2013 BMW GS 1200 Ownership Questions

Question for those of you familiar with the GS line. I am looking at a 2013 GS 1200 and one of the things I noticed about the bike is that there are cracked valve covers on both side of the bike. Does this happen normally or with above average wear? The bike has less than 10k miles on it.





I did quite a bit of exhaustive search here and elsewhere, and haven't found anything about that model year that seems to suggest buying a first generation is a bad idea. Has anyone here heard otherwise? I intend to use the bike on and off road, so I found one with spoked rims.

Also please correct me if I am wrong, the '13 comes with the ability to enable enduro pro, right?

Thanks for all your feedback!

Those are just the plastic covers that you take off to change plugs. They cover the plug wires and coils. I wouldn't worry about them but it would indicate that the bike has had some off road time.

here is the fiche page for the ones on the RT....they are the same.

http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/DiagramsMain.aspx?vid=56210&rnd=12082016 Go to diagram 11_5155 to see the parts

Ron

That crack appears to just be in the plastic cover that wraps over the coil, not in the actual valve cover. It looks to me like someone might have tried to remove the cover and forgot to take out all the screws, and they bent it too far and it cracked. Probably not a big deal at all.

There is nothing wrong with a '13. It has a little bit different (lighter) flywheel than '14+, but some people seem to prefer it to the heavier one that came in '14 since it's a little snappier.

You might want to be sure that the fork recall has been taken care of. Also, there were some '13 models (I think) that did not get the fork recall. I would get the vin and call your dealer to advise you on that.

If the bike came from the factory with the "ride modes pro" option, it will have enduro mode. You can verify this by starting the bike and pressing the mode button repeatedly. It will cycle through all 5 modes on the dash. If it only shows enduro but not enduro pro on the dash, you will need a little plug to enable it. That plug (assuming it has been lost) can be purchased from your dealer at a reasonable price, or you can also just jump across the terminals on the bike harness to achieve the same result. The plug is not mysterious; it is just makes the circuit it plugs into complete.

Thanks you two! Awesome information. Both plastics are broken on both sides, so I do not think they were broken on accident. How would they break from offroad use?

I took a look at the location you are describing on my '15 R1200GS yesterday. Those plastics on that bike are not broken, that is how they are designed. That is a natural joint in the parts. I've attached a photo of the same part on my bike.