.• Fit mounting bolts 2 of the
brake calipers on the left and
right and use the appropriate
tightening torque.
The ABS sensor cable
could be abraded if it
comes into contact with the
brake disc.
Ensure that the ABS sensor
cable is routed tightly.c• Fit the mudguard and tighten
the mounting bolts1 to the
appropriate tightening
torque.
• Remove the masking from
the rim.
To apply the brake pads to the
brake discs, the front brake
must be operated a number of
times.

699Maintenance
Without BMW Integral ABS:
• Press the handbrake lever
firmly a number of times until
the resistance point is
noticeable.
With BMW Integral ABS:
• Switch on the ignition.
• Wait for the self-diagnosis
(b 54)
.
• Press the handbrake lever
firmly a number of times until
the resistance point is
noticeable.
B rake pads that are not fully
applied to the brake discs
lead to delays in the braking ef-
fect. Before beginning a journey,
check that the braking effect
kicks in without any delay.c
Removing the rear wheel
You will find an overview
of the types of screw
used on (
b 124).c
Motorcycle without centre
stand
OA
:
To ensure a secure stance of
the motorcycle during the
following work:
• Place the motorcycle on the
BMW Motorrad rear wheel
stand (b 104).
• The rest of the procedure is
the same as for motorcycles
with centre stands.Motorcycles with centre
stands
OA
:
• Place the motorcycle on the
centre stand
OA.
• Remove bolt1 from silencer
cover 2.
• Pull off the cover towards the
rear.

6103
Maintenance
Front-wheel standTo enable simple and safe
changing of the front wheel,
BMW Motorrad provides a
front wheel stand. The front
wheel stand with BMW special
tool number 36 3 971 can be
obtained from your authorised
BMW motorcycle dealer. In
addition, you require the
adapters with BMW special
tool number 36 3 973.Fitting the front wheel
stand
• Place the motorcycle on the
centre stand
OA or suitable
auxiliary stand, e.g.
BMW Motorrad rear wheel
stand (
b 104).
• Undo aligning screws1.
• Push the two mounting
pins 2 far enough apart that
the front wheel guide fits
between them.
• Set the desired height of the
front wheel stand using the
locating pins3.
• Align the front wheel stand to
the centre of the front wheel
and push it onto the front
axle.• Push the two mounting
pins 2 through the triangles
of the brake caliper support
far enough that the front
wheel can still be rolled
through.
In the case of BMW Inte-
gral ABS, the ABS sensor
ring can be damaged.
Only push the mounting pin so
far inwards that it does not
touch the sensor ring of the
BMW Integral ABS.c