Data sheet
Dimensions & weights
- Wet weight
- 263 kg
- Seat height
- 890 / 910 mm
- Wheelbase
- 1510 mm
- Suspension travel
- 190 / 200 mm
- Payload capacity
- 217 kg
Engine & drivetrain
- Engine
- 1170 cc · Boxer twin
- Cooling
- Liquid cooled
- Output
- 125 hp · 125 Nm
- Transmission
- 6-speed
- Final drive
- Shaft
- Fuelling
- Electronic fuel injection
Fuel & range
- Fuel capacity
- 30 L
- Real world range
- 508 km
Electronics & rider aids
- Ride modes
- Rain/Road/Dynamic/Enduro
- Cruise control
- Yes
- Traction control
- Yes · defeatable
- ABS
- Yes · fully defeatable
- Heated grips
- Yes
- Heated seat
- No
Service intervals
- Service interval
- 10,000 km
- Valve check
- 20,000 km
Protection
- Bash plate
- Partial engine
- Radiator guard
- No
- Oil cooler guard
- No
- Hand guards
- Yes
Consumables & service specs
Every value carries its source.
Tyres
- Front
- 120/70 R19BMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
- Rear
- 170/60 R17BMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
Tyre pressures
- Front — solo
- 2.5 barTyre cold; BMW does not publish a separate solo pressure — this is the single stated front pressureBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
- Rear — solo
- 2.9 barTyre cold; BMW does not publish a separate solo pressure — this is the single stated rear pressureBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
Engine oil
- Viscosity
- SAE 5W-40API SL / JASO MA2; BMW recommends BMW Motorrad ADVANTEC Ultimate oil; molybdenum-based additives not permitted (coated engine components)BMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
- Capacity
- 4.0 lMax, with filter change; MIN-to-MAX top-up difference approx. 0.95 lBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
Brakes
- Fluid type
- DOT 4Front and rearBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
Final drive
- Shaft oil grade
- Shaft drive with bevel gears (cardan), single-sided BMW EVO Paralever swingarm, gear ratio 2.91 (32/11 teeth)BMW OM R1200GS 2017 · official
- Shaft oil capacity
- 180 ml180 ml for oil change on 2010+ wethead-era final drives (fill via dedicated fill hole, not speed sensor hole); community-sourced corroborationADVrider final drive capacity thread
Spark plugs
- Type
- NGK LMAR8D-JBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
- Gap
- 0.8 mm0.8±0.1 mm when new; 1.0 mm wear limitBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
- Quantity
- 2One per cylinder, boxer twinBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
Battery
- Type
- AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat), 12V 12Ah maintenance-freeBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
Fuel
- Minimum octane
- 91 RON / 87 AKI (regular unleaded, power/consumption restricted); 95 RON / 89 AKI recommended (premium unleaded)BMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
- Ethanol tolerance
- Max. 10% ethanol (E10)E85/Flex Fuel not permittedBMW OM R1200GSA 2016 · official
What breaks first and where.
Cam chain tensioner spring wear / leak (left side)
ModerateCommonDocumented tensioner spring wear (shortened ~10mm after ~90,000km) causing intermittent oil leaks and cold-start rattle from the left side of the engine. Chain tension is still maintained hydraulically by oil pressure even as the spring weakens, so this is a lower-severity variant of the tensioner issue distinct from the catastrophic failure case reported on some early 2014 engines.
Symptoms
- Oil leak from left-side engine casing
- Rattle/clack for ~2 seconds on cold start, especially with old oil
Typical failure point90,000 km
Field repairableYes — Tighten tensioner with a 15mm ring spanner; replace washer gasket (BMW P/N 07 11 9 963 342) each time the component is removed; full tensioner/spring replacement available (spring not sold separately).
Front fork tube seal-plug separation (NHTSA recall 17V-438)
CatastrophicOccasionalOn R1200GS Adventure motorcycles built between October 2013/May 2013 and June 2017, momentary extreme stress (e.g. hitting a pothole, an off-road impact, or a fall) can create a gap at the press-fitted seal plug connecting the front fork stanchion to the steering/triple clamp. This can progress to an oil leak, rattling noise, or full separation of the plug, compromising steering stability.
Symptoms
- Rattling noise from front fork
- Oil leak at the fork tube seal plug
- Unstable/imprecise steering feel
Field repairableNo
Fuel level strip (sender) failure / erratic fuel gauge
ModerateCommonThe resistive fuel-level strip sender in the tank can fail or give erratic readings — showing empty when full, full when empty, or drifting inaccurately over the course of a tank. Long documented across R1200GS generations; anecdotally linked by owners to US ethanol-blended fuel, though this exact causal link is not confirmed in an official BMW source.
Symptoms
- Fuel gauge reads empty when tank is full, or vice versa
- Erratic/inconsistent range and fuel-level readings
- BMW 'FUEL' warning triggers incorrectly
Field repairableNo — Replacement fuel strip and recalibration typically requires a GS-911/HEX diagnostic tool; not a simple roadside field repair.
Side-stand switch intermittent fault (won't start in gear / random stall)
ModerateOccasionalBeyond the 2013-specific water-ingress recall, the side-stand switch on wethead R1200GS/GSA models is a recurring long-term wear item reported across model years — riders report bikes that won't start in gear (only in neutral) or that stall unexpectedly, traced to a failing or misaligned side-stand switch.
Symptoms
- Will not start in gear (starts fine in neutral)
- Random stalling while riding
- DME logs side-stand-related fault codes
Field repairableYes — Switch can be inspected, cleaned, and reconnected; as a last-resort field bypass the two switch wires can be bridged together to defeat the interlock and get the bike running, at the cost of disabling the safety cutoff.