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This is the R18 B in soulful black.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n And this is the R18 Transcontinental in a paintjob that actually changes colour depending on the light.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n There are no other bikes I have ridden that come so carved from the very bedrock of imperious majesty than either of these two R18s. These are the heritage flagships BMW Motorrad has gifted to the world \u2013 and in one fell swoop, cemented its credentials in the often strange world of twin-cylinder, big-bore cruiser-tourers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This world has long been the domain of Harley-Davidson. And while BMW builds serious six-cylinder touring weapons, and some very able boxer-engined grand-tourers, the R18 line is a departure from both.<\/p>\n Even the sandstone is in awe…<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n I have reviewed the baseline R18 HERE<\/a>, and it\u2019s screened and leather-bagged sibling HERE<\/a>. But the real meat on this well-set cruiser table belongs to the utterly majestic Transcontinental, and its\u2026hell, there\u2019s no other word for it\u2026sexier brother, the R18B.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both are vast, beautifully appointed, and utterly engaging examples of the genre. It\u2019s their very size and concomitant road-presence that makes them more than the sum of their parts.<\/p>\n The day it rains is the day one shoots a bike if one has planned a shoot that day.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n And I\u2019d be lying if I didn\u2019t say the fact they both come with what is hands-down the best 180W sound system on any bike, made by the legendary Marshall amplifier and speaker concern, appeals hugely to my inner rockstar. If they\u2019re good enough for Hendrix, Clapton, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Motorhead (with its infamous Marshall amps, dubbed Murder One and Murder Two), and anyone who\u2019s anyone in rock, then they\u2019re damn well good enough for me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But the Marshall gear is the icing on a very rich cake. Or cakes. So let me deal with each bike separately. Despite the fact they\u2019re both largely identical in terms of powerplant and chassis, the obvious differences is that one is slanted more towards two-up touring, and thus the top-box and pillion-loving seat, and the other is what may well be the ultimate, dark-souled, solo bagger. But I\u2019ll get to that in the fullness of time\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n TRANSCONTINENTAL<\/strong><\/p>\n A very apt name. One could indeed transverse continents on this. In fact, one feels one must indeed do just that.<\/p>\n And engineering masterpiece that changes colour. Happily, I stopped taking acid a while back.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Gone is the short-hops-only seat of the base R18. The Transcontinental bathes your bum in supportive luxury. The biggest TFT screen (10.25-inches) on any motorcycle yet made sits before you. It is surmounted by four analogue clocks which show you fuel, speed, revs, and available power \u2013 which I first thought was weird, but then realised how clever such a gauge was, allowing you to see you\u2019re at X-amount of power in the rev-range, and that you have Y power left with which to overtake or show off to the ladies.<\/p>\n Seriously good lights, surmounted by the beam-emitter.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n The screen contains every conceivable bit of information you\u2019d ever think of wanting to know. It can provide maps, what the bike is currently doing info, what does the bike want now? info, what\u2019s that song called? info, who is calling me when I\u2019m on a ride? info, or just show you a stylishly muted front-on image of that amazing 1800c boxer motor.<\/p>\n Now that’s a TFT screen.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n It’s got all the expected electrical whizzbangery to assist you \u2013 hill start control, reverse, traction control, the three engine modes, Rock, Roll and Rain\u2026but you don\u2019t need me to list them all, do you? Leave it in Rock. You\u2019ll be fine.<\/p>\n Of course it will fit a helmet.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n See?<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n So it\u2019s totally loaded. And once you\u2019ve totally loaded it up with yourself, your girl, and everything in her wardrobe and her section of the bathroom \u2013 and it\u2019s just not possible to beat BMW luggage for ease-of-use, quality, and space \u2013 you\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n Your phone goes in here and charges.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n And it\u2019s in the \u201cgoing\u201d where you\u2019ll start to appreciate just what an engineering marvel BMW has made. This whole Transcontinental performance weighs 427kg and can easily carry another 203kg. You are now in command of more than half-a-tonne of bike. You\u2019ve bunged 24-litres of fuel in its tank, so you don\u2019t have to stop for at least 400km, but you will because girl-bladders are not very robust, and you\u2019re wondering how all of this will behave on the road.<\/p>\n No-one complains about brakes anymore. And certainly not about these.