BERLIN-BUILT, AMERICAN SOUL

BERLIN-BUILT, AMERICAN SOUL

BMW's R gets it right

Why would BMW, with all of its technology and engineering and forward-thinking design, build a stripped-down, black-and-chrome, big-bore American-style cruiser? Despite declining sales, American cruisers remain the bestselling segment in the States. Nab a percentage of that market, and BMW should have a sales-floor winner. It tried in the late '90s with the hlaf-baked R 1200 C, and it was clear the Germans just didn't get it.

Now, 16 years after it gave up on that first stab, BMW Motorrad has gone all-in with its R 18. It's mammoth in every proportion, especially the boxer behemoth dominating the airspace forward of your shins. Two 107.1 mm pistons punching left and right make for an intentionally lumpy idle. The bars shake and move with each power pulse. Objects in the mirror blur as you thunder through the gears. This is not an R 1200 C.

BMW teased the release of the R 18 for 18 months with a series of customs from builders around the world. And row the production version is here. It is truly a thing of beauty. Not often does a production bike outshine concepts and sketches. Yet from nearly every single angle, that is what the black-and-chrome First Edition R 18 does. From the long and beautifully proportioned black-with-white-pinstriped fuel tank, to the massive engine and its equally driveshaft, never have I experienced a motorcycle in which form is such an integral part of riding function.

Clean lines and graceful curves lead the eye through the motorcycle's shape and and architecture. Nearly every detail is worth a long look. The backbone of the double-cradle frame matches the swingarm triangle, visually emulating a hardtail. Cables and wires are neatly tucked away. The engine's shape is uncluttered, with throttle bodies, a starter motor, sensors, and ignition wires—and spark plugs!—all hidden away from the world. There is bright, smooth chrome on the fishtail pipes and cylinder head covers, but not so much as to remove focus from the R 18’s classically black shape. And it’s a deep, glossy black with just the slightest hint of orange peel.

JUSTIN DAWES

Viewing the bike from the front, BMW’s propeller logo has never been so apropos.

To be successful as a cruiser, BMW knew the R 18 had to be designed with ease of customization—not only with BMW’s own available parts, but with parts currently available in the aftermarket. Therefore, many of the most commonly changed parts, such as handlebar risers, foot controls, and gas caps, are interchangeable with American cruisers. This strategic decision immediately opens up the marketplace for buyers looking to change up the look of their German cruiser. No waiting for designing, testing, and manufacturing. BMW even showed us pictures of an R 18 with apehangers, and it wasn’t wrong...

Without the clues and callbacks of the 1936 R 5, you have a big-displacement cruiser that is, to be blunt, very American in ride quality and performance. But wrap this hammer in the velvet that is the R 5 mythos and design, and it becomes something special even before the ride begins. It must, however, be ridden; otherwise, what would we do with our time here at Cycle World?

The largest boxer twin ever designed and manufactured by BMW, the R 18’s engine is 21.5 inches tall and 24.8 inches long. Watermelon-size air-and-oil-cooled cylinders and four-valve heads punch proudly out to the sides. Viewing the bike from the front, one thinks BMW’s propeller logo has never been so apropos. A duo of chromed tubes nestles within the black cooling hns of each cylinder, providing a path for aluminum pushrods actuated by dual camshafts working rockers to open the aforementioned pairs of 42.2mm intake and 35mm exhaust valves.

Three main bearings support the longitudinally mounted crankshaft, with one between the 180-degree rod journals. This increases the offset between the cylinders—the left forward of the right—and imparts the classic “rocking couple” vibration exhibited by non-counterbalanced boxers of yore (see “The Pulse,” page 85). Only it’s greater, due to the wider separation of the connecting rods by that center bearing. Add to this the strong flywheel effect amplifying the R 18’s left-to-right shake at idle, and it’s pure cruiser. And like old-time boxers, there is no balance shaft in this engine. BMW’s engineers wanted you to feel that flywheel effect and a strong engine pulse. They got it, now you have it.

