New R18 Transcontinental

sntkirkham said:

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.

Click to expand...

ponch1 said:

That's concerning considering it's a dry clutch and not easily serviced.

Click to expand...

sntkirkham said:

In the article, mentioned earlier, it say that BMW fixed this on the r18 and classic. I bet this will be fixed as well but the first batch were already made or at least mostly finished in order to ship out on time.

Another thing that might be changed in the future is the availability of the Adaptive Cruise Control(ACC). The rarity of microchips has thrown the availability of ACC in to a state of flux. The owner of the dealership told me that all of the first batch will have ACC but the future orders were likely to not have it.

Click to expand...

ponch1 said:

It's kind of bizarre that they tune it out. The only thing I can think of is reducing power/torque. The thing is, maybe the setup should have been more stout to begin with. I mean, HDs don't do this AFAIK and they're in the same kind of power/torque range.

Click to expand...

senseamidmadness said:

Harley-Davidsons, at least the Big Twins, run multi-plate wet clutches vaguely similar to most other motorcycles. So they can take a decent amount more slipping and heat and abuse before having issues...in theory, anyway. In practice, there was a recall of 238,000 Harley-Davidsons just a few years ago for a factory clutch issue.
I think their design of having a totally separate casing and oil just for the primary chain and clutch is stupid and needlessly complicated, but that's a rant I won't get into.

I'm no automotive engineer, but I have one theory based on my limited knowledge that could be fixed without reducing power or torque on the R18.
With a big dry single-plate clutch like the R18, one cause of slipping like sntkirkham described could be poor manufacturing or material choice for the friction disc. Possibly a bad batch from a supplier or something like that. A poorly manufactured or improperly compounded friction material on the disc could have an insufficient coefficient of friction when it gets too hot, such as in a stop-and-go scenario with a very heavy bike that has a great big torquey engine. The friction material on dry clutch discs is typically sintered, just like brake pads, and if one big batch from a BMW supplier wasn't quite made right it could definitely cause slipping when hot and go away after the clutch has had a chance to cool down a bit.

If it is a manufacturing issue that ends after they've used up all the bad friction discs at the factory, then I bet we'll see either a recall or a TSB advising a warranty replacement in a year or two when enough R18 owners complain.


Unrelated, but that Transcontinental model shown in the pictures earlier in the thread is...honestly beautiful. I'm genuinely surprised at how good it looks in that purple paint option. I'd never want to own one, since I'm too small to be comfortable with huge heavy touring machines, but it is very pretty.

Click to expand...

senseamidmadness said:

Unrelated, but that Transcontinental model shown in the pictures earlier in the thread is...honestly beautiful. I'm genuinely surprised at how good it looks in that purple paint option. I'd never want to own one, since I'm too small to be comfortable with huge heavy touring machines, but it is very pretty.

Click to expand...

sntkirkham said:

The galaxy paint job is gorgeous. The stock photo earlier in the thread is not the true color. That photo makes it look lavender. Its much better than that. its a true blue to dark purple transition. There is a point that it turns a bit green/teal. My demo ride was on a R18B in that paint job. I wanted it but finding one is difficult. The one TC that was in Washington was already slated for a dealer swap to a dealer in California prior to it even arriving in Washington. The transition from blue to purple is really cool, especially in the sunlight.

Click to expand...

ponch1 said:

I like the galaxy dust best too. Not a fan of black and I hate mattes and neutrals. I prefer real color.

Click to expand...

sntkirkham said:

My first car was black and I did tell myself I would avoid owning another black car, or white too. Now both BMW bikes ive owned were white and now black. To make it better I chose the pinstripe first edition TC.

Click to expand...

ponch1 said:

I found black blends into the night and not a good choice for night riding. I hate neutrals though. That Manhattan metallic whatever it is sucks. 50 shades of silver or gray too. My RT is silver, but I'll never do that again. I've sworn never to buy another car or bike that isn't just what I want.

Click to expand...

jerryab9rj said:

It's a nice looking bike. Honestly, if the back seat is comparable in comfort to a Goldwing or an Indian Touring bike, I would look at it. I like my RT. My wife does not. If she would ride it with me in comfort, that's the deal. Simple.

Jerry

Click to expand...

sntkirkham said:

My 18 year old daughter went with me to pick up the bike. She told me she was falling asleep on the back of the bike. That to me is a sign of comfort. I have not tried any two up distance further than 45 min so far.

Click to expand...

jerryab9rj said:

Good deal. I might have to try and find one then.

Jerry

Click to expand...