Ever since its international debut in April this year, the BMW Motorrad R 18 has been making the news globally. Finally, the time has come for India to be bestowed with a cruiser from BMW. The new bike has already reached BMW Motorrad showrooms across our country and is slated for launched on September 19, estimated to be priced between Rs 20-22 lakh, ex-showroom.
In the limelight, is BMW’s 1802 twin-cylinder boxer engine which makes 90bhp and more than 150Nm of twist. The air-cooled engine makes torque all 150Nm available from as low as 2000rpm, making it great for all sorts of highway touring.
As for the chassis, it’s based on a double-loop steel frame which harkens back to the R 5 which broke covers in 1936. The rear swingarm covers the rear axle by way of bolted connections. Suspension duties are handled by old school telescopic forks up front and a centrally mounted preload-adjustable cantilever strut out back, providing 120mm of travel at the helm and 90mm at the rear. The R 18’s anchors come in the form dual 300mm discs up front and a single unit at the back, both operated by 4-pot calipers enabled with ABS.
Speaking of electronics, the R 18 gets three Riding modes, named Rain, Roll and Rock! It also comes with Automatic Stability Control (ASC) and engine drag torque control (MSR) as standard and hill assist and a reverse assist as optional. Ergonomics are exactly what you’d expect from a vintage cruiser with a rear-swept handlebar and mid-mounted pegs, both of which are fully adjustable.
The design takes inspiration from the R 5 as well, such as the metal tear-drop tank, open-running driveshaft and a pinstriped paint scheme. BMW has also made it clear that it encourages custom builds on the R 18 with an easy to dismantle rear frame and body panels. Infact, we even featured some wicked custom jobs on our site last month.
In its global iteration, the BMW Motorrad R 18 is also available with a slew of custom aesthetic options, such as the First Edition theme which features chrome bits, a two-tone black paint job and a Machined theme by custom house, Roland Sands, as well as a seat supplied by an American manufacturer named Mustang Seat. We don’t know how many of these will be available in India though.
At an estimated Rs 20-22 lakh price tag, would you pick the BMW Motorrad R 18 over its rivals such as the Triumph Rocket 3 GT and Indian Motorcycle Chief if money was no bar?