With such a large engine, perhaps power-cruiser levels of horsepower and torque are to be expected. But this was not the goal in going big. BMW aimed for ample but friendly class-competitive power, not dragstrip dominance. Torque is plentiful from idle—more than 95 pound-feet is available at 1,750 rpm, and a peak of 103.1 was recorded on the Cycle World dyno at 2,880 rpm. Peak horsepower of 81.3 is achieved at 4,800 rpm. This is an engine that prefers to lope rather than gallop; both power delivery and higher-rpm engine vibration prompt the rider to short-shift and use torque rather than revs.

And vibration is prominent when trying to make time on the R 18. The engine is a buzz bomb in a 1,000 rpm range beginning at just about 3,500 rpm and continuing through 4,500. Mirrors blur, fingers fizz, and lower portions of your body tingle. Thankfully, at 80 mph in sixth gear, revs sit just below the vibration threshold, meaning you can go fast. Maximum engine speed is a stated 5,500 rpm, and when ripping through the gears, you pass through the vibratory range pretty quickly, but it is always present when riding more aggressively. Best to slow down, skip the freeway, and take back roads or skirt the coast. Remember, this is a cruiser.

Rock and Roll, being two different ride-mode selections, are for sunny days. Rain mode is also available. Throttle response is sharper and power comes on stronger at the bottom in Rock, which also provides a lopier idle that makes you feel the engine more.

Roll smooths out the idle a bit and is more relaxed on low-end delivery, with less aggressive throttle response and torque delivery. Rain mutes engine character and response to suit slippery conditions. Also tied to the modes are ASC (automatic stability control) and MSR (engine drag control). ASC is BMW’s traction control; it is possible to slightly break the rear tire loose under hard acceleration in Rock, Roll is all forward movement without slip, and Rain is extremely conservative about wheelspin. MSR controls rear tire sliding on decel when traction is too low for the rear tire’s back torque to engage the slipper clutch.

Toeing the shift lever through the gears, we found the R 18’s transmission to be slick. Here, BMW shines. It’s so slick, in fact, that moving down into first gear from neutral at a stop is often completely silent. But BMW didn’t miss the solid thunk cruiser riders expect when shifting from gear to gear on the move; there is a physical and audible cue that every shift has occurred, but not in a way that hinders operation. Engagement is solid and immediate, with no missed shifts or false neutrals to be found. Clutch lever effort is light, while modulation and feel are not super-precise, as single dry-disc systems can be, but still communicative enough to know where the friction zone begins and ends.

Heading around the bend on the R 18 is more roll than rock. The very long, low chassis limits cornering clearance and any form of non-cruising-pace, winding-road riding will be met with peg feelers a-sparkin’ on the midmounted controls. Heeding those big yellow signs with numbers on them before the corners is enough to keep grinding to a minimum. Turn-in at speed is light despite the bike’s 790-pound weight, 32.7 degrees of rake, 5.9 inches of trail, and 68.1-inch wheelbase. Parking-lot maneuvering, however, reveals nearly every pound of that weight, thanks to wide bars that make full-lock turns a stretch, while the torque effect of the engine adds another challenge to the slow-speed-balance equation as it rocks the chassis. The optional reverse assist included in the $1,450 Premium package is easy to use and helps out quite a bit with tight parking maneuvers. However, once reverse is engaged, the bike can’t be pushed forward, so shifting in and out of the gear is necessary when making multiple cuts.

Best to slow down, skip the freeway, and take back roads. Remember, this is a cruiser.

The rear cantilever suspension uses a nonadjustable ZF shock and gives the illusion of a hardtail frame—as does any large pothole. A mere 3.5 inches of suspension travel gives the desired silhouette at the rear, and in most situations, that limited travel is enough. Not plenty, but enough. Up front, the story is quite different, with an additional 1.2 inches of travel from the Showa fork. That truly is plenty, and suspension action from that shrouded 49mm conventional fork is controlled and plush.

