BMW R1200RT Tires And New TPMS Install

More than just a tire video, I'll show here how to install replacement tire pressure sensors, how to "wake" them with a cheap tool originally meant for GM sensors, and how to replace a battery in the BMW sensors. These TPMS sensors are basically the same in most RT and GS bikes, from what I understand. However, there are two different physical configurations, one with a built-in valve stem (8532731) and one that just bolts to the inside of the rim (8532732). Here are some other details to remember:
-- You'll need the GS-911 diagnostic interface and software
--You'll need two new sensors or be prepared to replace the batteries in your old sensors with CR2032 watch batteries
-- I purchased batteries with pre-soldered tabs used in some video games
-- You'll want the EL-50448 TPMS reset tool (433MHz) to "wake-up" your sensors. Brand doesn't matter.
--The bike computer allows registration of two sets of tire pressure sensors, so you can keep spares.
► To Purchase
amzn.to/3Nc58xw (Replacement CR2032 batteries with tabs)
amzn.to/3N9Q8jL (EL-50448 "wake up" tool)
amzn.to/3t9dZYN (EL-50448 alternative)
amzn.to/3PXt9Ke (GS-911 scanner)
amzn.to/3GH43eD (soldering iron)
As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@MotoPutNor]

Like your comments during filming, makes me feel I just behind you in same garage :)

[@danjenkins6054]

Make absolutely sure you remove both brake calipers before you pull the axle to remove the front wheel. If you try to remove the front wheel while the calipers are still on, you will put permanent scratches and dents in your wheel rim when you push and pull on the wheel to get it out. I learned this the hard way. Also, when you jack up your m/c under the engine, make sure you don't raise it to the point where the center stand leaves the ground. If you do the m/c can easily tip over and crash onto the ground.

[@flyingdog1498]

A 13/16" spark plug socket with the external hex and a long extension through the hollow axle works perfect.

[@niklasthieme418]

Man thanks aloot for sharing this video really helpful havbe a great day and happy riding.

[@hercao5526]

Very good vídeo, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge with us ;) Greetings from Brazil :)

[@flyingdog1498]

Barra do Jucu em Vila Vehla, Espririto Santo, Brasil, de onde voce?

[@othoapproto9603]

Thanks for the video, helps a lot.

[@SeldenDeemer]

I have a 2014 F700GS, so its TPMS batteries should be ready to fail real soon now, and your video will be a great help when the time comes. If they shipped a bad battery, I would have returned it for an exchange unit. Amazon return policies are excellent. It would have required no more effort, but saved you the money, to have done the same surgery on the OEM TPMS.

[@tinderboxarts]

When I did this video the knock-off sensors were only available on ebay, and even there in short supply. More recently the sensors started appearing on Amazon (probably from the same sellers). What I have done is created two sets of sensors which can be swapped out when I do tires. The spare set can be prepped with new batteries in the meantime. As for returning a sensor with a bad battery, there didn't seem any point to me since the replacement could have a bad battery as well. I'd rather be certain that the battery is new, hence the two-set strategy.

[@jonasvanseymortier7830]

Thank you so much!

[@MajorHazzard]

Thanks for sharing. I have the same problem with my eye's doing close up work. I don't know if the U.S. eye /lens table (glasses strength) is the same as here in the UK but l bought a cheap pair of specs off eBay with a lens rating of 5, and they are great for soldering or any real close up work. I think you can buy even stronger ones.

[@tinderboxarts]

Yeah, the "cheaters" as we call them here are obligatory when you get to a certain age! One thing I didn't fully understand when I started using them is that you should use different strength based on the distance you need to see closely. So, if I'm leaning back two feet from a computer monitor I'll need a lower strength magnifier than if my face is six inches from a bolt trying to see if the threads are buggered up. So I keep different strengths around now. Of course, I still have the problem of my wife stealing them!

[@kairossonicii5524]

Thank you for your video. ^^

[@kevinschwantz9736]

When you use the GS-911 diagnostic tool to learn the sensor, do you have to turn on the ignition of the motorbike?

[@tinderboxarts]

Yes, key on or engine on.

[@lukasr9941]

Hi,thanks for helpfull video 😉👊.i have a bmw k1200gt y2007,it was with out the RDC.I bought the sensors with the tool for waking up,but I heve one question.do I have the RDC unit in the bike?If not,is posible fix the unit in to the bike?I am elektrician,work with ultralight airoplane's.I do need the wiring diagrams,and the lokation of the unit.If you have some experience with this.thanks

[@tinderboxarts]

I'm not sure what you are asking. Did your bike not come with a tire pressure monitoring system and now you want to add it? If that's what you mean, I doubt there is a way to do it because the tire pressure monitoring is a subsystem of the main computer, which is what interfaces with the dash. There are third party systems which might work with an aftermarket GPS, though.

