BMWR18FIRSTTEST
Classic inspiration for BMW’S big new cruiser. It’s good.
Press the button on the BMW R18 and the starter gear engages with a light clonk, the cylinders fire and the bike settles into a low, rumbling 950rpm tickover. Slouching in the plushly upholstered saddle you can feel the big 107.1mm pistons sliding in their bores like this is some kind of Victorian era steam train. Doff… doff… doff. The rest of the bike can feel the pistons moving too and gradually the wide bar, and then the whole front end of the bike including the wheel, start to gently wobble from side to side in a mesmerising low speed shimmy. It makes you feel good about the bike before you’ve even turned a wheel.
In look and in visceral feel BMW have done an extraordinary job with the R18. The detailing is amazing. From the exposed and nickel plated drive shaft that’s spinning away below your right buttock (which also suggests that it’d be best not to ride in a sarong) to the metal fork shrouds, the enamelled tank badges, to the spin on fuel cap and art deco silencers it is a masterpiece of retro cool with massive, literally, visual presence.
BMW have got a glorious history and a time line with the flat-twin engine design that goes back to the firm’s first complete bike in 1923. They are marketing the new bike as a ‘Heritage’ model and claim that inspiration comes from the R5 of 1936. But they’ve scaled it up a bit; the R5 was 494cc, 24bhp and weighed a comparatively fly-weight 165 kilos. Things have expanded since then.
This is a physically big bike: engine capacity 1802cc; claimed weight 345 kilos; wheelbase 1731mm and bar width 964mm. Big too in BMW’S expectations and commitment as they search for the next market in which to achieve global domination. The adventure bike category is defined by the success of their GS range, their sportsbikes are a paragon of efficiency. Cruisers next?
Well maybe, but this is a really difficult market that BMW have tried and failed to conquer before – who remembers the R1200C from back in 1997? The problem is that the biggest market for this style of bike is also the most brand conscious. Is there really a significant cruiser market? Or is there a significant Harley-davidson market, with a few crumbs for other manufacturers (you could draw a parallel with the GS’S domination of the adventure market).
This is the biggest boxer engine that BMW have ever made, though the factory’s modest claim of an 89bhp output doesn’t make it the most powerful. It’s a low rpm torque fest that delivers maximum power at just 4750rpm and redlines a thousand revs faster. Peak torque of 116.5 lb.ft is produced at 3000rpm, but by 2000 it’s already making 110.5 lb.ft. So you don’t need to rev it, though this does make one wonder why it needs six gears.
As the bar wobble at tickover attests, it does vibrate. At 3000 it’s a faint rumble. At 4000rpm it’s a pleasant vibro massage through the seat, but in my one day, 570 mile ride it wasn’t an issue. Clever engineering keeps the vibes away from your hands (the bars are smooth) and feet so control
‘Slouching in the plush saddle you can feel the big pistons sliding in their bores like this is some kind of Victorian era steam train. Doff… doff… doff’
‘The R18 feels and looks like the bikes from previous generations, but you know that every sensation has been honed in a design office’
and comfort aren’t compromised. In top gear 80mph is just 2300rpm, change down to fifth for a fast overtake and revs rise to 3300 at the same speed. Top speed feels academic, it certainly whips past 100 easily, but that’s not really the point. Pull in the Harley-esque flat and fat bladed clutch lever, and take your time over gearshifts, up or down the box. It’s not that the change action itself is slow (and considered clutchless upshifts are possible), but with considerable flywheel mass the engine revs build slowly, even when blipping the throttle, and a slow shift feels more in keeping with the rest of the bike. An anti-hop clutch means that you don’t need to change down with the attention to engine speed BMW’S used to demand.
Ride the R18 with gusto and it handles nicely. You’ve got to exert pressure on the pull back bars, but they’re wide enough to offer plenty of leverage, and it rolls into corners confidently on Michelin Commander tyres; 120/70 19 at the front and 180/65 16 at the rear, and running inner tubes (why not use Gs-style rims with tubeless rubber?). The pleasing sensation of footrest blobs graunching on tarmac limits exuberance, but nothing else seems to touch down. Unlike some bikes in this market there’s no wallowing from the suspension, which is firmer than most cruisers (with no adjustment possible barring rear pre-load). That’s better for cornering feel, but with the ‘sitting on the loo’ riding position every road jolt is transferred up your spine. It feels too firm for ‘cruising’, but for a more substantial rider that suspension might work a bit harder than it did for me.
Despite the limitations of the riding position, it’s acceptably comfortable. I’d been nervous about my big ride, but was still walking at the finish, though I was glad not to be taller. At 5ft 10in my coccyx was wedged against the back of the seat. It’s possible to rest your boots on top of the cylinders when you need a change of stance.
The controls and instrumentation are simple. An analogue speedo, with extra digital information, and three riding modes; Rock, Roll and Rain. Rain feels like the engine has been overly strangled. Rock and Roll are largely differentiated by the level of engine braking they offer, with Rock providing additional slowing effect. I reckon that you need the extra retardant provided in Rock mode, it saves downshifts on corner entry and gives the brakes an easier time; they deserve extra help to slow a third of a ton of rapidly moving motorcycle.
Lack of cruise control felt like an odd omission, but our bike had an electric reverse gear (both are options), activated by a chunky lever down by the battery, and then the starter button. Ignition is keyless, but the steering lock is an old style barrel lock, down by the fork bottom yoke.
This is a ‘Heritage’ model, but the engine layout does differ subtly from previous BMW flat-twins (all 97 year’s worth). The sheer volume of those cylinders requires a third bearing on the crankshaft, between the central crank webs, moving the bore centres further apart. Look down at the cylinders and the left hand one is ahead of the right; they were never in line, but the difference is pronounced on the R18. Camshafts retreat from the cylinder head back to the engine cases, though each cylinder gets its own shaft in order to keep pushrod length to a minimum. The camshafts are located above the axis of the crankshaft, a decision one suspects is aesthetic. This way you get to put the chrome plated pushrod tubes on top of the cylinder. Another nice touch. When parked on the side stand the
right hand pushrod tubes are level, providing a useful stand for cups of tea. Tappet adjustment for the eight valves is by low tech screw and locknut. There is heritage in the frame construction and finishes too. Tubular steel is mated with big forgings, metal is used on fork shrowds and mudguards, the paint is deep and all that chrome is wonderful. It all polished up nicely after the long ride from Scotland too. For oldtimers (like me) who spent time on old air-cooled BMW boxers the authenticity of the R18’s feel is amazing. The same side-to-side rocking, the same heavy flywheel, the slow build of engine revs, the same slightly ponderous gear change (albeit with a more precise action) and the same feel on the throttle as the old bikes. But remember what Grayson Perry said in the October issue of Bike: ‘If there’s one thing that designers are brilliant at, it’s faking authenticity’.
The R18 feels and looks like the bikes from previous generations, but you know that every sensation that it delivers has been considered, managed and honed in a design office. Maybe they measured the vibrations of the old bikes with some kind of oscilloscope to establish the ideal feel for the engine, and then replicated it using an infallible computer programme.
Whether or not you go for the retro thing, you have to salute the effort. This is a really good motorcycle.
‘For oldtimers (like me) who spent time on old aircooled BMW boxers the authenticity of the R18’s feel is amazing’