That Boxer engine alone is worth a serious look at this bike. It's a mechanical piece of Art. It can't be compared to anything else on the market. The level of details on this bike is the highest level. I own a CVO Road Glide and it's an amazing bike but... this 18B and the Transcontinental are high quality bikes with a typical German and BMW style that is unique.
I think that’s all true. Will all of that matter? I don’t know. I see a lot of these bikes on the showroom floor at a lot of dealers. I want to go ride the Transcontinental. It’s the only variant of the R18 I’ve not ridden. And then I am going to try to ride a Street Glide for comparison.
@@TheJedRides if You ride a Transcontinental you should test an HD Limited to make an interesting comparison. I add another point of view regarding markets. In the US and pronably in other markets where BMW bikes are sold by multi-brand dealers the "image" of these Tourers is going to be impacted with respect to the HD mono-brand network. Here in Europe BMW is selling through their mono-brand bike or car-bike dealers and it' s definitely different. Personally next saturday march 12th I'll be getting ownership of my R18 Trancontinental. Let's see...
@@CVO_MAN congrats!! Which paint did you chose? If I’m not mistaken, the “Limited” has water-cooled heads, no? Maybe an air/oil cooled bike is a better comparison? There are seven BMW dealers in my general area (100 mile radius). 5 of the 7 are exclusively BMW. One also sells KTM, and one sells both Suzuki and Royal Enfield.
@@TheJedRides Black with pinstripe: very classic BMW colors. Yes, the Limited have water cooling engines with air fans in the lower fairing. Personally I think the comparison is more on the positioning of these two models in terms of features than on the water-cooled or not engines: engines are SO DIFFERENT one from the other that how they are cooled (water or air) doesn't change that much. Thank You for the info about BMW dealers in the US: i thought they were just working with multi-brand bikes dealers. Personally (others will make different choices) i wanted to change (after 6 HD in the last 6 years) and this was the only alternative that got my attention due to an engine that is iconic by its own and due to the level of quality that I perceived when I tested and "touched" it. If i'm not happy with it i'll sell it but i think it's worth owning it and ride it for thousands of km/miles to really understand if it's as good as it looks or... not. Let's see what happens on the road. Consider that I always rode my HD Touring bikes on Alpine Passes and there is where I'll ride this R18 Transcontinental. Hope i don't scratch the floorboards too much... 😄😄😄
A very watchable unbiased take on the R18B. I too have watched many different reviews of this bike, a big thank you for not playing music all over it. The impression that many Brits have of American testers, is that they try to compare the R18 to an equivalent HD. The R18 is a real quality machine, solely made in Germany not Taiwan, they say that no 'highway pegs' is a deal breaker, I don't hear that about the American built Goldwing that's also a boxer engine ? I personally prefer the R18 to the equivalent HD, except for the Trans continental version, HD do a better tourer. Bmw should leave the tourer market alone, like HD should leave the adventure bike market alone re the Pan America !
I think that's a beautiful looking bike, bit on the heavy side but I had a Indian that was heavy & you get used to it pretty fast. Can't wait to test ride one some day, then take our loans manager out and get him drunk.
Thank You! I've been watching & consuming numerous video reviews of BMW newest R-18 models and I've really enjoyed your presentation. I feel your spot on with your assessment and totally agree with your comment on how the fairing & bags compliment the protruding cylinder heads to balance out the proportions. As a owner & operator of 1998 Honda Valkyrie I couldn't agree with you more about riding a bike which seemingly no one has seen. It's a real hoot! Next up for me to to schedule a demo and see what a couple of decades of cutting edge engineering can add to a Flat, Horizontal Opposed, Boxer cruiser.
I enjoyed watching this today from Ireland. I demod the original r18 and thought it was pretty good but I preferred the bagger. Even though it’s heavier and some people say it’s not as nippy due to the extra weight. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I just bought one after trading in two fireblades I wasn’t really riding anymore. I hopefully pick it up end of the coming week.
