BMW R18

The BMW R 18 is a cruiser motorcycle manufactured by BMW Motorrad and was officially introduced in April 2020 and launched in September 2020 in Germany.

- Harry Fisher

The location for the first ride of a new bike can have a profound effect on your perception of that bike and how you will remember it forever afterward. I have been on some launches where the bike was distinctly underwhelming but, because of where we were taken for the launch, it has stuck in my mind indelibly. Then there has been a fantastic bike in a really mundane setting which has soured the perception. Of course, you still report objectively but, at the end of the day, we’re only human and your mood just can’t help but be influenced.

When the mix of a good location and a good bike comes along, however, it makes for a memorable experience and goes a long way to remind you - if it was ever needed why we ride.

The BMW R18 seems very familiar without needing to throw a leg over it because, well, it’s been everywhere in the motorcycle press; BMW is very capable of making a big splash with a new concept. Look at what they did with the RnineT: almost immediately it was seen as a customizers dream, despite it being almost a ‘custom’ bike itself. And it’s the same with the R18; the first shots we saw of it looked as the bike had come straight out of a custom shop as a one-off. The fact that you would be able to buy one seemed incredible and that was a masterstroke by BMW.