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Ok, so how many actually are there out in the wild?

  • <i class="fa--xf fal fa-check "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" role="img" aria-hidden="true" ><use href="/data/local/icons/light.svg?v=1758297946#check"></use></svg></i> Discussion starter Discussion starter Rufus
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OzR18 said:
Where I live - In the land of Oz, it's a much smaller market then either the USA or the UK, and the use of motorcycles is a small subset of that.

As a result, R18's are a rare sight on the road - and I like that - I like that it's not "just another motorcycle".

I didn't buy it for anyone else, but myself - I also didn't buy it for its fuel economy, or it off-road ability, etc, etc, etc

I bought it because I liked it and for me to ride - I know I'm selfish.

All that said, the number of positive comments I get when I'm out on it would suggest I'm not alone in liking it - which my ego enjoys.

When I'd had the bike 3 weeks, one other rider thought I needed his wisdom on what a bad decision I'd made.

I let him go for 10 mins or so, and then told him there were 2 good things we could agree on:
1. Its good I didn't buy him an R18
2. It's good I didn't use his money to buy myself an R18

I then asked him to please not confuse me with someone who gave a "flying F***" what he thought of my bike.

I love my R18 - it may well be the last bike I own (I'm 65), but what a finish!!!
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Very well said!
 
OzR18 said:
When I'd had the bike 3 weeks, one other rider thought I needed his wisdom on what a bad decision I'd made.

I let him go for 10 mins or so, and then told him there were 2 good things we could agree on:
1. Its good I didn't buy him an R18
2. It's good I didn't use his money to buy myself an R18
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I'm not sure why you agreed with this. Seems pretty good if you could have used his money to buy an R18.
But I agree with everything else ;-)
 
The recent weather here in the UK has been brilliant and provided for lots of perfect motorcycle weather. Over that time I have only seen one other R18. Anytime I stop, the bike gets plenty of attention from both motorcyclists and passers by. Really proud to own such a beast. With practice, this is a motorcycle that can be taken just about anywhere.
 

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Hey

During a trip in south of France I met a R18 classic (mounted with a bobber seat) and one R18B.
His driver was pretty old (around 70) and handled his bike on the parking at low speed like it had no weight at all.

My twin brother has a HD BreakOut and really thinks about seeling it and purchase a R18 classic.

Florent
 
Cheshire Cat said:
The recent weather here in the UK has been brilliant and provided for lots of perfect motorcycle weather. Over that time I have only seen one other R18. Anytime I stop, the bike gets plenty of attention from both motorcyclists and passers by. Really proud to own such a beast. With practice, this is a motorcycle that can be taken just about anywhere.
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Yep, agreed. I've found it to be a very stable and predictable bike that handles almost anything thrown at it... though I wouldn't want to do real offroad on it like that guy does on his Goldwing!
 
Deuillevent said:
Hey

During a trip in south of France I met a R18 classic (mounted with a bobber seat) and one R18B.
His driver was pretty old (around 70) and handled his bike on the parking at low speed like it had no weight at all.

My twin brother has a HD BreakOut and really thinks about seeling it and purchase a R18 classic.

Florent
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When test-riding bikes I was impressed by the R18's low-speed handling. Felt better than the K1600, which surprised me until I looked closely at how the weight is distributed.
 
Trouble with mine is I bought it when it first came out. (2021) at full retail. I fell in love with a photograph of the prototype, and had to have it when it hit the dealership. $22400.00 plus tax and title. because I worked too many hours during covid, it has a whopping 500 miles on it, I just took it to the dealer for the break in service. while I was there I inquired about trading it for the bagger, they offered me a whopping 10 k for my showroom condition example. while I dont consider any motorcycle an investment, I sure wasnt expecting bmw to start dumping them so soon after releasing them. in my opinion the r18 will go away soon, and bmw will devote itself full time to selling the "adventure" bikes everyone seems to want. they will never, however, sell me so much as a t-shirt ever again. that said, I adore my r18 and will keep riding it for years to come, hopefully.
 
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Only Big Poodles said:
I don’t know anyone who has ever bought a motorcycle for anything other than passion.
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FamilyOnBike3_Downsized.webp
I picture I took while on shore leave in 2009 in Phuket, Thailand.

The PASSION! 🤣 🤣 🤣

A good portion of the world uses 2-wheels for their principal transportation.