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Quite astonishingly well. You can feel what your brain will tell you isa \u00a0truly terrifying weight when you heave it off the stand, but once you\u2019re rolling, it\u2019s fine. Like, very fine. Even fully laden, there seems to be no drop-off in cornering ability or performance.<\/p>\n Rubbing is racing, right?<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n That engine hauls all the arse there is to haul. It makes big, meaty noises when you gas it on, and then 630kg of German majesty just\u2026erm, goes. I would expect no less from cylinder heads the size of goodly hogs \u2013 each one displacing 900ccs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It makes 67kW at 4750rpm and whomps out 158Nm at a mere 3000rpm. It\u2019s happiest between 100 and 160. So while it doesn\u2019t have the acceleration or top-end of the six-cylinder K, it\u2019s rendering its torque-fat almost 3000rpm lower in the range.<\/p>\n That seat is something else…<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n I could do the length of the Putty Road in top gear. Maybe just knock it back into fifth for the 25km\/h bends. Or not. The engine is more flexible than a Russian gymnast.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There is now 120mm of travel in the suspenders both front and rear. The base R18 only has 90mm in the rear, which was somewhat limiting on our crap roads. My wife, who is the arbiter of what comfort means to a pillion, loved the extra travel.<\/p>\n I reckon that exposed drive-shaft is glorious. My wife liked the footboards. She was indifferent to the drive-shaft.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Protection from the elements is first-rate. I would expect no less. My expectations were met. All those winglets and angles do the job. You can hear the stereo at 120, and you can even keep much of the rain off if you don\u2019t stop. Its fairing and screen protection is maybe not as all-encompassing as it is on the K-series, but that\u2019s almost like sitting in a car at times.<\/p>\n She liked to dance…<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n And while I have screwed up my face at the heel-toe shifter on the Classic (that\u2019s the one with the leather bags and see-through screen), I came around to it the longer I rode with it on the Transcontinental. It\u2019s one of those things you\u2019ll get used to. And honestly, you don\u2019t need to be sawing through the gears as much as I was when I felt I should push it through corners harder.<\/p>\n That’s the right-hand Marshall speaker. And I haven’t seen black fade paint on a bike since Gough Whitlam’s time..<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n There\u2019s a limit to how hard you can push 630kg of bike. Or might even want to. So a heel-toe shifter is, at the end of the day, quite at home on the Transcontinental. That said, you can most certainly get the big girl to dance if you\u2019ve a mind to. There\u2019s a lot of integrity in her big bones. And it is quite hilarious rounding up more allegedly agile bikes. Or maybe that\u2019s just my sense of humour.<\/p>\n The attention to detail is superb.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n At the end of the day, and in this bike niche, it\u2019s all about road-presence, comfort, style, sophistication, and that inner voice that tells you: \u201cYeah, baby, you da boss of this here continent. And that one over there as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Spark it up, girls.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n No other bike does all of that with the sheer panache of the R18 Transcontinental.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE R18B<\/strong><\/p>\n Simpler, cleaner, lighter…and blacker.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n This was my favourite of all the R18s. The Bagger.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I was sold the minute I saw the black rocker covers and overall darkness of the bike I was given. But the Marshall badges were still there, and the stereo still delivered.<\/p>\n Marshall – accept no substitute.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n I don\u2019t need a top-box or superb pillion accommodation. My wife will argue this well after my eyes have rolled back into my head, but she doesn\u2019t get on the back often enough for me to need a bike that\u2019s as much about the pillion as the rider, like the Transcontinental. The B does and is the Transcontinental without the trunk and lounge-seat on the back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And it\u2019s appreciably lighter as a result. Yes, I know \u2013 390kg wet is still nothing to sneeze at. But it will rumble down the road hauling the same 630kg, if you want it to. What does that mean? Well, mummy can let herself go a bit more. At least the weight of the top-box.<\/p>\n How much better does that mighty engine look with extra black?<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n What I liked most about the B was that it had a genuine aesthetic appeal. It was grimly sexy in a tough, German kind of way. I\u2019m quite a fan of the Indian and the Harley baggers in terms of style, but the BMW had it over them for me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It looked\u2026well, \u201cright\u201d. It looked like a big-arse bagger should look. Kinda tough and kinda classy, at the same time. Which is a hard thing to pull off.