Sitting behind the bars presents one of the best cockpit views in modern motorcycling. The fuel tank’s leading lines draw the eye to a tidy space with perfectly proportioned triple clamps, fork-leg caps, and chrome bar risers set below a round instrument housing with black and white typefaces. The words “Berlin Built” wrap around the bottom radius of the gauge just under an LCD screen displaying some useful and some not-so-useful information. Engine rpm? Good to know. Time? Thank you very much. Tripmeters? Always handy. Average mph? Uh, what?

Absent from the stylish instrument cluster is a fuel gauge or any indication of remaining fuel range. The tripmeters just became more important. A combination of beachside cruising, mountain-road riding, and freeway commuting over multiple days returned an average of 35.9 mpg, which theoretically gets you 150 miles on this 4.2-gallon tank. At 110 miles you’ll be searching for a station when the low-fuel warning illuminates, indicating a gallon reserve remains.

2021 BMW R 18

BMW

$18,190 ($22,120 AS TESTED)

But numbers do not matter on this motorcycle, not even the one on the side of the engine.

Those 110 miles are more than enough to get the full measure of the R 18’s seat comfort, or lack thereof. Our test unit had the entire range of available upgrade packages thrown at it, including the $2,150 limited First Edition upgrade (for a total price of $22,120 as tested). This adds special white pinstriping, an exclusive owner’s kit (which includes a BMW heritage book, R 18 cap and belt with buckle, and three copper-lettered historic BMW emblems with screws and screwdriver), more chrome, and metal BMW badging on the already firm seat. This 2.5-by-l-inch metal badge at the seat’s rear amplifies your discomfort as the miles click by. The seat is the only must-change item if you plan to ride more than a short hop down the road. Perhaps opt for the no-charge 0.8-inch-higher seat available at time of purchase, or try one of the many aftermarket options.

Other ergonomic observations for my 5-foot-10-inch frame: The riding position is comfortable despite the low 27.1-inch seat height, midmounted footpegs give an agreeable 90-degree bend at the knee, and the long-butstill-relaxed reach to the handlebar is well-suited to leisurely rides. The overall challenge of building a cruiser with a huge flat twin is that the cylinders occupy the space where foot-forward controls would normally go, and the wheelbase is as long as it is just to make room for the midmounts here. As I said, we are fine with that, but if you are a fan of highway pegs, this ain’t your ride. Thankfully, BMW didn’t go full-on ’Merica and kept the handlebar grips to a reasonable diameter, which makes squeezing the decidedly cruiser-wide, reach-adjustable clutch and brake levers easy.

Where BMW did go very American is brake-lever effort.

A firm squeeze is definitely required. You’re rewarded with a powerful response in slowing the R 18’s considerable heft as the front-brake lever operates all three calipers. BMW’s “partial” Integral ABS applies the rear brake when the front is applied, but the rear brake pedal only operates the rear brake. BMW-branded four-piston calipers clamp down on a trio of 300mm rotors, bringing the R 18 to a stop from 60 mph in 135.5 feet, a distance similar to that achieved by smaller and lighter standard and naked motorcycles on the same tarmac at our test facility.

But numbers do not matter on this motorcycle, not even the one on the side of the engine. What matters is the experience. You feel special; the riding experience is curated and cool. Nowhere near the dyno and hundreds of quarter-miles from the dragstrip, the view of a Pacific Coast Highway sunset fills the frame above the cleanest motorcycle cockpit available. There is no rushing. There is no reward in that. The rhythmic pulse and soundtrack of the flat-twin, and time to enjoy the stripped-down ride, are the payoff.

There are other cruising motorcycles that deliver experience over performance, but none quite like this riff on the 1936 R 5. The seat and higher-rpm engine vibration are bumps in an otherwise resplendent road, missed notes in a symphony. BMW has aimed nearly a century of engineering, technology, and design heritage at simplicity, instead of speed or outright technical competence, and hit the mark.