[@lukasr9941]

@@tinderboxarts hi,thanks for answere.yes,the bike coms without the RDC.I roud somewere that the unit is in the oem alarm.I do have the sensors,have also the motoscan app,and the UniCarScan komes in five days.gonna try it. I use to have also the thrd part nav,with presure sensors from garmin,but there was a problem with conections,bludy beeping jn helmet,always by loosing the conections. Thanks

[@blndrckr]

I am NOT gonna wrestle with pulling that rubber off the rim...no way no how🤣

[@tinderboxarts]

Ha! This was actually a bad example because it was a stiff, old tire that had been on there a long time. Most of the time it's really not that bad. The old tire comes off in a few minutes of work and the new tire goes on in a few minutes. Nowadays I use a bead lubricant both for installing the new tire and taking the old one off and that helps a lot.

[@blndrckr]

@@tinderboxarts thank yu sir

[@REECE1234567899]

Hi, thanks for the video. If you are going to replace the batteries on the existing tpms sensors you will not have to "wake the sensor" is that correct ?

[@tinderboxarts]

Yes and no. The serial number will already be recognized by the bike since you haven't changed that. However, replacing the battery MAY require waking the sensor up again. Most likely you can just start rolling again with the sensor reinstalled and it will pick up where it left off, but some people on the interweb have reported that they needed to do the wake up procedure. Others report that it took several rides before the sensor woke up on it's own. If you're worried about it, just pick up that cheap device I mentioned in the video.

[@mashed9603]

Hi.to wake up my new tyre sensor on my bmw r1200rt, do I need the gs-911 and the EL-50448 gadgets? Thanks

[@tinderboxarts]

If you have a brand new sensor never before used on the bike, then you will need the GS911 tool to enter the sensor ID or have it recognized by the software. You MAY not need the sensor wake up tool if you try the method of rapidly deflating the tire instead. However, that method doesn't always work and the sensor tool is so cheap that you might as well go that route.

[@mashed9603]

tinderboxarts. Thanks

[@novokwanza]

love the video, the EL-50448 will work with the 2009 bmw gsa adventure sensors?

[@tinderboxarts]

No guarantees, but if those sensors are the same as what you saw in my video the chances are good.

[@novokwanza]

@@tinderboxarts thank you bro. love your videos

[@hectorherbert6585]

HI..what"s the grey exterior small valve for..??thx for the vid..

[@tinderboxarts]

The sensor sits inside the wheel and then the stem goes through the wheel. The stem holds the Schrader valve you use to inflate your tire. It's an integrated unit.

[@manuelrivera6873]

I have been t-shooting an intermittent front sensor read. i replaced battery which when tested under load was only at 20%. I decided to swap sensors and now they both are working as intended from factory. I believe the front sense has a weakened antenna that is fine while at rear wheel position. Directly underneath idc receiver. I just need to switch locations of sensors in the software. my nav vi sees front as rear tire pressure and rear as front. trying to guide out how to delete them in gs911 and then relearn them. hope you can help

[@tinderboxarts]

Well, you could go through the learning procedure using your GS911 and swap positions, I suppose. The software asks you for the tire position front or rear during the procedure. If memory serves there is an option to delete a sensor, or else you could overwrite the data using something made up. However, I think you may be barking up the wrong tree. Replacing the battery in the sensor is not completely without risk, since digging out the epoxy can cause damage. I suspect your problem might actually be one of three things: your new battery may not be good or it was damaged during soldering, your battery connections are intermittently dropping out, or you damaged the sensor itself during the epoxy removal or reassembly. It's not unusual for new batteries to be undercharged--I know I have tested and rejected some new batteries. When you swapped sensors front to rear you might also have jiggled a battery connection or taken pressure off of the little circuit board inside which was enough to get it working again. I guess what I'm leading to is that your can purchase a knock-off sensor on ebay or Amazon or other places pretty inexpensively. You might consider doing that to replace your wonky sensor for now, and then you can take a look at the one not working to see if you missed something. I keep two pairs of sensors so I can swap them when I change tires, and that gives me time to work on the unused pair in peace.

[@manuelrivera6873]

@@tinderboxarts I used the ZTS Multi-Battery Tester to test the battery that was originally installed and after finding it at 20% replaced with new that tested at 100% and 3V. I definitely agree the complexity working on the fragile circuit board and trying to install a new battery. Using heat sinks is a must. Luckily I started out as an electronics bench tech that worked on circuit boards. I found the best way to install a battery is to carefully dremel cut the old battery out and then using heat sinks on the remaining tabs attach 22 gauge multi stranded wire (multi-stranded is much easier to move around without putting strain on soder connections and original battery tab - circuit board connection). The placement in the rear tire gave me no mis-reads and was instantly visible on my Nav VI display. If I had a connection problem I am sure it would raise its ugly head during my test run. The main reason I persist in trying to get this system working properly is the ability to give me an indication of air pressure failure during a ride. That could be a life saver. I appreciate your knowledge with the GS911.

