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Col

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Hello there everyone,
My name is Col and I live in Glasgow, Scotland. I joined the forum a couple of days ago as I want to find out more about the R18, particularly the Classic & Bagger versions. I very recently retired (59) and I am thinking about trading my 2018 R1200GS Adv Rallye as it is becoming a bit of a handful due to the seat height. My wife will no longer ride with me as it is too much of a struggle for her to climb off/on the GSA but she is dead keen on me getting an R18B.
So, I have been trawling the BMW Motorrad UK sales for a couple of weeks looking for one to catch my eye.
If I ask too many stupid questions then feel free to say so or point me in the right direction.

So, first stupid question is around "reverse gear"

1) Does reverse come as standard equipment on the B and/or C
2) If not standard, can it be retro-fitted.

Ok, that will do for now. I'll hang about in the shadows for a while.

Cheers

Col.
 
Col said:
Hello there everyone,
My name is Col and I live in Glasgow, Scotland. I joined the forum a couple of days ago as I want to find out more about the R18, particularly the Classic & Bagger versions. I very recently retired (59) and I am thinking about trading my 2018 R1200GS Adv Rallye as it is becoming a bit of a handful due to the seat height. My wife will no longer ride with me as it is too much of a struggle for her to climb off/on the GSA but she is dead keen on me getting an R18B.
So, I have been trawling the BMW Motorrad UK sales for a couple of weeks looking for one to catch my eye.
If I ask too many stupid questions then feel free to say so or point me in the right direction.

So, first stupid question is around "reverse gear"

1) Does reverse come as standard equipment on the B and/or C
2) If not standard, can it be retro-fitted.

Ok, that will do for now. I'll hang about in the shadows for a while.

Cheers

Col.
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Well, first of all... Hello from Indianapolis, Indiana and welcome to the forum.
Second, there are no stupid questions! Many times someone will discover something none of the rest of us have seen or noticed. You should find plenty of info and advice here. Just use the search mechanism and you'll find things pretty quickly.
And last, you are one blessed man if your wife is encouraging you to get an R18! Go for it, man, before she changes her mind!
 
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I do believe the R18B comes standard with reverse....unless someone special ordered it without....can't imagine the logic for that decision.
 
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Col said:
Hello there everyone,
My name is Col and I live in Glasgow, Scotland. I joined the forum a couple of days ago as I want to find out more about the R18, particularly the Classic & Bagger versions. I very recently retired (59) and I am thinking about trading my 2018 R1200GS Adv Rallye as it is becoming a bit of a handful due to the seat height. My wife will no longer ride with me as it is too much of a struggle for her to climb off/on the GSA but she is dead keen on me getting an R18B.
So, I have been trawling the BMW Motorrad UK sales for a couple of weeks looking for one to catch my eye.
If I ask too many stupid questions then feel free to say so or point me in the right direction.

So, first stupid question is around "reverse gear"

1) Does reverse come as standard equipment on the B and/or C
2) If not standard, can it be retro-fitted.

Ok, that will do for now. I'll hang about in the shadows for a while.

Cheers

Col.
Click to expand...
Welcome aboard from cloudy London.

The reverse gear is an option on the B but well worth the extra dosh given that she is top heavy, so if you can afford it, I strongly recommend it. It is about £970.00 and surely can be retrofitted but then you will need to pay labour and then it will be a lot more than that.

If you can, look out for one that hasn’t got the adaptive head lights as there are some issues with the system and it will cost you a whooping £3K of your hard earned cash to replace and that is just for the unit.
90% of the Bs comes with the adaptive option already fitted but this is also an optional extra. Mine came with it and by no means it should be a deterrent if yours also comes with it.

Also if you can, purchase the service package. I believe it is £750.00 for 3 years or £1.7K for 5 and in my opinion, it is well worth the investment.

Apart from that, she is a solid, well built and balanced beauty.

Not a huge amount of after market parts out there but tbh I don’t think there is much I would add to personalise my bike. I added the Roland Sands cylinder heads cover, a set of grips sleeves from Wunderlich and a set of engine crash bars which saved my bacon a couple of weeks ago.

Good luck in your search for your R18 and feel free to use the search engine in the forum, loads and loads of info there and if you don’t find what you are looking for do feel free to ask.
👊👊👊
 
Anibal said:
Welcome aboard from cloudy London.

