BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Just picked up my new R1250RT today and finished with a 80 mile ride home. Great experience with Jeff Koenig at BMW Motorcycles of Southeast MI, btw.

I've spent the last twenty years on my 2004 RT and wanted a liquid cooled Boxer since they first came out. The clincher was the switch to the Shift Cam motor in 2019 and the digital dash and styling upgrades, Favorite buttons a couple years later.

I'm amazed that this new bike rides even better than my old RT (Yacugar suspension on the old bike). And it's noticeably smoother, with no complaints about my old bike. (115k and ridden in 40 states). Never had a bike with cruise control before. Wow!

A couple of rookie questions if that's ok.....

1. Is there an actual coolant gauge, or just the coolant temperature displayed in one of the menus?
2. Does the oil level indicator actually show something? Mine appears to show just _ _ _ _, but the sight glass shows 3/4 full.
3. I assume the two power connectors (one near my right knee and the other by the rear seat) are only active when the bike is running? Because of CanBus? Do I need to hook up a dedicated harness to the battery to charge?
4. Mine has the keyless ignition and I like how the fork locks. How do I set the alarm? With the key fob? Does the dash display indicate that the alarm is set?

Hi and welcome to the site.
Best to add battery pigtails for charging
The oil gauge is for oil temp.- - - - Will move once the engine is at running temp.
The power connectors auto turn off after 10-15 minutes after the bike is turned off.
Haven't a clue with keyless but am sure someone will answer that soon

@Doctor T has done some of this - the keyless alarm can be set via the menus, basically the alarm sets automatically or you can turn it off (I've just been on a ferry to Spain, so this is a good thing for me), and you can press the button on the right bar or key fob for the central locking - the fuel will stay locked until the bike is switched off, but still has the key in range to open it. You can also set the alarm on/ff with the key fob, but mine stays in my pocket.

Coolant gauge is on bottle right side of bike behind fairing. Shine torch from front of bike as very hard to see.
If you mean oil gauge in menus it will only show ok when level and running. Or check oil warning if low. Use sight glass for level dont rely on gauge.
This for MY2017 1200. may have changed. Always good to add year as things change.

Thanks very much. Slowly figuring this stuff out.