I have never seen the Bagger compared to a Goldwing. If I were planning to do a lot of touring I think I would go Goldwing or GTL, but for something less than full time touring, I think the B would be a lot of fun. There's a pretty good GTL vs Goldwing video that's a few years old now but worth a look if you haven't seen it. ua-cam.com/video/d0hv0NEvXWI/v-deo.html
Thanks for the comment. No, personally, I prefer the R1250RT. The vast majority of the riding I do is local, in the canyons here in Southern California. As much as I enjoy the R18B, and as capable as it is, it is no comparison to the RT for this kind of riding. Were I regularly traveling by interstate for 1000 miles or more, I believe I would prefer the R18B. It's a beautiful and capable touring bike with advanced safety technology that is a joy to ride.
In all candor, the RT is the most impressive bike I have ever ridden. To call it phenomenal in the corners and outstanding as a tourer is not hyperbole. At times I prefer the swagger of my Harley Davidson FXR, and there are times I know I would enjoy a big, heavyweight bagger, but if I can have only one bike, it is the RT. I can of course point to flaws, but they are minor all things considered. (1) the boxer buzzes a little at high speed/high RPMs, and (2) I do wish that BMW would give up on their own navigation in favor of Apple Car Play and Android Auto.
@@TheJedRides I totally agree. I wish I had more leg room, I am still hesitant to the whole crash bars + highway pegs combo investment. But the handling even at low speeds is impressive and the weather protection is second to none. I did almost 1000 miles in two and a half days and it was perfectly fine.
1. The radio sucks, and the screen on the dash is not a touch screen. 2. My Samsung 22 Ultra won't fit in the phone area. 3. The rear bags are small. 4. There's no cubby hole in the front fairing. 5. The headlights guts fall apart. $3100 for just the replacement headlight alone, and there's been no change in design in 2022, 2023 or 2024 models. Headlights in USA have been on backorder 3 months. 6. All parts for this, and fluids for service are priced at Rolls Royce price levels for anything. $130 for one fork seal kit to rebuild 1 fork. 7. Good luck getting any of your money out of this in trade when you want to turn it back in in 1 to 3 years. Other dealerships won't even take BMW's on trade in. Seems the bike is a BMW badged bike made out of cheap chinesium parts that fail and are very expensive to replace.
Wow, sounds like you've had a horrible time with yours. Sorry to hear that but glad you are providing the feedback. What happened to the headlight? That's the first I have heard of an issue there.
This Bike is just 10 yrs too late...The Style has just jumped the shark. They need to Modernize it a bit more for it to be relavent. The Original Ckassic styles for this bike,,BMW cant give them away, they are trying every incentive possible to try and unload these Whales.
Just wondering how do you know this about the dismal sales for the classics? It's not the first time I've read and heard this opinion. That being the case, it's hard to fathom how and why BMW would invest so much time & money only to lay an egg! I guess the silver lining is that BMW can rely on the rest of it's lineup to keep the lights on there operation.
@@nelsonphilip4520 When you clearly see that BMW is already giving cash incentives of up to $2000 to let the gullible buyers to hopefully buy this over weight, late 90s (when this styling was popular) looking Whale, then it’s a tell-Tale sign, people aren’t running to show rooms to buy one. They have to modernize the look, this old, classic styling is Dead ☠️👎
That Boxer engine alone is worth a serious look at this bike. It's a mechanical piece of Art. It can't be compared to anything else on the market. The level of details on this bike is the highest level. I own a CVO Road Glide and it's an amazing bike but... this 18B and the Transcontinental are high quality bikes with a typical German and BMW style that is unique.
I think that’s all true. Will all of that matter? I don’t know. I see a lot of these bikes on the showroom floor at a lot of dealers. I want to go ride the Transcontinental. It’s the only variant of the R18 I’ve not ridden. And then I am going to try to ride a Street Glide for comparison.
@@TheJedRides if You ride a Transcontinental you should test an HD Limited to make an interesting comparison. I add another point of view regarding markets. In the US and pronably in other markets where BMW bikes are sold by multi-brand dealers the "image" of these Tourers is going to be impacted with respect to the HD mono-brand network. Here in Europe BMW is selling through their mono-brand bike or car-bike dealers and it' s definitely different. Personally next saturday march 12th I'll be getting ownership of my R18 Trancontinental. Let's see...
