BrakesHow can stopping
distance be minimised?Each time the brakes are applied,
a load distribution shift takes
place with the load shifting for-
ward from the rear to the front
wheel. The sharper the motor-
cycle decelerates, the more load
is shifted to the front wheel. The
higher the wheel load, the more
braking force can be transmitted
without the wheel locking.
To optimise stopping distance,
apply the front brakes rapidly and
keep on increasing the force you
apply to the brake lever. This
makes the best possible use
of the dynamic increase in load
at the front wheel. Remember
to pull the clutch at the same
time. In the "panic braking situ-
ations" that are trained so fre-
quently braking force is applied
as rapidly as possible and withthe rider's full force applied to
the brake levers; under these cir-
cumstances the dynamic shift
in load distribution cannot keep
pace with the increase in de-
celeration and the tyres cannot
transmit the full braking force to
the surface of the road. ABS has
to intervene to keep the front
wheel from locking; this increases
stopping distance.
Descending mountain
passes
There is a danger of the
brakes fading if you use
only the rear brakes when des-
cending 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.
574zRiding
Oil or grease on brakes
Oil and grease on the brake
discs and pads considerably
diminish braking efficiency.
Especially after repair and main-
tenance 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 sur-
faces or muddy roads, the
brakes may fail to take effect
immediately because of dirt or
moisture on the discs or brake
pads.
Apply the brakes in good time
until the brakes have been
cleaned.
Parking your
motorcyclePlacing motorcycle on
side stand
If the ground is soft or un-
even, there is no guaran-
tee that the motorcycle will rest
firmly on the stand.
Always check that the ground
under the stand is level and
firm.
Switch off the engine.
Pull the handbrake lever.
Hold the motorcycle upright
and balanced.
Use your left foot to extend the
side stand fully. The side stand is designed
to support only the weight
of the motorcycle.
Do not lean or sit on the
motorcycle with the side stand
extended. Slowly lean the motorcycle to
the side until its weight is taken
by the stand and dismount to
the left.
If the motorcycle is on the
side stand, the surface of
the ground will determine wheth-
er it is better to turn the handle-
bars to the left or right. However,
the motorcycle is more stable on
a level surface with the handle-
bars turned to the left than with
the handlebars turned to the
right.
On level ground, always turn the
handlebars to the left to set the
steering lock.
Turn the handlebars to full left
or right lock.
Check that the motorcycle is
standing firmly. On a gradient, the motor-
cycle should always face
uphill; select 1st gear.
Lock the steering lock.
575zRiding
Removing motorcycle
from side standUnlock the steering lock.
From the left, grip the handle-
bars with both hands.
Pull the handbrake lever.
Swing your right leg over the
seat and lift the motorcycle to
the upright position.
Hold the motorcycle upright
and balanced.An extended side stand can
catch on the ground when
the motorcycle is moving and
lead to a fall.
Retract the side stand before
moving the motorcycle.
Sit on the motorcycle and use
your left foot to retract the side
stand.
Placing motorcycle on
centre stand
OA
If the ground is soft or un-
even, there is no guaran-
tee that the motorcycle will rest
firmly on the stand.
Always check that the ground
under the stand is level and
firm.
Switch off the engine.
Dismount and keep your left
hand on the left handlebar grip.
With your right hand, grip the
rear grab handle or the rear
frame.
Use your right foot on the pin
of the centre stand to press
the stand down until its curved
feet touch the ground.
Place your full body weight on
the centre stand and at the
same time pull the motorcycle
to the rear. Excessive movements
could cause the centre
stand to retract, and the
motorcycle would topple in
consequence.
Do not lean or sit on the mo-
torcycle with the centre stand
extended.
Check that the motorcycle is
standing firmly.
Lock the steering lock.
Removing motorcycle
from centre stand
OA
Unlock the steering lock.
Place your left hand on the left
handlebar grip.
With your right hand, grip the
rear grab handle or the rear
frame.
Push the motorcycle forward
off the centre stand.
Check that the centre stand
has fully retracted.