The reverse gear is an option on the B but well worth the extra dosh given that she is top heavy, so if you can afford it, I strongly recommend it. It is about £970.00 and surely can be retrofitted but then you will need to pay labour and then it will be a lot more than that.

If you can, look out for one that hasn’t got the adaptive head lights as there are some issues with the system and it will cost you a whooping £3K of your hard earned cash to replace and that is just for the unit.
90% of the Bs comes with the adaptive option already fitted but this is also an optional extra. Mine came with it and by no means it should be a deterrent if yours also comes with it.

Also if you can, purchase the service package. I believe it is £750.00 for 3 years or £1.7K for 5 and in my opinion, it is well worth the investment.

Apart from that, she is a solid, well built and balanced beauty.

Not a huge amount of after market parts out there but tbh I don’t think there is much I would add to personalise my bike. I added the Roland Sands cylinder heads cover, a set of grips sleeves from Wunderlich and a set of engine crash bars which saved my bacon a couple of weeks ago.

Good luck in your search for your R18 and feel free to use the search engine in the forum, loads and loads of info there and if you don’t find what you are looking for do feel free to ask.
👊👊👊
Click to expand...
Thanks very much for the info. In fact thanks to everyone who has welcomed and replied to me. I am looking for a used one as it seems the UK market is quite niche where a 22/23 used R18B can be picked up at a fairly good saving from new prices.
Anyway, I will add what I can to the forum as I progress through what will hopefully be my R18 journey.
 
Col said:
Hello there everyone,
My name is Col and I live in Glasgow, Scotland. I joined the forum a couple of days ago as I want to find out more about the R18, particularly the Classic & Bagger versions. I very recently retired (59) and I am thinking about trading my 2018 R1200GS Adv Rallye as it is becoming a bit of a handful due to the seat height. My wife will no longer ride with me as it is too much of a struggle for her to climb off/on the GSA but she is dead keen on me getting an R18B.
So, I have been trawling the BMW Motorrad UK sales for a couple of weeks looking for one to catch my eye.
If I ask too many stupid questions then feel free to say so or point me in the right direction.

So, first stupid question is around "reverse gear"

1) Does reverse come as standard equipment on the B and/or C
2) If not standard, can it be retro-fitted.

Ok, that will do for now. I'll hang about in the shadows for a while.

Cheers

Col.
Click to expand...
Hi Col and welcome aboard.

My first post despite being a member for a while now.

Can thoroughly recommend the R18 Classic! Ordered mine via Motorrad Central in Dalkeith and specc'd to my tastes, all black! Reverse gear is a must in my opinion, not standard fitment by the way. My driveway has a slight incline up to the garage door and no way could I move 365Kg up there. Reverse works brilliantly!

By the way, opposite to you as regards location, just outside Edinburgh, Balerno!

If you've not checked out Motorrad Central have a look as they have a few R18s for sale. Oh and a thumbs up for the service package, only cost me £1050 for 5 years.

Keep us advised as to how you get on.

Dave
 
R18Dave said:
Hi Col and welcome aboard.

My first post despite being a member for a while now.

Can thoroughly recommend the R18 Classic! Ordered mine via Motorrad Central in Dalkeith and specc'd to my tastes, all black! Reverse gear is a must in my opinion, not standard fitment by the way. My driveway has a slight incline up to the garage door and no way could I move 365Kg up there. Reverse works brilliantly!

By the way, opposite to you as regards location, just outside Edinburgh, Balerno!

If you've not checked out Motorrad Central have a look as they have a few R18s for sale. Oh and a thumbs up for the service package, only cost me £1050 for 5 years.

Keep us advised as to how you get on.

Dave
Click to expand...
Happy Wife - Happy Life..!!! R18 B..!!
 
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Welcome to the forum , I own a 2022 Classic lovely bike to ride , nice and low for your feet when in traffic , i agree with other replies reverse is a must , i would definately book a test ride before you make your mind up , there are good deals at the moment on e-bay depending what you are after good luck .
 
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Welcome to the forum. Keep in mind this forum can be quite USA focussed.... the riding conditions/practises can be quite different in different places and most of us are living our own personal experience which can be miss leading to others.

I'd also consider taking 2 test rides. After the first.... go away and think in more detail (if still interested).... make some notes.... and do a second ride and pay attention to the points you thought of after the 1st ride.
 
Welcome Col. I'll be in Glasgow next month. Where can I get good pint?

/your question was clearly already addressed, so we're on to the next :)
 
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