To be honest I normally do not like this type of bikes when they are especially black but DAAAANG, this thing looks like a masterpiece design of MichelAngelo!!
Never going to happen.... My VW Touareg TDI, even with premium leather seats, adjustable in and out and up and down steering wheel , AC, cruise control, adaptive headlights, and every other ding dong, contraption or GPS device, isn't comfortable after 1000 miles. Nor is it for me on a commercial jet, or my RV-12 airplane. Some of you guys are absolute gluttons for punishment during travel. I don't see myself ever doing an Iron Butt, let alone 500 miles in a day. I can't speak for seat comfort, but the suspension on the R 18 B I took for an extended test ride was one of the very best quality rides I've ever been on. Absolutely puts my Sport Glide to shame, even with both of them set up for the same amount of travel, front and rear. Suspension is nice, but nothing, to me, for the $ spent, matches a custom seat with backrests. With real leather. Not so kosher in rain, and high maintenance, but gives the best support to my lower back.
P-Rind,
It’s not vastly superior, it’s just a different bike.
I've been so tempted to get a R18 B, but at 6' 5", the low seating arrangement, the mid controls, the awkwardness of the toe shifter and the rear brake, the inability to have any option for forward controls, the dismal functioning of that huge piece of hardware screen without GPS from your smart phone, the inability of my Samsung S21ultra to fit inside... has left me stuck with my HD Sport Glide with a HD top box, for light touring only. Seat on my bike is a Saddlemen Explorer with back rest. Backrest helps a lot, but 2 hours or 150 200 miles and it kind of ceases to be fun, at cruising speeds of 45 to 55 mph. The mini bat fairing at 70 mph for touring, would not be fun, at all. Really pulls a lot harder on my neck muscles with the airflow around my helmet. No way around it, being 6' 5" makes it no fun. I do think the R 18 B, could make a good cruiser for me, on shorter rides. But I already got a bike with forward pegs that does that. Duplicity. Don't want the weight of the TC, I am getting up there in years at 65. Seen too many people buy them, then want to flip them. BMW R 18's don't seem to be holding their value well at all, and the dealerships are offering such good incentives, hard for the used market to compete against new. The question remains, can you afford to own a R 18, once out of warranty, or would you even want to, with the pricing of their parts, if something breaks, or needs repair. The two most comfortable seats I've ridden on have been La Pera and Corbin brands. You do need to go to the Corbin facility with your bike, if you really want the best, custom fit, in California. But it will be right, for you, only you.
Actually has happened...the Victory Vision is a rolling lazy boy. I've often gotten off after very long rides wondering what the big deal about an iron butt is. The only reason to stop is gas or food.
Whenever I see a Victory Vision, I think of a 1920's era art-deco vehicle style. Decadent with swooping gentle curves, they are certainly hard to miss
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Although few and far between, I have seen a few R 18 B's without speakers in the bags. You'd have to add back all the other stuff on a TransContinental to a Bagger to get the space, although I think a stout rack on the back and a sissy bar would allow more storage options with aftermarket waterproof touring bags.
This is spot on.TC is a "Touring" bike and even though as you mentioned it is NOT a perfect bike still it is a bike that's a lot of FUN to ride.
The biggest negativity of this class bikes is not being versatile like GS/A models or any other model ADV bike out there. But if your goal is not ride thru BDR routes then you'll be happy.
To be honest I never ride a cruiser type bike before. Only big ADV and Touring bikes like Goldwings and GSAs, RTs etc... Due to the great savings and 0% deal for 60 months etc I've got myself a Manhattan Matt one and enjoying it whenever I can hop on it... When I get off it all I can think the "not perfect" stuff on that bike but as soon as I sit on the saddle again all that thoughts fly away and I enjoy the ride.
With all that said, if I was given a choice to have only one bike for the rest of my life would a TC will be my choice? Possibly not! But for the next xx months or xx years why the heck is not?
Good luck on your hunting for a good TC and hope you find the one your heart desires and your butt enjoys sitting on it!
Concur with you, particularly about luggage capacity taken up by a sound system that, while I appreciate it, I do not need. When I purchased the TC I told the dealer I wish there were an option to delete the speaker system.
You could probably order the case lids w/out the Speaker option and replace the lids; or perhaps, remove the speaker and support bracket and fabricate some sort of filler plate to replace the speaker in order to keep water and what not out?
I've considered doing this but not yet ready for that particular project. I think the topcase would be the most difficult but I haven't studied it in detail. I do, fortunately, have a wee bit of experience with keeping water out of the people-space.
You could probably purchase the ROCTANE case lid and or the entire case set; the Model B did have an option which didn't have the rear speakers within the rear cases. Removing the speaker and the mounting bracket is probably the most economical approach.
