its an occasionally malfuntioning anti theft device. How is works (i believe) is roughly as follows ....
The ignition can not be hotwired on the 1200s. There is an antenna / transmitter in the ring around the keyhole ... and it is specifically paired with the key or keys you were given by the bmw dealer. There is a reflector in the plastic handle of each key.
So even an exact cut copy of the key will not start the bike, because the ring antenna will not detect the particular key or keys reflector tag programmed into it by the BMW dealer when he sold the bike. The correct key has to be within inches of the ring antenna for the whole bike to work. Without it, nothing works.
Its all great in theory and statistics seem to indicate 1200 GSs almost never get stolen, despite being the most popular bike in the UK.
But ... they are know to be an electronic weak link and fail more often than they should. As you can imagine, when they do fail, its a showstopper. You aint going no-where until you get a replacement ring antenna, and have it electronically "keyed" by BMW to match your key. There is no workaround.
Best to start off with one already prepared by your BMW dealer.
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