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New R18 Transcontinental

If I were to buy a Harley I would be most interested in the Road Glide. I owned a 09 Electra Glide and liked it for a two up tourer, it did what it was designed to do. My wife lost interest and I've since purchased the RT. The Harley did suffer from some buffeting and I never liked the fork mounted fairing. I might be more interested in the new BMW if it had a frame mounted fairing like the Road Glide, It just seems like a better option.
 
Way too "cruiser" for me.

It's not meant for you. Or me. But I think BMW has nailed the look and function. It screams Harley but is clearly, not a Harley. Jugs king of give it away. I think the R18 family is gorgeous and the first edition I had a short ride on works very well for what it is. I actually had fun on it during my short ride. I was surprised how smooth it was at highway speeds. Nearly no vibration. A smooth engine at highway speed is a very nice feature to have on a long distance American style Tourer. I was very glad to give it back though and get back on my RT. It made my RT feel like a light weight sport bike.

For the folks who do buy one, I hope they enjoy the heck out of it.

:bikes
 
Put your feet up in the optional stirrups and look like a beer can chicken going down the road.

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk
 
I would pick this bike over a K1600 (GT/GTL/B) and an R1250RT. Unfortunately, I don’t do the kind of riding that warrants those bikes therefore this R18 isn’t for me but the purple Trans is really speaking to me. I want one but I really don’t need one…just not the kind of riding I do.
 
Whew! That’s a relief.

I think is a very good looking in a Harley/Indian sort of way. The baggers made by the UJM crowd always fell short in my opinion, as did the previous forays by BMW into the cruiser world, but this one looks good.

They were more reliable though. I know a guy(he's ridden BMWs) that put over 400k miles on a 2009 Voyager before trading it in. I don't think a HD or a BMW of that vintage would have done that many miles. Not with an original engine.
 
I think it's beautiful.
Of course, as I've said before, I spent 30 years on nothing but Harleys, until I could no longer tolerate or justify riding a bike with only 2 inches of travel on the suspension.
This new R-18 is decidedly eye-candy for me.
Now, if it has the kind of suspension that handles like my RT, I could see one in my future. But I'd be very surprised if it does.
 
I think it's beautiful.
Of course, as I've said before, I spent 30 years on nothing but Harleys, until I could no longer tolerate or justify riding a bike with only 2 inches of travel on the suspension.
This new R-18 is decidedly eye-candy for me.
Now, if it has the kind of suspension that handles like my RT, I could see one in my future. But I'd be very surprised if it does.

These have 4.7", which would be quite an improvement.
 
My wife and I were walking around the Sturgis rally today and happened upon BMW's display of the R18's in their various states of dress. From bare bones to full dressed tourers, they were drawing a nice share of people coming by to take a look and ask questions of the folks running the display. When I asked about pricing, the dressed out unit in black is around $26,000, plus whatever a dealer tacks on.

The bikes looks sharp! With a weight of 974# for the full dressed bike, it is way too much bike for me to handle, but if you are wrestling a heavyweight Harley Davidson or Honda Goldwing around these will fit the bill as a replacement. They look cool, they sound cool, and they will be coming to dealers near you in September.
 
My wife and I were walking around the Sturgis rally today and happened upon BMW's display of the R18's in their various states of dress. From bare bones to full dressed tourers, they were drawing a nice share of people coming by to take a look and ask questions of the folks running the display. When I asked about pricing, the dressed out unit in black is around $26,000, plus whatever a dealer tacks on.

The bikes looks sharp! With a weight of 974# for the full dressed bike, it is way too much bike for me to handle, but if you are wrestling a heavyweight Harley Davidson or Honda Goldwing around these will fit the bill as a replacement. They look cool, they sound cool, and they will be coming to dealers near you in September.
I have a HD Road Glide Limited (fully dressed version). I have been waiting for the Transcontinental. Unfortunately, the TC is 9inches longer, wheelbase is 4inches longer and it's heavier. Plus the HD doesn't require valve checks and the fairing is frame mounted.

I would be concerned about low speed tight handling, which HD has perfected.

So, I'm a bit disappointed with the BMW offering, I was really excited since I am a BMW guy, having other BMWs in my stable.

I look forward to seeing it in person.


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I have a HD Road Glide Limited (fully dressed version). I have been waiting for the Transcontinental. Unfortunately, the TC is 9inches longer, wheelbase is 4inches longer and it's heavier. Plus the HD doesn't require valve checks and the fairing is frame mounted.

I would be concerned about low speed tight handling, which HD has perfected.

So, I'm a bit disappointed with the BMW offering, I was really excited since I am a BMW guy, having other BMWs in my stable.

I look forward to seeing it in person.


Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

I think I would ride it before being too sure how it will handle.
 
I have a HD Road Glide Limited (fully dressed version). I have been waiting for the Transcontinental. Unfortunately, the TC is 9inches longer, wheelbase is 4inches longer and it's heavier. Plus the HD doesn't require valve checks and the fairing is frame mounted.

I would be concerned about low speed tight handling, which HD has perfected.

So, I'm a bit disappointed with the BMW offering, I was really excited since I am a BMW guy, having other BMWs in my stable.

I look forward to seeing it in person.


Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

BMW changed the triple clamps to be like HDs, the fork tubes are behind the steering stem. it's not like the first R18s. It also has more suspension travel out back. Yes the wheel base is 2.7" longer, but the weight isn't much different. the RG Limited is 932 and the BMW is 941.
 
The bikes looks sharp! With a weight of 974# for the full dressed bike, it is way too much bike for me to handle, but if you are wrestling a heavyweight Harley Davidson or Honda Goldwing around these will fit the bill as a replacement. They look cool, they sound cool, and they will be coming to dealers near you in September.

Surprisingly it handles better than you think. I went from a K1600GT to the transcontinental. The TC is lighter feeling than the GT even thought the TC is 200lbs heavier.
 
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Pegs vs Floorboards

I cannot be certain, but it looks like it has foot pegs rather than floor-boards. A true bagger must have floor-boards, or so I am told. If needed I imagine Touratech will fill the void.

The Bagger comes with floorboards for rider and pegs for passenger. The Transcontinental has floorboards for both. Most of the pics that you see on the BMW website are the European models that have only pegs on the bagger.
 
Have you had any clutch slippage?

Yes. I was getting some yesterday while trying to find my way around a small town with a lot of 4 way stops. It didn't like the repeated stop and go and started to slip, but only in first gear. I also got the engine overheating once while in that constant stop and go.
 
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