576zRiding
Refuelling
Fuel is highly flammable. A
naked flame close to the
fuel tank can cause a fire or ex-
plosion.
Do not smoke. Never bring a
naked flame near the fuel tank.
Fuel expands when hot.
Fuel escaping from an
overfilled tank could make its way
onto the rear tyre. This could
cause a fall.
Do not fill the tank past the bot-
tom edge of the filler neck.
Fuel attacks plastics, which
become dull or unsightly.
Wipe off plastic parts immediately
if they come into contact with
fuel.
Fuel can attack the material
of the windscreen, which
becomes dull or unsightly.
Wipe off the windscreen immedi- ately if it comes into contact with
fuel.
Leaded fuel will destroy the
catalytic converter.
Use only unleaded fuel.
Make sure the ground is level
and firm and place the motor-
cycle on its stand.
Open the protective cap.
Open the fuel tank cap with
the ignition key by turning it
counter-clockwise. Refuel with fuel of the grade
stated below; do not fill the
tank past the bottom edge of
the filler neck.
Recommended fuel
grade
98 ROZ/RON (Premium plus
unleaded)
95 ROZ/RON (Premium
unleaded (fuel grade,
usable with power- and
consumption-related
restrictions))
577zRiding
Brake system with
BMW Motorrad Integral
ABSPartially integral brakesYour motorcycle is equipped with
partially integral brakes. Both
front and rear brakes are applied
when you pull the handbrake
lever. The footbrake lever acts
only on the rear brake.
While the brakes are slowing the
motorcycle, the BMW Motorrad
Integral ABS adapts braking-force
distribution between front and
rear brakes to suit the load on
the motorcycle.The integral braking func-
tion makes it very difficult
to spin the rear wheel by opening
the throttle with the front brake
applied to keep the motorcycle
stationary (burn-out). Attempted
burn-outs can result in damage
to the rear brake and the clutch.
Do not attempt burn-outs.
How does ABS work?The amount of braking force that
can be transferred to the road
depends on factors hat include
the coefficient of friction of the
road surface. Loose stones, ice
and snow or a wet road all have
much lower coefficients of fric-
tion than a clean, dry asphalt sur-
face. The lower the coefficient
of friction, the longer the braking
distance.
If the rider increases braking
pressure to the extent that brak-
ing force exceeds the maxim-
um transferrable limit, the wheels
start to lock and the motorcycle
loses its directional stability; a fall
is imminent. Before this situation
can occur, ABS intervenes and
adapts braking pressure to the
maximum transferrable braking
force, so the wheels continue
to turn and directional stability
is maintained irrespective of the
condition of the road surface.
What are the effects of
surface irregularities?Humps and surface irregular-
ities can cause the wheels to
lose contact temporarily with the
road surface; if this happens the
braking force that can be trans-
mitted to the road can drop to
zero. If the brakes are applied
under these circumstances the
ABS has to reduce braking force
to ensure that directional sta-
bility is maintained when the
wheels regain contact with the
road surface. At this instant the
BMW Motorrad Integral ABS
must assume an extremely low
coefficient of friction, so that the
wheels will continue to rotate un-
der all imaginable circumstances,
because this is the precondition
for ensuring directional stability.
As soon as is registers the ac-
tual circumstances, the system
reacts instantly and adjusts brak-
680zEngineering details
ing force accordingly to achieve
optimum braking.What feedback does the
rider receive from the
BMW Motorrad Integral
ABS?If the ABS system has to reduce
braking force on account of the
circumstances described above,
vibration is perceptible through
the handbrake lever.
When the handbrake lever is
pulled, brake pressure is also
built up at the rear wheel by
the integral function. If the
brake pedal is depressed after
the handbrake lever is pulled,
the brake pressure built up
beforehand is perceptible as
counter-pressure sooner than is
the case when the brake pedal is
depressed either before or at the
same time as the brake lever is
pulled.
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 in-
tervene until very late, if at all.
Under these circumstances the
rear wheel can lift off the ground,
and the outcome can be a high-
siding situation in which the mo-
torcycle can flip over.Severe braking can cause
the rear wheel to lift off the
ground.
