Long time lurker saying hello

[Alex-B]

Hi all from an unusually sunny south east UK. I have been on here for some time following the progress of the R18 with interest.

Finally pulled the trigger this morning on a very well specced R18 First Edition and looking forward to taking delivery, hopefully next weekend.

 

[Adrian R]

Congrats duude! Welcome to the fray...

 

[buellwinkle]

Best wishes on your new bike, I am quite happy with mine. I will say that no technical information such as Valve clearances was not a happy discovery for me....

 

[Alex-B]

Best wishes on your new bike, I am quite happy with mine. I will say that no technical information such as Valve clearances was not a happy discovery for me....

I’m happy to leave valve clearances to the dealership techs but torque values for the fasteners around the bike must be in the owners manual surely? This will be my first BMW motorcycle so not sure what to expect tbh.

 

[buellwinkle]

I have not looked much at my owners book, but doubt you will find any torque specs in there....jp

 

[nielsm]

Hi all from an unusually sunny south east UK. I have been on here for some time following the progress of the R18 with interest.

Finally pulled the trigger this morning on a very well specced R18 First Edition and looking forward to taking delivery, hopefully next weekend.

Which model did you get your First Edition package on?

 

[TodkaVonic]

Welcome Alex-B! Glad you're here.

 

[Alex-B]

Which model did you get your First Edition package on?

Hi, it’s the standard R18.
I think it’s got every option that was available on later built UK spec First Edition bikes

Headlight pro
Locking filler cap
Hill start control
Floor boards
Pillion package
Heated grips
Reverse gear
Alarm
Tracker

I considered the classic to get cruise control but none in the UK available with floor boards and they’re circa £1k to retrofit here which is silly IMO. Visually I prefer the larger front wheel also. I also really like the R18B but these aren’t attracting the same offer from BMW that the base and classic currently are and my last bike was a Street Glide Special, so I wanted to be back in the wind this time around.

 

[R2K]

Welcome, you will love the Bike, let’s see a picture

 

[nielsm]

Hi, it’s the standard R18.
I think it’s got every option that was available on later built UK spec First Edition bikes

Headlight pro
Locking filler cap
Hill start control
Floor boards
Pillion package
Heated grips
Reverse gear
Alarm
Tracker

I considered the classic to get cruise control but none in the UK available with floor boards and they’re circa £1k to retrofit here which is silly IMO. Visually I prefer the larger front wheel also. I also really like the R18B but these aren’t attracting the same offer from BMW that the base and classic currently are and my last bike was a Street Glide Special, so I wanted to be back in the wind this time around.

Very nice. I got a Classic with First Edition package (mine has floorboards). I also prefer the look of the base R18’s front wheel, but the convertible nature of the Classic won me over as removing the windshield takes < 1 minute.

Be prepared for all the questions from everyone when you stop. The R18 being so unique does attract a lot of attention. I’m about to head out on mine to a local Bikes & Breakfast event.

 

[B4rn3y]

Welcome Alex-B.
I think that makes 3 of us on the forum based in South East England. I'm down in Folkestone.
Did you get the bike from Arden in Tunbridge Wells? My sales experience was very good, but after-sales has not been as attentive as I would like.
Looking forward to hearing what you make of the bike.

 

[Alex-B]

Welcome, you will love the Bike, let’s see a picture

The ad has been taken down now and I only grabbed one pic Haven’t seen this particular bike in person, did it all over email/ phone.

 

[Alex-B]

Very nice. I got a Classic with First Edition package (mine has floorboards). I also prefer the look of the base R18’s front wheel, but the convertible nature of the Classic won me over as removing the windshield takes < 1 minute.

Be prepared for all the questions from everyone when you stop. The R18 being so unique does attract a lot of attention. I’m about to head out on mine to a local Bikes & Breakfast event.

Nice, it seems daft to me how different the specs are on available bikes depending where you are located but there we go.

I had a Ninja H2 in 2017 which got a lot of attention, too much if I’m honest to the point where I sold it after 6 months. I think the R18 will be similar to the Harley Breakout I had in terms of positive attention.

