Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » Tyre pressures on new 1250 bikes

We all know we need to regularly check the tyres are correctly inflated but should you need to do so when collecting a new bike. Based on my recent experience the answer is yes. Collected my new 1250 exclusive on the 1st July and having set time, fuel range and tyre pressures as the main 4 items to see using the wonder wheel I went for a ride. After a few miles the pressures were 42.4psi front and 44.7psi rear (should be 36 and 42psi). After 200miles the pressures were 41.8 and 44.4. As mentioned in the handbook the tyre monitors have a correction that adjusts for temperature. Was this a one off? The loan bike that I was given when my bike was having its 600mile service had done only 5 miles. Its pressures were 2.8bar front and rear. (should be 2.5 and 2.9bar). So if you have recently collected or will be collecting a new 1250 check the pressures.
I was informed that the bikes are delivered to the dealers by BMW with the pressures already set. Needless to say my dealer will be doing additional checks.

I take the opportunity to ask have people experimented with tyre pressures?

When on the centre stand there is a lot of weight on the front wheel and I dare say the weight distribution is markedly towards the front end.

On my Stelvio and my FJR1300 I ran 39 psi in the front tyre. On the FJR that was prompted by recommendation in the handbook (which curiously varied between the various marques - 36 on some 39 on others for the same bike!). On the Stelvio I just found that the front tyre looked flat on 36 psi.

For the moment being a new owner I am running stock pressures but I think I would be inclined to up the front slightly?

I have TPS on my F800GT. There my readings go from 25/29 bar to 26/30 when e.g doing 70ish on the motorway. I would expect the RS to do the same. At the end of a brief run (about 20 miles) last Sunday I had readings of 37.5/44 psi which seems perfectly normal to me.

Chris

BMW may say that the tyre pressure readout is corrected for temperature but it's not a prefect science.

From new and for over 4 and a half years my pressures as displayed vary with the amount of work I put into the tyres. The correction sometimes seems to lag behind a little too.

I think I made a comment about this on the old forum years ago.

Last year I checked the weight distribution of my fully factory-accessorized 2016 R1200RS with a full tank of fuel using two electronic scales. I got identical readings of 276 pounds on both the front and rear wheels. I might add that I weighed all of the motorcycles that I own and the RS was the only one that had a perfect 50/50% weight distribution. Your results may differ slightly, depending upon how many farkles you have installed on your bike and how much additional those new sliding cams weigh.

Tyre pressures set by the factory is a nonsense. Tyres are porous ffs! They leak air however minutely.

I'll lay money on it that checking the tyre pressures is a part of the pre delivery checks. Your dealer is BS'ing methinks.

My recollection is that the factory service manual mentions that the tire pressure sensors need to be calibrated by a dealer using BMW's computer system if they are replaced for some reason (like the battery dying). So perhaps the factory doesn't always get that calibration perfectly correct when it is accomplished as the bike is being assembled? (How well that is accomplished might depend upon whether it is a Friday or a Monday. )

The object of the post was to warn new owners to check their tyre pressures and that was all as I saw no merit from my point of view in apportioning blame.
Regarding tyres losing pressure over time- the front and rear on my bike and the front on the loan bike were above the recommended pressures.

(You might simply ask the forum members - anyone out there who doesn't keep a close eye on their tire pressures?)

Ray the first sentence of my post says- ‘We all know we need to regularly check the tyres are correctly inflated but should you need to do so when collecting a new bike.’ The post is aimed at people collecting new bikes.

I'd always check my pressures after my bike has been dealt with by my dealer. The tyre pressures are usually out by a few psi if they have checked and adjusted them. The dealer statement that they are set by the factory is frankly outrageous! My bullshit alert would have gone through the roof.

For sure, it's a good idea for yourself, to have a quality manual gauge and check your tire pressures often. The tire pressure readout displayed on my ('16 RS) Nav VI is always a bit lower than actual. I just assume it was calibrated to a certain rolling diameter spec and different brands of tires might slightly change that #. I'm running Michelin Road 5's now and would probably have to over inflate the rear tire to 45psi, in order for it to display 42. I mainly use it comparatively. Checking it after a few miles, then glancing at it occasionally throughout the ride. Maybe my calibration is off as well

I agree with Dave - I only treat the TPS as a guide / warning and I rely on my good Venhill pressure gauge (I tested it back to back with my mates Snap-on digital gizmo and its pretty much spot on) for a true reading check.

I have found both RS 2015/2017 tpm are accurate but again I use them as a safety guide, I have tpm and eng temp as my usual display.
Cannot fault the dealership but now, on any service, I just get them to note "do not check tyre perssures" as by the time they do it can be a hot tyre and I spend the next few days resetting them.
Have noted that bmw on most R1200's I have had use a split option 32/36 front and 36/42 rear, depending on load prior to the tpm/esa bikes.
Now it is the higher 36/42 for tyres and let the load setting be part of the esa.
I now run my R1200ST on the higher 36/42 as they are the same tyres as the RS and being 'undertall no overweight' (I should be 6'5" for my weight)
My weight equals solo + half pillion probably so any manual advice must be a nightmare for manufacturers trying to "average set" tyre life, stability, handling etc for non-average owners at large(or larger!)

I should check the tyres more often but I'm lazy and they seem to retain pressure well at the moment.
Good wheel design it makes the valves very accessible so I don't have the excuse about them being awkward to get at.

I checked the readout on the forecourt, 2.5/2.9, & it felt that good I scraped the pegs on the 17 mile ride home. Having just got off a 1200 I knew how it should feel & it was reading 2.4/2.9 when I got home & has done ever since. I'm not worried about a 0.1 or 2 swing but I'll do a proper check before a long run for economy's sake.