@@CVO_MAN congrats!! Which paint did you chose? If I’m not mistaken, the “Limited” has water-cooled heads, no? Maybe an air/oil cooled bike is a better comparison? There are seven BMW dealers in my general area (100 mile radius). 5 of the 7 are exclusively BMW. One also sells KTM, and one sells both Suzuki and Royal Enfield.
@@TheJedRides Black with pinstripe: very classic BMW colors. Yes, the Limited have water cooling engines with air fans in the lower fairing. Personally I think the comparison is more on the positioning of these two models in terms of features than on the water-cooled or not engines: engines are SO DIFFERENT one from the other that how they are cooled (water or air) doesn't change that much. Thank You for the info about BMW dealers in the US: i thought they were just working with multi-brand bikes dealers.
Personally (others will make different choices) i wanted to change (after 6 HD in the last 6 years) and this was the only alternative that got my attention due to an engine that is iconic by its own and due to the level of quality that I perceived when I tested and "touched" it. If i'm not happy with it i'll sell it but i think it's worth owning it and ride it for thousands of km/miles to really understand if it's as good as it looks or... not. Let's see what happens on the road. Consider that I always rode my HD Touring bikes on Alpine Passes and there is where I'll ride this R18 Transcontinental. Hope i don't scratch the floorboards too much... 😄😄😄
@@CVO_MAN my favorite look as well. 👍🏼 looking forward to hearing how you enjoy it.
A very watchable unbiased take on the R18B. I too have watched many different reviews of this bike, a big thank you for not playing music all over it. The impression that many Brits have of American testers, is that they try to compare the R18 to an equivalent HD. The R18 is a real quality machine, solely made in Germany not Taiwan, they say that no 'highway pegs' is a deal breaker, I don't hear that about the American built Goldwing that's also a boxer engine ? I personally prefer the R18 to the equivalent HD, except for the Trans continental version, HD do a better tourer. Bmw should leave the tourer market alone, like HD should leave the adventure bike market alone re the Pan America !
Sounds like we agree on quite a bit, Andy. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for that demo/review. Beautiful bike. The optics are unlike any bagger out there.
Byron, my pleasure!
Power reserve = intake vacuum gauge
Thanks Lou.
I think that's a beautiful looking bike, bit on the heavy side but I had a Indian that was heavy & you get used to it pretty fast. Can't wait to test ride one some day, then take our loans manager out and get him drunk.
😂 Good thinking! 👍🏼
Thank You! I've been watching & consuming numerous video reviews of BMW newest R-18 models and I've really enjoyed your presentation. I feel your spot on with your assessment and totally agree with your comment on how the fairing & bags compliment the protruding cylinder heads to balance out the proportions. As a owner & operator of 1998 Honda Valkyrie I couldn't agree with you more about riding a bike which seemingly no one has seen. It's a real hoot! Next up for me to to schedule a demo and see what a couple of decades of cutting edge engineering can add to a Flat, Horizontal Opposed, Boxer cruiser.
Hey, Nelson, thanks for the kind words. Always great to know at least one person enjoyed it! I think you’ll have fun on the demo ride. 👍🏼
I enjoyed watching this today from Ireland. I demod the original r18 and thought it was pretty good but I preferred the bagger. Even though it’s heavier and some people say it’s not as nippy due to the extra weight.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I just bought one after trading in two fireblades I wasn’t really riding anymore. I hopefully pick it up end of the coming week.
HUGE CONGRATS! You've bought yourself a great bike.
Seems like a high dash. Like the metal over the K 1600 plastic. I would like to see the performance compared to the Goldwing. Looks like an Indian
I have never seen the Bagger compared to a Goldwing. If I were planning to do a lot of touring I think I would go Goldwing or GTL, but for something less than full time touring, I think the B would be a lot of fun. There's a pretty good GTL vs Goldwing video that's a few years old now but worth a look if you haven't seen it. ua-cam.com/video/d0hv0NEvXWI/v-deo.html
Thanks for your great honest review
Thank you!