Just some light ribbing ;) 🍻

Mike
 
bigjohn227 said:
Trouble with mine is I bought it when it first came out. (2021) at full retail. I fell in love with a photograph of the prototype, and had to have it when it hit the dealership. $22400.00 plus tax and title. because I worked too many hours during covid, it has a whopping 500 miles on it, I just took it to the dealer for the break in service. while I was there I inquired about trading it for the bagger, they offered me a whopping 10 k for my showroom condition example. while I dont consider any motorcycle an investment, I sure wasnt expecting bmw to start dumping them so soon after releasing them. in my opinion the r18 will go away soon, and bmw will devote itself full time to selling the "adventure" bikes everyone seems to want. they will never, however, sell me so much as a t-shirt ever again. that said, I adore my r18 and will keep riding it for years to come, hopefully.
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Yea, totally understand your position. I’m not rich enough to be able to just ‘shrug’ the loss off either. I presume this bike was in R&D for years long before actual launch to the public at a cost of tens of millions to BMW.

Then COVID landed and messed everything up, worldwide lockdowns, supply chain issues, cost of living crisis, redundancies. The R18 was launched right in the eye of the storm. Marvellous.

Seems to me, broadly speaking, plenty have actually been sold but it’s true the early adopters have taken the biggest hit. In the UK where I am it feels like the R18 market has settled down, a bit. First Editions are no longer available new and the pool of (early) leftover bikes has gone.

Post COVID, dealers don’t seem to operate like they used to, when you could literally walk into a dealer, any dealer, and see a line of brand new bikes (whatever model) lined up, you could take out a demo, come back and say ‘yea I’ll have that one 👉’ . Over here it’s more like go online and order your bike and have it delivered to the (no longer local) main dealer that you’ve never been to, without a test ride. Very remote, impersonal, no rapport. Crap really.

The heavy cruiser market is tough, these are expensive bikes and let’s not pretend HD aren’t having issues of their own. The US market may be unique because of its almost spiritual connection to the HD brand. Over here there’s big pressure to do away with ICE cars and by association motorbikes. The R18 is a petrol powered dinosaur and we all know how that ended. Enjoy them while we can before the world turns into a real life ‘Mad Max’ movie……


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bigjohn227 said:
Trouble with mine is I bought it when it first came out. (2021) at full retail. I fell in love with a photograph of the prototype, and had to have it when it hit the dealership. $22400.00 plus tax and title. because I worked too many hours during covid, it has a whopping 500 miles on it, I just took it to the dealer for the break in service. while I was there I inquired about trading it for the bagger, they offered me a whopping 10 k for my showroom condition example. while I dont consider any motorcycle an investment, I sure wasnt expecting bmw to start dumping them so soon after releasing them. in my opinion the r18 will go away soon, and bmw will devote itself full time to selling the "adventure" bikes everyone seems to want. they will never, however, sell me so much as a t-shirt ever again. that said, I adore my r18 and will keep riding it for years to come, hopefully.
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I can’t help thinking the same way in terms of the production longevity of the R18 line in general, however, this may restore the original pricing if you ever were to sell yours privately.
Now, even if it does not, you paid a price for your motorcycle you thought at the time was fair. That life circumstances prevented you from riding as much as you wanted? Try to turn that around and find excuses to take her out and enjoy the experience together. I find myself running out of groceries pretty often and use the bike to go to the supermarket for a pack of coffee or a pint of milk. I also use my bike to commute to work 50mls round trip whilst it is dry in the UK.
I know it is not easy but there is no point beating yourself up for paying full price and now the dealer offers you 50% less. I also paid a hefty price for mine this year and I recognise this price is normally what I would have spent on a very decent car but you only live once so if you could afford it then so be it and enjoy yourself now. Those feelings about the price will soon be replaced with memories of enjoyment.
 
OzR18 said:
Where I live - In the land of Oz, it's a much smaller market then either the USA or the UK, and the use of motorcycles is a small subset of that.

As a result, R18's are a rare sight on the road - and I like that - I like that it's not "just another motorcycle".

I didn't buy it for anyone else, but myself - I also didn't buy it for its fuel economy, or it off-road ability, etc, etc, etc

I bought it because I liked it and for me to ride - I know I'm selfish.

All that said, the number of positive comments I get when I'm out on it would suggest I'm not alone in liking it - which my ego enjoys.

When I'd had the bike 3 weeks, one other rider thought I needed his wisdom on what a bad decision I'd made.

