Two days from now, the motorcycle world will get to witness the official production series debut of the highly-anticipated BMW R18 cruiser via online viewing.
“All of us at BMW Motorrad are very much looking forward to the absolute highlight of the year for us—the world premiere of the BMW R18,” says Dr. Markus Schramm, CEO of BMW’s motorcycle division. “BMW Motorrad achieved record sales for the ninth year in succession in 2019. With the R18 and the associated entry into the cruiser segment, we are consistently pursuing our growth strategy with the clear goal of becoming number one in the premium segment worldwide”.
The Concept R18 was first shown in public on September 2019 at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’ Este, an annual show of awesome classic and vintage cars, near Lake Como in Italy. Two months later, BMW Motorrad immediately came up with the Concept R18/2 version at the EICMA show in Milan.
It was an instant hit. The cruiser fans were captivated by the R18’s gorgeous lowrider stance, highlighted by its signature large boxer engine reminiscent of what BMW built until the ’60s.
What we know is that the R18s are powered by a big 1,800cc air/oil-cooled boxer engine, fitted with 19-inch front and 16-inch rear wheels, and equipped with high-performance Brembo brakes and Hattech stainless steel pipes. The Concept R18 rolls on a pair of spoked rims. We can only speculate that the /2 version comes with either a pair of alloy or carbon fiber wheels. The /2 also has a front cowl.
After those two events, the German motorcycle maker suddenly became tight-lipped on the features and actual specs of the R18 that will be released to the global market.
In this high-tech era for motorbikes, do we expect BMW to include modern electronic rider aids such as ABS and possibly traction control, quick shifter, and slipper clutch as well? Your guess is only as good as ours.
Although since January this year, BMW Motorrad Philippines has already started placing orders for allocation of this brutally handsome two-wheeler as they are being flooded by inquiries after news of the Concept R18 broke out. Come April 3, we will also know if our crystal ball is still accurate after it predicted three months ago that the price tag of the BMW R18 will be around P2.5 million.
We’re also hoping that the original scheduled arrival of the R18s on Philippine soil sometime September or October this year stays. This opens a three-cornered fight between BMW, Harley-Davidson, and Indian in the cruiser market.
We’ve waited for six long months, so what are two more days of waiting to see the actual production model?
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Source: Top Gear
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