[@manuelrivera6873]

@@tinderboxarts this version of GS911 USB does not allow it. No "advanced" button to click.

[@tinderboxarts]

Are you connected to the GS-911 with a USB cable to your laptop or tablet, or are you connected over Wi-fi? If you are connected over Wi-Fi then there will be limited menu options.

[@manuelrivera6873]

@@tinderboxarts GS911 USB unit connected to Windows PC running Windows 10 with hardwire cable(usb)

[@NunoMPS46]

At 4:32, isn't it the other way round? Was it a typo? The reason I'm asking is because in my 2010 K1300R it is 8532732 (without valve stem) in the front and 8532731 (with valve stem) in the rear.

[@tinderboxarts]

You're right--the part numbers are one digit off. The 31 is rear (with stem) and 32 is front (without stem). You need one of each, obviously.

[@NunoMPS46]

@@tinderboxarts thank you for clarifying that, for my peace of mind. 😊 Anyway, thanks for the video, I learned a lot from it.

[@flyingdog1498]

I use my salamander heater to warm the tires, heat to about 180F, with an IR thermometer, and the tires go on like butter.

[@tinderboxarts]

Good idea. In the summer months I can leave the tire in the sun on a black driveway, but winter is more challenging.

[@flyingdog1498]

@@tinderboxarts The salamander works in the summer too.

[@gforce913]

How do you remove the TPMS from the rim? Does it just pull out or pull the pin?

[@tinderboxarts]

The TPMS valves are integrated with the valve stem or they are bolted to the same area. It's obvious once you get it exposed.

[@yair1956]

..nice. can you, please, get us the link for the Chinese TPM Sensor ??? Tnx

[@tinderboxarts]

They are available on Ebay--the links change often, so just do a search for R1200RT TPMS sensor

[@lude5th246]

@john Painter: how hard was it to reseal the soldered new battery?

[@tinderboxarts]

All that's important is that the battery doesn't wiggle around and the connections come loose. Some people try to silicone caulk the battery in place, although I believe that caulk can have an acidic reaction with some electrical components. I ended up just wrapping electrical tape around the outside, being careful not to cover the sensor air hole. I've been riding for two years that way without issue. There's no actual need to seal the sensor, that's just done because it's easier for the factory and it forces you to buy a new sensor instead of replacing the battery! So the next time I would use electrical tape again. As long as the battery is tightly held you are good to go.

[@RebornNightAngel]

@@tinderboxarts heat shrinked it seems to work good im glad i ran into your vid for that tool

[@manuelrivera6873]

@@tinderboxarts I used the electrical tape method avoiding the pressure monitor hole and the temperature sensor plate

[@bobwhipple5428]

If I use the wakeup tool while the sensor is off the bike will that show on the bike that I have the battery connected the right way even though it won't show any tire pressure?

[@tinderboxarts]

I know what you're getting at. I'm actually not sure if the wake-up tool will do anything in the absence of any pressure. It is possible the sensor is programmed to work only in a certain PSI range. All you can do is try. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you may have to mount it in a tire to know if it is working.

[@bobwhipple5428]

It dosen't do anything so I will have to wait till next tire change. Thanks for the reply@@tinderboxarts

[@tinderboxarts]

I'm trying to think if there's any means to create an artificial pressure chamber in which you could put the sensor for testing. A sealed container connected to a compressor hose. Maybe a bicycle tire which wouldn't be too difficult to unseat? If you think of something you could stick the sensor in there and see if it works with some pressure.

[@genefernando6109]

@@tinderboxarts Yes,. Change battery with sensor still off bike tire. Use wake up tool to activate sensor. TPMS will read 0.00 psi. So you can be sure battery change worked. With new sensor you will need GS911 and sensor wake up tool to register new sensor ID with bike.

[@russvyas7617]

Hi Is there a way to find out if my 2011 R1200RT has TPMS without taking tires off? I called the dealer but they are not sure.

[@tinderboxarts]

I was under the impression that all of the RTs of that generation had TPMS. I mean, if you cycle through the info button on the left handlebar does a tire pressure reading come up?

[@russvyas7617]

@@tinderboxarts No it does not.

[@russvyas7617]

I have GS911 . Will that tell me?