 

[Alex-B]

Welcome Alex-B.
I think that makes 3 of us on the forum based in South East England. I'm down in Folkestone.
Did you get the bike from Arden in Tunbridge Wells? My sales experience was very good, but after-sales has not been as attentive as I would like.
Looking forward to hearing what you make of the bike.

Thank you, I’m in Maidstone so not far. I called in there towards the end of last year when the 0% offer began and the guy couldn’t have been less interested tbh. I worked over in cars when it was coopers but all the guys I knew have left. I did spot one guy I knew from from when I worked at Laguna but wouldn’t deal with him out of principle because he’s a bit of a knob .

This is coming from Vines in Guildford, nice straight forward sale. It’s my first BMW bike so not sure about where’s best in regards to after sales. Have you had any major problems with Arden since taking delivery? A guy I know rates Cannon in Essex.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Welcome to the forum. I am based in the North West (Cheshire) and opted for the Classic although I enjoyed riding both variants. I remove the screen and panniers when not needed as prefer the leaner look. You did well finding one with foot boards. Even the classics tend to have pegs here in the UK at least. I also have the footboards but in reality had no problems with the pegs either.

 

[B4rn3y]

Have you had any major problems with Arden since taking delivery?

Nothing major, just a couple of annoying episodes:
they delivered the bike with an error on the plate, so it didn’t match the registration document making it illegal to ride;
when it went in for the run-in check, they didn’t tell me about a recall which they were then unable to complete in time, resulting in them retaining the bike over the weekend so I was unable to ride - I had dropped it off at 8am as requested, but they didn’t start work on it till midday.

I’m booked in with them for its annual service, so I hope things improve otherwise I’ll be going elsewhere!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Nothing major, just a couple of annoying episodes:
they delivered the bike with an error on the plate, so it didn’t match the registration document making it illegal to ride;
when it went in for the run-in check, they didn’t tell me about a recall which they were then unable to complete in time, resulting in them retaining the bike over the weekend so I was unable to ride - I had dropped it off at 8am as requested, but they didn’t start work on it till midday.

I’m booked in with them for its annual service, so I hope things improve otherwise I’ll be going elsewhere!

My Classic broke down twice with less than 60 miles on the clock. As it was the same problem (fuel pipe disconnecting) I didn't reject the goods. Service from Williams of Manchester was extremely good with a courtesy bike being supplied for as long as required. Since that episode I have put a further eleven hundred miles on the bike with no problems.

 

[Alex-B]

Welcome to the forum. I am based in the North West (Cheshire) and opted for the Classic although I enjoyed riding both variants. I remove the screen and panniers when not needed as prefer the leaner look. You did well finding one with foot boards. Even the classics tend to have pegs here in the UK at least. I also have the footboards but in reality had no problems with the pegs either.

I haven’t ridden any variant of the R18 yet but figured it would be significantly cheaper to switch to pegs from the boards if I don’t get on with them than the other way around. I too would have removed the screen and panniers for that lean look, pictures of your bike were what made me consider the classic having been able to see it in that configuration. Pros and cons to each I guess. I would have preferred the louder exhaust note of the classic but I am considering the Zard and Remus slip ons to a) release some of the sound and b) preserve the condition of the fishtail pipes.

 

[Alex-B]

Nothing major, just a couple of annoying episodes:
they delivered the bike with an error on the plate, so it didn’t match the registration document making it illegal to ride;
when it went in for the run-in check, they didn’t tell me about a recall which they were then unable to complete in time, resulting in them retaining the bike over the weekend so I was unable to ride - I had dropped it off at 8am as requested, but they didn’t start work on it till midday.

I’m booked in with them for its annual service, so I hope things improve otherwise I’ll be going elsewhere!

You’d be amazed at how often that happens regarding the plate. I always checked my vehicles before handover though to save any embarrassing moments.
Sounds like they didn’t check for recalls when you booked it and so didn’t have the parts ready for your visit. Hopefully your next visit is more successful! I haven’t decided where it’ll be going for the run in service yet.

 

[Gilles]

Welcome !