BMW R 18 experience

Two days with BMW´s power cruiser

The BMW R 18 is a „heavy“ cruiser manufactured by BMW Motorrad.
The 1.802cc engine is currently the largest capacity engine you can get from BMW.

Introduced to the market in 2020, the R 18 competes with Harley Davidson, Triumph Rocket, Indian Motorcycles, Honda Gold Wing and Moto Guzzi.

While my BMW R 1150 RT got some love and was serviced, I had the chance to try out the
R 18 for 2 days.

Here some thoughts about the bike and a brief comparison to my Triumph Rocket 3 GT.

In reality you can‘t really compare the R 18 with the Rocket – these are two totally different motorbikes. First power wise and second from the characteristics.
The Rocket is way more sporty and agile, always wants to push you faster and faster and feels like a teenage while the R 18 is more the settled and distinguished gentleman who doesn‘t have to prove anything anymore.

Starting the R 18 for the first time is impressive and kicks your butt in the truest sense of the word.
Event that it is unusual – I love it to feel 1.800cc waking up.

Lets talk about the sound – well the sound is a bit „mi mi mi“.
While riding it‘s somehow „ok“ but what I really missed was a deeper, more masculine tone. So, I would definitely put an after market exhaust on the bike. Probably one with a valve to open and close to change the sound.
My GS Adventure has a Jekill & Hyde exhaust – sounds great and is not too loud.

OK, now we started that thing and complained about the sound, but how does it ride?

The motorbike we are talking in this post is an R 18 Classic.

Looking freaking good I would say – and is absolutely great to ride. If you love it smooth and relaxed!
The distinguished gentleman as I said above. I have never cruised with 80 to 100 km/h in such a relaxed way as with the R 18.
Enough power for any situation – especially in the „Rock“ mode – combined with an excellent chassis and suspension makes the R 18 a pleasure to ride.

345 kg is the wet weight of the bike. BMW gave it a rear gear what I never tried as the R 18 is a well balanced bike and easy to push.

The R 18 classic has minimalistic instruments without any gear indicator. That sucks – for me. Ok, you have enough torque for almost every situation you might face on the road but I am really used to have a look about what gear is in. Or maybe I forgot to think by myself already??!!

Anyways, the R 18 Classic is a great bike. Perfectly engineered and manufactured, even in the details.

Would I buy one? Yes, in a couple of years when I can‘t get on the GS anymore.
Would I trade in the Rocket for the R 18? Nope. But this has more economic reasons.

If I could choose between the R 18 and the Triumph Rocket what would I take?
For sure the R 18 as you can choose from many variants. From the Classic, Bobber, Roctane to the Trans Continental. The R 18 family offers something for everybody’s needs.
The Rocket has only 2 variants – GT for cruising and the R for the sport oriented riders.

And – the R 18 is compared to the Rocket the way more emotional bike.
Don`t misunderstand me – the Rocket is probably the best power cruiser but the R 18 kicks the emotions. No matter what type of R 18.

In addition – the after sales service from BMW is way better than from Triumph. So over all, BMW offers the better package.

Stay tuned guy’s and enjoy yourself!!

#dustysocks