We aren’t too far from seeing two-wheeler manufacturers electrify their bikes in the coming future. However, motorcycle charm of the vintage era isn’t going anywhere at the moment as BMW seems rather keen to deliver on this front. The BMW R18 is a bike you’ll want to buy, ride and cherish, but mostly park in your living room to look at and preserve. It’s a proper example of what the internal combustion has to offer. The huge, chrome-finished engine is the most prominent of details you’ll notice on the bike. BMW and boxer engines go hand-in-hand and if you look back a hundred years, a boxer engine powered one of their first bikes. It’s very identical to what you’ll find on the GS. Each individual cylinder you see on the bike is 901cc – and this makes it much larger than the GS’ engine, which is the largest-capacity twin-cylinder boxer engine seen on a production bike.
Old world charm
The BMW R18 feels like nothing we’ve ridden before. Start up the bike, and it instantly wakes up, rocking you in the direction of the longitudinally mounted crankshaft. That, along with the smooth rumble has you realise just how refined BMW Bikes are. Open up the throttle and that’s when the rock and rumble begin. The engine has the muscle to awaken a neighbourhood. Once you start riding, the boxer engine displays its smooth character. You can also sense the pulse of the engine when accelerating.
Don’t let the girth of the BMW R18 fool you into thinking it’s underpowered; this baby can pull small aircrafts , thanks to the 89bhp and 158Nm of torque, and you can feel most of this power before 2000rpm itself. The motor from the BMW R18 doesn’t feel as sluggish as a V-Twin at low revs and it pulls well from as little as 1300rpm. Acceleration is very brisk and the bike goes on to reach a top speed of 200kph. The bike cruises well, with a mellow idle. In Rock mode, the bike is a hoot to ride; there’s a massive wave of torque that kicks in, accompanied by a rumble as it gracefully surges ahead. In ‘Roll’ mode, the bike is sedate while ‘Rain’ isn’t all that exciting.
Ride it like you stole it
About the engine
The engine, made by BMW Bikes, weighs 110kgs, but we found that the heft of the engine is masked pretty well, partly because it sits very low to the ground. On the whole, the BMW R18 weighs 345kgs and it is instantly noticeable when you look at the bike. And you mostly feel the weight when manoeuvring the motorcycle at parking speeds. The clutch is nice and light, but we wish the bike came with the option of a reverse gear. We never found the bike to be a bane to ride in traffic, but while moving in traffic, you’ll have to bear in mind the massive cylinder heads jutting out on either side.
The clutch tends to slip when the dry clutch gets heated up in traffic. Once you’re on the tarmac, getting into the rhythm of riding, the weight no longer matters. Take it on a highway, and the R18 will happily glide along curving road sections. It is ever-willing to change directions; the only issue being the foot pegs scraping on huge speed breakers and tight corners.
The Michelin tyres provide good grip and the suspension, although setup on the firm side, contribute to the bike’s handling characteristics, but the long wheelbase is a hindrance around sharp corners. Suspension travel isn’t much at the front and back, meaning it bottoms out every once in a while. The bumps filter through very easily, but it manages to clear small speed breakers without grazing its underbelly. The four-piston brakes do a great job in bringing this brute to a stop.
The ergonomics could’ve been better though. The wide handlebar and the short seat are fine, but funnily, your limbs aren’t placed. The way they ought to be; perhaps it’s because of those enormous cylinder heads, below which lie the foot pegs. With your feet forward, the riding experience is different from what other bikes have to offer, but otherwise the seating position is spot-on.