Nice video Jed, thanks! Would you prefer this to the 1250RT? I have a 1200RTW and thinking about getting a bagger beast in the future.
Thanks for the comment. No, personally, I prefer the R1250RT. The vast majority of the riding I do is local, in the canyons here in Southern California. As much as I enjoy the R18B, and as capable as it is, it is no comparison to the RT for this kind of riding. Were I regularly traveling by interstate for 1000 miles or more, I believe I would prefer the R18B. It's a beautiful and capable touring bike with advanced safety technology that is a joy to ride.
@@TheJedRides thanks for your response Jed. The RT is a fantastic bike for sure and very agile. It also has bags so... Is king of a bagger I guess. :)
In all candor, the RT is the most impressive bike I have ever ridden. To call it phenomenal in the corners and outstanding as a tourer is not hyperbole. At times I prefer the swagger of my Harley Davidson FXR, and there are times I know I would enjoy a big, heavyweight bagger, but if I can have only one bike, it is the RT. I can of course point to flaws, but they are minor all things considered. (1) the boxer buzzes a little at high speed/high RPMs, and (2) I do wish that BMW would give up on their own navigation in favor of Apple Car Play and Android Auto.
@@TheJedRides I totally agree. I wish I had more leg room, I am still hesitant to the whole crash bars + highway pegs combo investment. But the handling even at low speeds is impressive and the weather protection is second to none. I did almost 1000 miles in two and a half days and it was perfectly fine.
If people actually rode one and did some real miles on an R18 , they wouldn’t be as critical
Would you mind share your height with us. Some people say the wind noise is loud because they are over 6 feet.
I’m 5’9”.
The one with the windshield I can get behind... the fairing... ugh... Just does not work for me.
I hear you. I think that’s the R 18 Classic. I prefer the look of the fairing, and I like the setup of the gauges with the TFT.
@@TheJedRides Yeah I get it. The great thing about motorcycles... there is a style for everyone. We don't all have to like the same one! Cheers.
The Kraut Glide
1. The radio sucks, and the screen on the dash is not a touch screen. 2. My Samsung 22 Ultra won't fit in the phone area. 3. The rear bags are small. 4. There's no cubby hole in the front fairing. 5. The headlights guts fall apart. $3100 for just the replacement headlight alone, and there's been no change in design in 2022, 2023 or 2024 models. Headlights in USA have been on backorder 3 months. 6. All parts for this, and fluids for service are priced at Rolls Royce price levels for anything. $130 for one fork seal kit to rebuild 1 fork. 7. Good luck getting any of your money out of this in trade when you want to turn it back in in 1 to 3 years. Other dealerships won't even take BMW's on trade in. Seems the bike is a BMW badged bike made out of cheap chinesium parts that fail and are very expensive to replace.
Wow, sounds like you've had a horrible time with yours. Sorry to hear that but glad you are providing the feedback.
What happened to the headlight? That's the first I have heard of an issue there.
This Bike is just 10 yrs too late...The Style has just jumped the shark. They need to Modernize it a bit more for it to be relavent. The Original Ckassic styles for this bike,,BMW cant give them away, they are trying every incentive possible to try and unload these Whales.
Time will tell.
Just wondering how do you know this about the dismal sales for the classics? It's not the first time I've read and heard this opinion. That being the case, it's hard to fathom how and why BMW would invest so much time & money only to lay an egg! I guess the silver lining is that BMW can rely on the rest of it's lineup to keep the lights on there operation.
@@nelsonphilip4520 I don’t know anything with certainty. I just see many unsold being advertised at dealerships with lots of discounting.
@@nelsonphilip4520
When you clearly see that BMW is already giving cash incentives of up to $2000 to let the gullible buyers to hopefully buy this over weight, late 90s (when this styling was popular) looking Whale, then it’s a tell-Tale sign, people aren’t running to show rooms to buy one.
They have to modernize the look, this old, classic styling is Dead ☠️👎
@@elithegreat6463 i like the style but not the price. 32k euros in my country