Tank Range

Scooter Boy

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I am looking to buy a new R1250r this spring,covid permitting, I was on the verge of ordering one last March but decided to wait and see how lockdown one panned out.

The bike will be used mostly for touring and regular runs up and down to my daughters in Glasgow which is around 180 miles or so,I prefer not to have to stop for fuel before Glasgow and my 1150 GS does this on one tank, solo or with pillion and luggage.

The newer watercooled boxers seem to be a bit more economical on fuel but the R also has about four litres less capacity, is 180 miles with a bit in reserve a realistic range ?

Thanks
 
Hi, I have a 2018 R1200R Sport, blue and white, and would be sweating to get 180 out of her for fear of running dry. For me the low fuel light comes an at around 120 - 140 depending how hard you ride, most of my riding is A & B roads though.

I absolutely love the bike though, a great semi-sporty look with comfort - you will need a larger screen for motorway comfort, my Puig mid size screen gives sufficient wind protection and looks does not spoil the sporty look of the bike.

Hope this helps.
 
Hi Thanks for your reply.

I have had a look around various forums but results vary so much depending on riding style/fuel octane rating its hard to gauge,I suppose the only way to find out would be to take some spare fuel the first time and see how it goes.

I will have a look at the Puig screen you recommended as I will be ordering it screenless but don't want anything massive.

Cheers
Ian
 
Hi, I have a 2018 R1200R Sport, blue and white, and would be sweating to get 180 out of her for fear of running dry. For me the low fuel light comes an at around 120 - 140 depending how hard you ride, most of my riding is A & B roads though.

I absolutely love the bike though, a great semi-sporty look with comfort - you will need a larger screen for motorway comfort, my Puig mid size screen gives sufficient wind protection and looks does not spoil the sporty look of the bike.

Hope this helps.

I've a blue and white 2018 1200R too. And a Puig screen. Love it.
 
But like any bike, use it hard and the miles per tank will plummet. But to temper that, I never got worried on a big chunk on the NC500 last September.
 
The tank size is apparently 18 litres. Use the reasonably reliable 10 miles per litre, which is.... um.....er..... um.... 180 miles.

PS Forgive the mixing of units, which is a cardinal sin.
 
Yes the 10 miles per litre works well so in theory it should make it.

I mostly use the A9 going down to Glasgow,not the best for fuel stops but there are some, its just that I prefer not to have to stop until I get there,my wife is well used to it and always makes sure she leaves the house with an empty bladder.

I would prefer a bigger tank/better range but don't want the seat height or bulk of a GS adventure,and other than that the R seems to suit my needs.
 
You've got 14 litres before the reserve comes on, so at 10 miles/litre that would be 140 miles or so miles. I would expect to get 12 miles/litre from my RT, so 168 before the reserve light comes on.

Enjoy your super-strong bladders while they last!
 
With the average speed cameras on the A9 I'd have thought that your average would be at least around the 50mpg mark unless you do a lot of overtaking on single carriageway roads with the ensuing need for lots of acceleration and braking.

A screen might help improve the consumption too.

Could you try for a weekend loan bike from the Inverness dealer and do the trip? Even if you had to pay a mileage charge it would likely be less than the loss if you chose to resell as it didn't work for you.

May even be possible to fit a standard GS tank to the bike or one of those Dutch X-tanks that travellers use if you have pannier rails on it.
 
The tank size is apparently 18 litres. Use the reasonably reliable 10 miles per litre, which is.... um.....er..... um.... 180 miles.

PS Forgive the mixing of units, which is a cardinal sin.

You're fine; I do the same unit mixing.

Also, when riding alpine roads I'll look at the height signs and compare them to my GPS which displays feet and do a quick check calculation.

I know it's very, very sad.
 
With the average speed cameras on the A9 I'd have thought that your average would be at least around the 50mpg mark unless you do a lot of overtaking on single carriageway roads with the ensuing need for lots of acceleration and braking.

A screen might help improve the consumption too.

Could you try for a weekend loan bike from the Inverness dealer and do the trip? Even if you had to pay a mileage charge it would likely be less than the loss if you chose to resell as it didn't work for you.

May even be possible to fit a standard GS tank to the bike or one of those Dutch X-tanks that travellers use if you have pannier rails on it.

Nearly all the A9 cameras are front facing so not an issue.
 
When I originally enquired at the Inverness dealer in March last year I went in with my wife and we had a seat on one and went through the spec I wanted and I enquired about a test ride but they didn't have a demo bike and didn't offer a ride on any other 1250 variant,not really a problem and they said they would let me know as soon as they had a demonstrator but then lockdown one started and I decided to wait,I will try them again this year.

I got the feeling that had I been an existing customer it might have been different, but my only other BMW purchase,my 1150 GS came from Clarks in Dundee.

On the A9 my rule of thumb is a max of 70 on the single carriageways and 80 on the dual carriageway sections, much easier on a bike as you can get past other traffic easily but it makes for decent economy and no ticket yet .

Its no deal breaker really,and carrying a couple of litres of fuel with me until I get to know the bike would be easy enough.
 
Thanks ,that's good to know.

I see from my roaming around the R forums that there is a tank filler mod facilitating filling the tank with an extra couple of litres by cutting a couple of inches off a plastic filler snorkel and drilling a couple of holes in the filler neck to let the air out.

I did the holes in the filler neck thing on my 1150 years ago and it does indeed work as long as you fill up and go,otherwise you end up with a pool of fuel under the bike, so I would imagine this will be the same on the newer bikes.
 
Indeed, if you park on the centre stand you will squeeze a bit more fuel into the tank.

I only do this when touring if I’m going to ride off straight away.

Not when I’m parking up for the night - then I simply fill up on the side stand at the end of the day. No spilling fuel then.

I drilled the filler neck on a a previous GS, but have never felt the need on the RS.

Always good for 200 miles as standard.

And the RS is good for far better consumption than the GS due to the higher gearing.
 
No need to drill anything on the 1250. If you remove the six screws and take the tank filler cap unit out, some panels may need removing, you will find that there is a plastic extension on it where it fits into the tank. Turn this anti clockwise slightly and it will click off. Put it on a shelf for refitting should you ever want to. You can now brim the tank, but you will lose the couple of litres of air in the top when refuelling. This air gap is to allow for fuel expansion when the bike is parked with a full tank in warm weather. If you are in the middle of a trip and are going to ride on after fuelling then you don't need the air gap.
 


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