BMW’s Beautiful Retro-cruiser Goes Touring!

BMW Motorrad made a stunning re-entry back into the cruiser segment by unveiling the gorgeously retro R 18 in 2020. And now, the German marque has introduced two new touring-friendly variants, the BMW R 18 Transcontinental and the BMW R 18 B, where B stands for Bagger.

What’s The Price? Who Are Its Rivals?

The BMW R 18 Transcontinental retails at 27,650 Euros (around Rs 24.44 lakh), whereas the BMW R 18 B costs 26,600 Euros (about Rs 23.51 lakh). For perspective, the base BMW R 18 is pegged at 20,950 Euros (approximately Rs 18.52 lakh). The newly introduced variants go up against the Harley-Davidson Road Glide, Harley-Davidson Street Glide, Indian Chieftain, Indian Roadmaster, and Honda Gold Wing. Expect BMW Motorrad to launch the two variants in India in the coming months.

How Many Variants Are There, And What’s New In Them?

The BMW R 18 Transcontinental and the BMW R 18 B get a handlebar-mounted fairing with a windshield. They also get a dedicated cockpit with four analogue circular instrument pods, a 10.25-inch TFT colour display, fairing-mounted 2-way sound system from Marshall (up to four speakers and two subwoofers can be fitted as an option), heated grips, alloy wheels, and body-coloured panniers each with a 27-litre capacity.

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The Transcontinental variant gets a taller windshield, a 48-litre top box, engine guard, wind deflectors, auxiliary lamps, metallic silver engine trims, and heated seat. It also gets foot boards for extra comfort. On the other hand, the R 18 B comes without a top box, gets a lower windshield, a slimmer seat and a Matt Black Metallic engine trim. The footrests are wider and are claimed to be comfier than the standard R18.

Apart from the aforementioned features, the two motorcycle variants come with engine braking control as standard, whereas reverse assist, hill-start control, dynamic cruise control are all available as optional fitments. The two variants also get 30mm greater suspension travel at the rear, with automatic load compensation.

What’s Unchanged?

The massive 1802cc air/oil-cooled boxer engine has remained unchanged. It churns out 91.09PS at 4750rpm and a massive 158Nm at 3000rpm. The engine works in conjunction with a 6-speed transmission linked to a shaft drive. The claimed top-speed is over 180kmph, which should be decent enough for high-speed, long-distance touring. The engine is reined in by three riding modes: Rain, Rock, and Roll, cruise control, and traction control - all offered as standard.

The bikes retain the same telescopic front fork and rear monoshock setup. Braking is via the same dual front 300mm discs with 4-piston caliper and a 300mm rear disc with 4-piston caliper, enhanced by dual-channel ABS as standard.

ZigSays

BMW Motorrad has raised the stakes with the R 18 Transcontinental and the R 18 B variants. It also helps the German marque target a wider variety of sub-genres in the cruiser segment. With the quintessential German engineering and American styling, the R 18 range is now formidable enough for segment bigwigs such as Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle to be concerned about.