I let him go for 10 mins or so, and then told him there were 2 good things we could agree on:
1. Its good I didn't buy him an R18
2. It's good I didn't use his money to buy myself an R18

I then asked him to please not confuse me with someone who gave a "flying F***" what he thought of my bike.

I love my R18 - it may well be the last bike I own (I'm 65), but what a finish!!!
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I was reading this thread and saw your post and thought it was one I did..... until you said you gave the guy 10 minutes..... then I knew it wasn't me..... guys mostly come up to me when I'm at the shop and about to leave.... normally I'm stuffing a custard tart in my mouth before riding home (so wife doesn't know) ..... so I have a custard tart rule when dealing with the stupid.... once it's gone so am I.... normally 2 minutes.... maybe 4 minutes if I get 2.
 
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Rufus said:
Afternoon. Think we would all agree that the R18, Classic, B and TC have had more than there fair share of ‘haters’. Some people seem to go out of their way to have a dig. It got me thinking. Is it really that bad a seller and if so compared to what? I commented positively upon a YouTube video that was reviewing a R18 the other day and someone (I believe in the USA) piled on straight away. I’m not going to lose any sleep over that but what’s the truth, the reality?

We have an official Government website in the UK, DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) that collates numbers of bikes either taxed on the road or notified off road (not in use). These numbers are from 2023, doesn’t look too shabby to me…..

Taxed / Untaxed (notified not in active use)
R18 334 / 50
R18B 39 / 9
R18 Classic 117 / 7
R18TC 44 / 7

Totals 534 / 73

Now, to my mind, if BMW get their production numbers right moving forward and we avoid oversupply again things may settle down quite well regarding market values. Does anyone have any detail from elsewhere around the world where they live?
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Eventually bought my 18B here in France at the end of last year. The fear it creates and respect it demands are exactly what I want.

It's been over the Pyrennes and Alps, around Sardinia and happily does the daily croissant run. By far the best, and worst, bike I've owned in decades

Not sure that the launch strategy was optimal. And as it's taken me a year to bond with the bike I appreciate BMW's challenge in trying to create an instant cult following for the range.

It's too acomplished a bike not to be a success. It will, however, take time to develop a stand-alone place in the market It's got enough unique features to make it appeal to riders migrating to the cruiser phase of their riding life.
 
Like many other posters here, my moto gets attention whenever and wherever I stop. I was riding the Alberta Rocky Mountains 10 days ago with a friend who has a Harley Road King with a huge bat-wing and it is bright orange. Because that model has been around longer, most riders know what it is, but the curious always stroll over to check out Raven, my R 18 Classic FE. She is small compared to my buddy's Harley but the styling and aesthetic harmony of the machine is unmatched by most other machines. As for whether or not it is a marketing flop, well for once in my life a discount came my way from a dealer, plus the recognized my military service and that reduced $ even more. I am proud to ride and own this lovely machine and I hope to have many more years on her.
 
Hey , I had a test ride on the Classic , at first i thought wow too heavy for an old git like me , however after half an hour i got too enjoy it, had two 1250RT,s before this but i like the low down cruising position ,its got more grunt than a mad silverback !!!! also its engineered beautifully , and that scream like an F16 when you change down what a machine !!!!! love it, love it love it !!!!!!!!!
 
Ulrich said:
Yes Anibal and OzR18 ... AMEN .. I second that 100% ... This is exactly how I feel. I like mine, I like the fact that there isn't one on every corner ... if the engine is as reliable as my R1200C she will outlive me ... everything else around the bike I can deal with/fix myself. I don't care about the resale value ... I am not planning on selling her. Somebody else can deal with that after the chuck me in a hole ... hopefully by then she will be considered a 'Classic' 😁
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My 1200CL is still going strong 20 years on. She is standing shiny and well next to her new sister, a R18TC. These cruisers are special. Did a long tour to Denmark from Spain, 2 up. All good
 
Randy Kahn said:
I'm in California. Just bought a new R18 100 year anniversary model. I've only ridden the damn thing three times.....there are some things I'm not wild about...but overall I like the bike. I would NOT recommend it for a new rider or for a first bike. It's more for someone that want's or is "ready" for this kind of experience. Meanwhile the bike is a piece of artwork on wheels, it's so beautiful I don't care what it rides like....
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I also have a 100yr in California. I'm in the Bay Area. I've only seen one other R18 on the road - an FE. Honestly, kinda like that it's a very unique bike. Turns tons of heads!
 
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