Price Aside, what R18 did you want, did you buy that one and why?

I bought an R 18 Classic First Edition 2021 because Triumph no longer makes the Thunderbird. Harley Davidson no longer makes the Softail Custom FLDE (2018-20 only), and I wanted a new bike with a reliable service. I could have purchased either of the other two machines pre-loved but the T-birds (some) have piston slap and I could not find the Harley at a reasonable price anywhere in my country. BMW has a great reputation. I also wanted a cruiser with traditional pipes as to me, exhaust pipes are the essential flowline feature of a well designed motorbike. Triumph does this well because their twins are parallel, but they even do it well with their triples. Harley... not so much. Anyway, that is my two cents worth.
 

Price Aside, what R18 did you want, did you buy that one and why?​


Hopefully everyone bought the bike they wanted but sometimes in life "it's the one that got away"that we remember and pine for.;)
 
R18C said:

Price Aside, what R18 did you want, did you buy that one and why?​


Hopefully everyone bought the bike they wanted but sometimes in life "it's the one that got away"that we remember and pine for.;)
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That being said.I wanted the old school boxer with spoke wheels with a reverse and add the sidecar.It has new technology but has the looks of the older BMWs of the past.
 
R18C said:

Price Aside, what R18 did you want, did you buy that one and why?​


Hopefully everyone bought the bike they wanted but sometimes in life "it's the one that got away"that we remember and pine for.;)
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And it happens...
Related story. In 1986 i looked for a classic sports car to drive as a weekender. An ad took me to a seller that had a 68 Shelby GT350 Convert ($15k) and a 71 Pantera de Tomasso. ($10k) I ended up with a 69 Porsche soft top targa. Still a great, fun car but oh, boy I wish I'd have spent a little more for the Shelby or the Pantera. I also had to pass on a Buick GSX as Dad saw the "clock" on the hood.
 
elementul said:
$410 USD delivered?
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Something like that.... Listen wunderlich is essentially the insane asylum of BMW accessories, everything is perfect and shipped and comes with bolts and instructions... but a windshield deflector is $300 :) to be fair, that windshield deflector has lasted me 20 years. The paint and fit and everything on all things wunderlich is perfect.
 
Mr. Efficiency said:
Something like that.... Listen wunderlich is essentially the insane asylum of BMW accessories, everything is perfect and shipped and comes with bolts and instructions... but a windshield deflector is $300 :) to be fair, that windshield deflector has lasted me 20 years. The paint and fit and everything on all things wunderlich is perfect.
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That's good to know. I have my eye on their lowered pegs.
 
Lloydw1 said:
TC. Once I saw it in person my life's mission was to own one. Had to sacrifice my 2018 Goldwing to get it. As of yet I have not seen another TC on the roads of northeast Ohio which I like. Being a little different is why I purchased the TC and not a Harley.
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Any regrets trading in your gw and what trim was it? Upside to owning the tc vs the gw and vise Versa?
thank you…i have a 19 gw tour airbag and on the fence due to heat concerns in traffic and weight of the r18b/tc (though mostly r18b). Won’t consider the r18 due to limited rear suspension is my thinking thu figure that red color might be a looker in person :)
 
I also had a 2018 GoldWing. Didn’t like:
1) the handle bars
2) the thin flimsy plastic
3) the windshield that vibrated in wind
4) the 2,000 rpm startup idle that lasted 5 minutes after every startup
5) the air filter replacement was a 60 minute job if done by a service tech

I did like the smoothest drive train of any bike in existence.
 
Well, that plus I need to figure out what head to stand on and which hand to rub the top of my head now that the battery went dead. It seems to have a lot of 'tech' that is not user friendly at times. I need to make a list of 'steps' to perform for such things as getting the keys to 'talk' to the bike at times, how to access the way to open the side bags if battery is dead...etc. Leave it to Honda to make simple complicated at times. And indeed an hour to access a air filter...what a waste of time and expense.
 
Mr. Efficiency said:
Something like that.... Listen wunderlich is essentially the insane asylum of BMW accessories, everything is perfect and shipped and comes with bolts and instructions... but a windshield deflector is $300 :) to be fair, that windshield deflector has lasted me 20 years. The paint and fit and everything on all things wunderlich is perfect.
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What a great description, yet I keep throwing my credit card at them! High quality stuff though.
 
Mr. Efficiency said:
I am gonna tell you a story. When I was a kid my stepdad had parents (like many do). On their back porch were 2 R60s... as a young enduro racer I was hypnotized... black, sleek, mysterious... rumors abounded their cycles were all designed by German wonder weapon designers. They were really cool.
In Ohio in those days you could get a motorcycle license at 15. I had an enduro bike I could use and my parents were fine with the idea. I came home from the test and one of them was assembled in the driveway. It honestly was the coolest bike in human history. Earles' forks, clean, super.

The years went by and I went on to become a GS rider and I've owned every iteration of the GS, including the R80 and R100 Paris Dakar. I've ridden all over... ridden here, ridden there.

I heard rumors for years that BMW was going to build motorcycles again. Not spaceships, but motorcycles. Let Down After Let Down... The R12c... perhaps the most hideous motorcycle with no obvious use ever... The R9T (sorry R9T owners) Its not a GS, Its not retro, its just, well, an R9T :).

Then Covid.... finally, the first edition R18 arrived. I realized there was no way I could ride it... but I took one for a 200 mile test ride and the seating position just worked. But I would never want a windshield on the bike and I would never want more than the great cloth messenger bags on the bike... I didnt even want a pillion (I pray for the day the rectangular luggage rack is made) To put anything on the bike should be a felony. Not to mention I'm not too crazy about the idea of riding a slammed cruiser cross country no matter how many goodies are on it.

But they had to have my money. The First Edition is everything a bike should be and nothing that shouldn't. It is a real get in touch moment with motorcycling's heritage. Yes, I have had nothing but problems with it but I do love the bike. It is about what motorcycles WERE, not what they ARE yet they managed to slip ABS and ASC in :) Go naked, get back in touch, find out you don't need all that stuff.
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Mr. Efficiency, A clear and lucid post on what is so essentially appealing about the R 18Classic. I do not ride in the rain and June is the rain in my area which gives the highest annual rainfall. I can not wait - the forecast from tomorrow plus two days is for good weather. It feels like I am 6 years old and it is Christmas Eve...
 
Probably not the best place to post this comment though for R18 owners (actually anyone that got a model with the limited resr suspension) do you now feel it is too limiting or would you now prefer the R18B model (since I infer it is the closest to the R18FE option wise). I know there is a Classic model (thinking that just adds windscreen, maybe rear seat, and believe basic cruise control)n yet retains the original R18 limited rear suspension.

I guess I could live with a small tank but thinking that rear shock limited travel would not make my old back happy.
Now that we know what is out there and some lower pricing I don’t think I could pick a R18 just to save X amount of $.

Uncertain that I ran across replace rear shock that would fix that issue.
 
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