Treasure Box

Note: Removing the rear tire to repair a flat on this bike along side the road would be a very challenging ordeal for even an experienced mechanic, even if he were towing a trailer with the all necessary tools.
First you must remove those bodacious mufflers, both sides. Which by the way I did the day I brought the bike home, they took up permanent residency on a shelf.
Do you know what tools you will need?
Do you have those tools?
Do you have a trailer to tow all those tools?
Do you know what parts must be removed?
Do you know how to remove and replace those parts? License plate carrier is tricky to remove and very challenging to replace.
Do you know how the parts align for reinstallation? Very important and tricky to accomplish the first time even with all the proper tools.
Do you want to learn all this the first time on the road away from home?
Do you want to rely upon "Joeshit Theragman" to know all these things?
Inquiring minds want to know.

BMW designed this motorcycle to be easily customized and they have done a relatively good job of that. Evident in the photo, one hours work to get to this stage.
Note the custom made mufflers, new seat is being fabricated by RDL, no need to wait for BMW to actually deliver their fairy tale seats.
Bobber fender is easily constructed, JP Cyle sells the blanks to be modified and installed, or purchased from BMW, whenever they decide to produce them.
 
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The answer to all your questions is I know how to call roadside assistance. I have ridden BMW’s for 48 years the past 28 on RT’s and I could preform all those repairs and carry the necessary tools to accomplish the same on the road. The R18 is new to me and I am sure in time I will learn as much about the bike. I am not sure but I understand the R18 tires are not tubeless and no center stand so roadside repair would be much more difficult than the plugging I have done on the last roadside flat tire I repaired. I did fix a flat on my 1973 R75/5 when I was on leave from the Navy which required patching a tube, that was a job. Not interested in repeating that performance. Hence roadside assistance and a tow truck ride.
 
If you look close you will also see an R1200RT in the photo of the K1600B, an FXR with over 250,000 miles on it is hiding behind the Cessna. My current collection.
 
I'll be watching for a thorough report on what the owners of the R18 need to be prepared for.
It is obvious that roadside flat tire repairs will be a real challenge. Having the option to call for a tow is only the beginning of a fix.
As an example, about 15 years ago I owned a Yamaha Road Star. My wife and I were returning home from PA to Long Island NY, along with several others (all on Road Stars), when we got a rear flat on the PA Turnpike. One of the others had a spare tube, but the Road Star is big, heavy and has no centerstand. A call got us a flatbed that carried us to the nearest automotive tire store. It was a Sunday, so no dealerships were open. I won't detail the following ordeal, but suffice it to say that with the help of our friends we managed to get back on the road homeward about 5 hours later. After that I ordered a custom made pair of tubeless, forged aluminum wheels for my Road Star and swore that I'd never have a tube-type pair of wheels again.
When (if?) I get an R18, it will have the wire wheels but they'll only be tube-type until the original tires wear out.
 
I DID just get a rear flat on my R18 on a trip along the Northern California coast. No repair shops in town and I was unprepared to fix the flat. So I rented a U Haul truck and dropped it at the nearest dealer. The ramp on the truck was too steep to load the bike without scraping so I positioned the truck on a severe slope and paid a guy $20 to help me load it. Never again. I am looking at options for a tubeless tire setup. Either have the wheels sealed (such as Woody's) or a set of Kineo wheels just for the peace of mind. The accessory BMW wheels look too cheesy for me.
 
I'm planning a trip to Kentucky and dosed up the tires with Ride-on ( https://www.ride-on.com )

I am thinking to of tubless rims or Woody's but I won't pay Kineo prices.
 
If you can zoom into 6 O'clock on the front tyre, it say's 'Tubeless'. This is in UK.
 

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