Rennie Scaysbrook | September 14, 2021
BMW and its old-is-new R 18 lineup gets two new models for the 2022 season, and we rode them both in the picturesque rolling Colorado hills to see what’s up.
The Transcontinental (left) and R 18 B (right) are the two largest production motorcycles BMW has ever produced. They both ride well but have their drawbacks.
Photography by Kevin Wing
The American cruiser market is in some ways the holy grail for motorcycle companies. Not due to any performance criteria, but simply because there’s only ever been one company to hold continual segment dominance for over a century. Sorry, Indian, it isn’t you.
There’s another reason companies other than Harley-Davidson want a slice of this American apple pie. Riders in this genre have cash. They’re generally 50 or older, the kids have probably left, and they’re ready to start enjoying life once again. And who do they turn to when the cruising bug bites? No prizes for guessing the answer.
BMW’s been obsessed with this market sector since 2015, when I remember a former BMW Motorrad USA staff member telling me about the project. Five years later, the R 18 Classic landed, and BMW was off to the American cruiser market races.
The lower-set screen and less weight make the R 18 B the pick of the two for us.
The Classic is now joined by the R 18 Transcontinental and R 18 B, using the same 1802cc flat-twin that weighs a hefty 244 pounds alone, and pumps out 90 horsepower and a stout 116 lb-ft of torque.
That monster level of torque happens between 2500-3000 rpm, which is about half the engine’s available rev range—more on that later.
Although the motors are the same, the chassis for the Trans and the B are slightly different, with a shorter rake and forks mounted behind the steering head, helping slow-speed maneuvering as well as high speed stability. The thing is, you’ve got a lot of motorcycle underneath you in either Trans or B form. The Trans weighs, wait for it, 944 pounds ready to ride with a 6.34-gallon tank of gas. The B, on the other hand, weighs a relatively svelte 877 pounds ready to ride.
This being the case, BMW needed to do everything in its power to make either machine as unintimidating as possible to ride at any speed, and I’ll admit to being pleasantly surprised at the maneuverability of the Trans when I missed a turn-off and had to do a rather tight double-lane U-turn to catch back up to the group. A U-turn, boohoo, I hear you say. Wait ’til you ride a bike that weighs half a car and then we’ll talk.
Despite its weight, the Transcontinental rides beautifully on the open road. The screen height issue is clear to see here.
The weight of the Trans comes down to the extra bodywork and luggage capability. Running twin 27-liter side bags and a massive 48-liter top case, plus the larger screen, the Trans is an imposing bike to behold.
The R 18 B, on the other hand, while undoubtedly being one of the biggest bikes on the road, carries its weight well for such a long and low machine. There’s no top case with the R 18 B, and both machines come with the option of running the new-to-motorcycling Marshall Gold Series Audio sound system. Marshall is normally associated with your favorite band’s amplifiers, and their first foray into bike sound is a pretty good one. Although not as loud as what you can find on some Harley models, the sound is crisp enough to hear over wind noise and plenty loud enough that everyone will know your terrible taste in music.
As we had two machines to test over the day in Colorado, BMW asked us not to pair our phones to our test bikes for fear of our phones syncing to our old bike when we switched. It seemed a strange request, which later bore more suspicion when, after we all paired our phones anyway, we realized that using the navigation and music was annoyingly difficult. Using Spotify was a pain, as you would have to manually play one song after the other, rather than letting it just play through. The only way the system seemed to work was when you played songs directly off your phone on a playlist you’d previously set up. I only had a couple of tracks on my phone, so after listening to Blur’s Boys and Girls about 12 times, I turned the system off.
The motor alone weighs 244 pounds, but it would be nice if there were a few more ponies lurking around in there.
A better option would be to utilize Apple CarPlay or the Android equivalent, rather than trying to reinvent the audio wheel.
Both machines are graced with a superlative 10.25-inch TFT display, one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen on a production motorcycle, which serves as the rider control module for all the usual things like changing the modes from Rain, Rock and Roll (I know—low, medium and high would be better), trips, service intervals, fuel mileage, etc.
The TFT sits beneath lovely analog speed and rev counters, a left-side fuel gauge and a fairly useless available engine power gauge on the right. When you’re cruising the freeway with minimal throttle input, the gauge needle will sit near the 90-hp mark. Crack the throttle and the needle dives to nearly zero, indicating you’ve used the full whack of engine power.
The R 18 B is certainly a looker and there’s a stack of aftermarket parts you can grab to make it look even more sinister.
I don’t know, give me a nice clock made by Breitling or Tag Heuer. I might look at it more than once.
When you do indeed gun that massive motor, you’re left uninspired. Considering there’s over half a ton of mass (rider and bike) to move and we were at around 5500 feet of elevation in Colorado, the R 18 Transcontinental’s motor performance was sluggish at best. It revs relatively quickly for such a big motor, which means the best performance is gone quickly if you hammer the throttle in a hurry.