When you brake, bear in mind
that ABS control cannot be relied
on in all circumstances to prevent
the rear wheel from lifting clear of
the ground.
What is the design
baseline for BMW
Motorrad Integral ABS?Within the limits imposed by
physics, the BMW Motorrad In-
tegral ABS ensures directional
stability on any surface. The sys-
tem is not optimised for special
requirements that apply under
extreme competitive situations
off-road or on the track.Special situationsThe speeds of the front and rear
wheels are compared as one
means of detecting a wheel's
incipient tendency to lock. If the
system registers implausible val-
ues for a lengthy period the ABS
function is deactivated for safety
reasons and an ABS fault mes-
sage is issued. Self-diagnos-
is has to complete before fault
messages can be issued.
In addition to problems with the
BMW Motorrad Integral ABS,
681zEngineering details
exceptional riding conditions can
lead to a fault message being
issued.
Exceptional riding
conditions:Heating up with the motorcycle
on the centre stand or an auxil-
iary stand, engine idling or with
a gear engaged.
Rear wheel locked by the en-
gine brake for a lengthy period,
for example while descending
off-road.
If a fault message is issued on
account of exceptional riding
conditions as outlined above, you
can reactivate the ABS function
by switching the ignition off and
on again.
What significance
devolves on regular
maintenance?
Invariably, a technical sys-
tem cannot perform beyond
the abilities dictated by its level
of maintenance.
In order to ensure that the BMW
Motorrad ABS is always main-
tained in optimum condition, it
is essential for you to comply
strictly with the specified inspec-
tion intervals.
Reserves for safetyThe potentially shorter braking
distances which BMW Motorrad
Integral ABS permits must not be
used as an excuse for careless
riding. ABS is primarily a means
of ensuring 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 Motorrad Integral ABS is
unable to counteract their effects.
Electronic engine
management with BMW
Motorrad ASC
OE
How does ASC work?The BMW Motorrad ASC com-
pares the speed of rotation of the
front wheel and the rear wheel.
The differential is used to com-
pute slip as a measure of the
reserves of stability available at
the rear wheel. If slip exceeds a
certain limit the electronic engine
management system intervenes,
adapting engine torque accord-
ingly.
682zEngineering details
If the front wheel lifts clear of the
ground under severe accelera-
tion, the ASC reduces engine
torque until the front wheel re-
gains contact with the ground.
Under these circumstances,
BMW Motorrad recommends
rolling the throttle slightly closed
so as to restore stability with the
least possible delay.
When riding on a slippery sur-
face, never snap the throttle
twistgrip fully closed without
pulling the clutch at the same
time. Engine braking torque can
cause the rear wheel to lock, with
a corresponding loss of stability.
The BWM Motorrad ASC is un-
able to control a situation of this
nature.
Tyre pressure
monitoring RDC
OE
FunctionA sensor integrated into each
tyre measures the air temperat-
ure and the air pressure inside
the tyre and transmits this in-
formation to the control unit.
Each sensor has a centrifugal-
force tripswitch that does not
enable transmission of the meas-
ured values until the motorcycle
has accelerated to about 30 km/
h. The display shows
--
for
each tyre until the tyre-pressure
signal is received for the first
time. The sensors continue to
transmit the measured-value sig-
nals for approximately 15 minutes
after the motorcycle comes to a
stop.
The control unit can adminis-
trate four sensors, so two dif-
ferent sets of wheels with RDC
sensors can be alternated on the motorcycle. An error mes-
sage is issued if wheels without
sensors are fitted to a motorcycle
equipped with an RDC control
unit.
Temperature
compensationThe tyre-pressure readings
shown by the multifunction
display are temperature-
compensated; the reference tyre
temperature for these readings
is always 20 °C. The air lines
available to the public in petrol
stations and motorway service
areas almost invariably show
temperature-dependent tyre
pressures, so in most instances
these gauge readings will not
tally with the readings shown by
the multifunction display.
684zEngineering details