<\/p>\n Sorry. No sparks today. But note the neutral riding position.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n It was also less intimidating to ride at speed. I did take my wife on the back for a bit of a jaunt, and made her hang on tight when I applied myself. She also swore at me and wished she had the pillion-loving Transcontinental to sit on instead. But at normal, Christian speeds, she did not complain \u2013 and said it was much better than the Classic I squired her around on for a while. That\u2019s the extra suspension travel and plusher seat doing the work there.<\/p>\n Embroidery – German-level.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n It rained quite a bit while I had it in my custody, and here\u2019s where it really scored points over its American competition. It\u2019s very good in the wet. I left it in Rock mode, and just let it be. It did not put a tyre wrong. Solid, planted, and very re-assuring even in teeming rain. As an example of just how much engineering cleverness has gone into making half-a-tonne of bike behave so well, look no further.<\/p>\n You can see how effective the fairing is.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Both the B and the Transcontinental come with both Dynamic Cruise Control (DCC) and Active Cruise Control (ACC). Yes, just like cars. Invisible beams are fired from the front of the bike when you set it in ACC, and when these beams hit the car in front, the bike slows down and keeps a certain distance from the car. Yes, you can set this distance. And no, none of this works over 160km\/h. Probably with good reason. The rider needs to be on his game and in control at those zestier velocities, beams or no beams.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now you\u2019ll recall I very much loved the K1600 Bagger, so I guess you\u2019re wondering how this boxer twin measured up against the six-cylinder weapon. It\u2019s very different. The whole feel of the ride is different. The R18 offers a meatier, more visceral vibe compared to the glassy-turbine experience on the K1600. So it\u2019s down to what you want, I guess.<\/p>\n This one shoot beams from above it’s headlight too. Notice the difference in headlights. The Transcontinental has the Adaptive one.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n In terms of how it compares to the American offerings\u2026well, it\u2019s just a more polished product. Better brakes, better-handling, better finish (Harley\u2019s CVO is right up there in terms of finish, but it\u2019s 20K more expensive), and has a much, much higher level of electronic sophistication and equipment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I think the R18B is the coolest bike BMW has yet built. The base R18 is cool, but I reckon the bagger iteration is cooler. And certainly far more useable for touring.<\/p>\n BMW still puts pillion-straps on its bikes. No-one has ever used one on any bike ever, but they still appear. Crazy, huh?<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Its majesty cannot be denied or ignored. It can only be admired and appreciated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE “WHERE ARE MY GODDAMN HIGHWAY PEGS?!” WHINGE<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you know why people put highway pegs on Harleys and Indians? It’s so they can stretch their legs out on boring highways. Do you know why they need to stretch their legs out? It’s because the riding position is not comfortable to begin with. It’s already feet-forward, so your spine is the shock-absorber. In that cruiser position, there is only one option and that is to stretch your feet even further forward, hence highway pegs. This reclining position can only work if you can brace your lower back in some way, and in today’s world, you can, with the addition of back-rests for the rider as well as the pillion. The R18 range offers a far more neutral riding position, and the addition of highway pegs is not possible with the cylinder heads being where they are. Do you need highway pegs? Not really. I wasn’t missing them. But I have seen R18s fitted with calf-rests atop the cylinder heads. So there are options if you’re wedded to that kind of riding position. People may well laugh at you, but as long as you’re good, it’s all good. And no, the cylinder heads don’t get in the way of you operating the controls, nor do they give off the heat you think they might. Ride one. See for yourself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WANT SOME NEXT-LEVEL STUFF?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n BMW Motorrad, does, of course, offer a very wide range of factory customisation. It has collaborated in this with Roland Sands Design, and you can explore the wonderfully elite world of Option 719 \u2013 the number the Berlin factory has always used when dealing with customised parts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u2019re talking astonishing paint jobs (like that marvel on the Transcontinental I had), special milled parts, and all sorts of neat additions. Or just upgrade that amazing sound system to a Stage two. I\u2019d do that because Serbian war songs can never be loud enough.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bikeme.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/FX5_1460.jpg\")
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