All the luggage space you’ll ever want on a motorcycle is yours on the Transcontinental.
It’s not a performance motor by any stretch, but in R 18 B form the 1802cc flat twin was at least a little more spritely, given the less weight it needed to push. There’s torque there for when you need it, but more ponies from such a massive piece of metal would be a very welcome addition.
Two extra points stood out on the drivetrain performance. The first was the very small clearance for the rider’s foot to change gears, up or down, given the shift is under the left cylinder. This can be adjusted, but in standard form the gearshift position is far from ideal, with very little space to let you lift yourself into the next gear.
The second and more annoying point was the clutch performance on the Transcontinental was very sporadic in the lower gears. After consulting with a couple of journalists on the launch whose opinions I respect, the synopsis was the same and we all had varying clutch issues. Mine in particular was in the lower gears, where the clutch slipped continuously until I reached third gear. On the other hand, the R 18 B did not, at least on my test bike, have this issue. Whether this has something to do with the extra girth of the Trans over the B is up for debate, although the fact that multiple riders had the same problem over the test to me sounds like a flaw in the design.
The gear-lever position is not ideally set as standard. You’ll likely want to change this as getting a correct upshift was not as easy as you may think.
The brakes are simply not up to the task of hauling up a machine of this size satisfactorily.
Once up and running, however, both bikes become big German magic-carpet rides. The ride quality over long distances is superb as the rider is put in an ideal position to cruise big days on. The seat is wide and cushy and doesn’t put the rider in the dreaded cruiser slouch like many offerings from Indian and Harley-Davidson.
You need to take your corners carefully and precisely on both bikes but especially the Trans, as the extra weight becomes apparent the moment you sit on it. Glide through the corners, allow the mass of the motorcycle to soak up the road corrugations, and the ride is a delight. Get feisty with either bike and the weight works against you very quickly, with understeer rearing its head much earlier than I’d hoped for. It’s all a reminder to take it slow, enjoy the scenery, and learn to love the quiet life (with Led Zeppelin at full noise from the Marshall speakers).
New Marshall speakers provide plenty of clear sound for the ride.
When it comes to slowing down, however, that’s a different story. The brakes are not up to what the sticker price asks, with not enough bite or feel at the lever for deft modulation. BMW needs to upgrade these bikes to match the weight, and given it was just me on the bike with no luggage, putting two people with luggage on will only put more strain on the braking system.
One of the killers for me with the Trans was that the top of the screen was directly in my line of sight, meaning I either had to stretch myself tall or crunch myself below the screen to get a clear view. For that alone, I would take the R 18 B if I were to buy one of these and stick the top case on from the Transcontinental (which you can do via the BMW accessory catalog).
Possibly the most beautiful cockpit ever. It’s a shame, however, the music was such a pain to play off streaming apps like Spotify.
Smooth roads, like these in Colorado, make the Transcontinental one big magic carpet ride.
It’s hard to say whether either the R 18 Transcontinental or the R 18 B will challenge king kong Harley-Davidson in America. Honestly, I suspect not, because the bikes are just that little bit too different to what American riders are used to. They are visually stunning motorcycles and will turn heads wherever you ride, but the issues noted here might take a few years to iron out, at which point BMW may have missed the bus.
Or maybe not. Maybe I’m being too pessimistic, and maybe there really is a chance for BMW to steal some significant market share from Harley-Davidson. Time will tell. CN
2022 BMW R 18 Transcontinental / R 18 B Specifications
| MSRP: |
$27,145/ $24,095 |
| Engine: |
Twin-cylinder 4-stroke Boxer |
| Cooling system: |
Air/oil |
| Fueling: |
EFI |
| Displacement: |
1802cc |
| Bore x stroke: |
107.1 x 100mm |
| Power (claimed): |
91 hp @ 4750 rpm |
| Torque (claimed): |
116 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm |
| Transmission: |
6-speed |
| Clutch: |
Wet multi-disc |
| Chassis: |
Steel double-loop tube frame |
| Front suspension: |
49mm inverted fork |
| Rear suspension: |
Cantilever strut |
| Front-wheel travel: |
4.7 in. |
| Rear-wheel travel: |
4.7 in. |
| Front brake: |
Dual 300mm discs, 4-piston fixed caliper, ABS |
| Rear brake: |
Single 300mm disc, 2-piston caliper |
| Front tire: |
120/70 ZR19 |
| Rear tire: |
180/65 ZR16 |
| Seat height: |
28.3 in. |
| Wheelbase: |
66.7 in. |
| Steering head angle: |
62.7° |
| Fuel capacity: |
6.34 gal. |
| Weight (wet, claimed): |
944 lbs. / 877 lbs. |
