BMW has announced a pair of fairing and hard-case equipped cruiser/tourers for 2022 based around the Big Boxer-powered R 18.
The R 18 Transcontinental and R 18 B are German bikes built for American touring. Long, low and classically styled, the new machines are designed to poach buyers of American bikes with the promise of German engineering with easy customisation options.
Both bikes have a protective handlebar mounted fairing, self-levelling suspension, Marshall sound systems, a huge 10.25 inch TFT instrument panel, integrated hard luggage and the Big Boxer 1802cc horizontally-opposed twin.
The R 18 B will go on sale at just under 40K, the Transcontinental just over.
Essentially the R 18 B is the stylish bagger, the Transcontinental is the tourer. The ‘B’ has a lower screen, footpegs instead of footboards, no top box, slimmer seat and matt black engine.
Interesting features include self-levelling, self adjusting suspension. The rear suspension strut features travel-dependent damping and automatic load compensation in order to achieve ‘the best possible ride response’ even when riding with a pillion and a full load.
Cruise control is standard world-wide, but Australian model will get the Active Cruise Control (ACC), an option in most markets.
With the aid of radar sensors integrated in the front fairing, the motorcycle is either accelerated automatically or speed adjusted depending on the situation on the road.
ACC also ensures particularly safe cornering. Where necessary, the cornering control system automatically reduces the speed, providing the rider the appropriate speed for a comfortable and safe banking angle.
The three riding modes, hill start control and reverse gear which debuted on the earlier models are standard on the new bikes.
Who are they for?
Harley and Indian buyers, of course. The R 18 B is targeting Street Glide buyers, the Transcontinental hopes to attract Ultra customers.
In Australia we don’t see huge numbers of Harley tourers on our roads, but in the USA they reign supreme, selling well and dominating the bikes you see on Interstates – because they make a lot of sense there.
A protective fairing, moderate speeds (US speed limits rarely exceed 70mph, which is 112km/h) compared to Europe, vast (often flat) distances across so much of the country and a patriotic buying public has meant lots of heavyweight machines rolling across the USA.
There’s a large dose of style appeal here. Put simply, the across the frame sixes powering BMW’s current range of touring bikes, and the R 1250 RT twin, are wonderful engines. The six is one of the smoothest motorcycle engines you’ll ever experience and the R 1250 RT has been developed and redeveloped over decades to handle better, to be go and stop better… but aren’t all looking for more refinement, corner attacking capability or smoothness.
Sometimes raw is better.
Will they suit Australia?
Australian Road Rider’s editor Nigel Paterson enjoyed his time with the R 18, tested in issue 160: “…gorgeous classic styling, an incredible presence from the massive horizontally-opposed twin cylinder engine and the high quality black, white and chrome finish and we have a throughly modern cruiser…”
There’s no reason to believe the new models won’t be competitive against the American tourers, although the lack of forward controls will certainly be a deal killer for some.
We will let Nigel have the last word before we get the chance to ride one.
“I’m a little concerned the extra weight BMW is throwing at the R 18 to build the Transcontinental and B will suck some of the performance and ‘chuckability’ from the machine, two things which make the bike a delight to ride.
“It’ll still have a low centre of gravity and BMW will build quality into the machine, so I think it will work just fine, but I don’t think it’ll find lots and lots of buyers in Australia, not when pricing starts at close to 40 thousand dollars.
“In some ways that will make the bike attractive to some, those seeking to stand out from the crowd and can afford to do so on a brand new bike which kinda looks like something Granddad talked about his Dad owning.”
R 18 B Deluxe: $39,310*
Standard specification:
- 1,802cc 2-cylinder boxer engine, air/oil cooled, 9.6:1 compression, EU5, 67kW (91 hp) @ 4,750 rpm, 158Nm at 3,000rpm
- Automatic Stability Control (ASC)
- ABS
- 3 riding modes (Rock, Roll, Rain)
- Keyless Ride
- Spoke wheels
- Twin disc front brake
- Spring Strut Auto Load Levelling Dampers
- Telescopic forks with covers
- LED headlight, taillight, brake light and indicator lights
- 12V socket
- MSR (Dynamic engine brake control)
- Adjustable hand levers
- 4 Analogue instruments with 10.25″ colour TFT Display
- Active Cruise Control
- 24 litre fuel tank
- Lockable fuel cap
- Hill Start Control
- Headlight Pro (inc. Adaptive Headlight and Daytime Riding Light)
- Floorboards
- Tyre Pressure Monitor
- Central Locking
- Heated seat
- Marshall Gold Series Stage 1 sound system
- Heated Grips
- Reverse Gear
- Active Cruise Control
- Anti-theft alarm system
- Seat height: Standard 720mm (Comfort Seat High 740mm, Option 719 Seat Bench 720mm)
Options
- First Edition package (inc. Black Storm Metallic with Design Option Chrome and pinstriping, contrast cut wheels, First Edition badging and First Edition key): $3,750
- Comfort seat high: $590
- Design option chrome: $2,260
- Option 719 Design Package Aero: $1,550
Colour options
- Manhattan Metallic: No cost option
- Black Storm Metallic: No cost option
- Option 719 Galaxy Dust metallic/Titan Silver 2 metallic and Option 719 seat bench: $4,170
R 18 Transcontinental Deluxe: $41,675*
Includes all standard specification from the R 18 B and adds the following:
- Top case
- Straight exhaust pipes
- Highway bars
- Wind deflectors
- Marshall Gold Series Stage 2 sound system
Options
- First Edition package (inc. Black Storm Metallic with Design Option Chrome and pinstriping, contrast cut wheels, First Edition badging and First Edition key): $3,750
- Comfort seat high: $590
- Design option chrome: $2,260
- Option 719 Design Package Aero: $1,550
- Manhattan Metallic: No cost option
- Black Storm Metallic: No cost option
- Option 719 Galaxy Dust metallic/Titan Silver 2 metallic and Option 719 seat bench: $4,170
Colour options
- Manhattan Metallic: No cost option
- Black Storm Metallic: No cost option
- Option 719 Galaxy Dust metallic/Titan Silver 2 metallic and Option 719 seat bench: $4,170
*Recommended Retail Pricing is shown and includes GST, but excludes on-road costs. Customers are advised to contact their nearest BMW Motorrad dealer for all pricing enquiries.