[@tinderboxarts]

Yes, that will indicate the sensor IDs. But, if there is no menu item for the pressure, then maybe you don't have it. I thought all RTs 2010 and up had it as standard, but maybe not. The sensor is integrated with the valve stem.

[@russvyas7617]

@@tinderboxarts Thank you.

[@flyingdog1498]

Ever had a problem with the RDC Controller(TPMS receiver)?

[@tinderboxarts]

No, mine has been working flawlessly. I've had no problem with the sensors since I installed them, either. However, one sensor is slightly slower to initialize than the other one when I start rolling, which I attribute to a low battery. The sensor with the replacement battery is almost instantly on, the one with the factory battery takes another 10 seconds.

[@flyingdog1498]

@@tinderboxarts You confuse the sensor with the receiver, the sensors are inside the tires. The RDC receiver is located under the seat part number 65 75 8 546 222. When it quits both front and rear quit. Just curious if it is problematic, had the fuel pump develop a leak and replaced. under warranty, last week, TPMS totally quit 2 days later.

[@tinderboxarts]

No, I understood your question--I'm saying I haven't had any issue with the sensors or the receiver other than batteries in the sensors.

[@jtwu8931]

If I am not mistaken, the old directional front tire was mounted backward.

[@tinderboxarts]

Ha! You know, I never looked closely. They came with the bike when I bought it and I couldn't wait to get rid of them.

[@matisham3710]

So why not order them from Walmart, get the TPMS quicker and get a replacement for a dud quicker? What is the name of the front axle tool? Link?

[@tinderboxarts]

Order which from Walmart, the sensors? When I ordered them the only place I could find them was Ebay. That axle tool you can find here: amzn.to/3v3Idh3

[@bobmclaughlin7052]

What year is your R1200RT?

[@tinderboxarts]

It's a 2012 model, which is identical to the 2010-2013 model years and very similar to some prior years.

[@bobvandick2546]

Why are you replacing the sensors? Does this need to be done every time a new set of tires is installed?

[@tinderboxarts]

The watch batteries in the sensors have a life, which can vary. But, when the tires are being changed it's a good opportunity to change the sensors or batteries. If the sensors fail later, you'll have to remove the tire in order to remove the sensor. It's just more work, that's all.

[@bobvandick2546]

So are the batteries in the sensors replaceable? Any idea how long they last?

[@tinderboxarts]

Maybe you didn't watch the latter part of the video when I replaced the battery? They are not designed to be replaced, but they can be. Battery life might average around four years, depending on conditions.

[@bobvandick2546]

Thanks for the reply. Looks like I will just have them replaced during the next tire change. I recently got new tires. I’m coming up on having the bike for 3 years (purchased new ). Noticed after the tire change that the sensors are no longer accurate, about 3 psi off. I didn’t have BMW do it because of the price gouging. Maybe part of the price gouging included sensor calibration or sensor replacement?

[@tinderboxarts]

To set your expectations, battery life has nothing to do with accuracy. When the batteries start to fail you'll simply lose communication with the sensor and get a flat line on the dash rather than a reading. And, the point of the sensors is not accuracy anyway, but simply to give you warning when you are losing air. The official BMW part is exorbitant but you can purchase identical sensors on ebay or amazon for a tenth of the price. You still need to program them, however. You might find this video helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHK3f2OQop1gmbs

[@davidlewin9585]

BMW you should make these to be able to change the battery (or your supplier)It's just money making for you aint it¬!! These batteries die after 5 years max so buying a so called new one somewhere is risky! A BMW dealer will tell you if a sensor with new battery fitted is ok,they have the tools ,then you go to a tire fitter and have it built in. Back to the BMW dealer and they log the sensors in on their computer.Job done for batteries 4 euros and tire fitter say 10euros. NOT 240 euros BMW!!!!!!

[@bayouboy8644]

Those sensors make ZERO sense for motorcycles. Riders should check with a pressure toll and just almost every ride.

[@tinderboxarts]

Well I think the tire pressure sensors are often misunderstood. The point of them is NOT to give you perfect accuracy in tire pressure so you can fine tune your bike before a ride. The point of them is to give warning *while you are riding* if there is a problem. They exist to indicate when pressure is quickly dropping due to tire or rim damage, or some other problem. I've been on a bike when tire pressure dropped to nothing in a matter of a couple of minutes due to a nail in the tire. I've also hit potholes so hard I was sure I bent a rim. In these sorts of situations the sensors can give you precious seconds of warning to make a decision about pulling over or finding an exit.

[@manuelrivera6873]

@@tinderboxarts exactly

[@NunoMPS46]

@@tinderboxartsexactly

[@stevehoward3981]

Mine gave a warning that I was loosing pressure and gave me a few seconds to get off the road.