Back to its Roots

Ever since BMW released tidbits of information and prototype images of the R18, there is no question that the company’s new cruiser has been a hot topic of discussion among cruiser riders and those who just like the look of a classically styled motorcycle. After all, you have to admit that the R18 checks off a lot of boxes in the style department and the physical size of that engine looks as good as it is big – the engine is certainly the bike’s centre of attention.

With the release of the R nineT a few years ago, BMW is no stranger to retrostyled motorcycles. However, the R18 harkens back to almost the company’s beginning. In 1923, BMW produced the R32, its first motorcycle, and its first flat-twin boxer engine: an engine that is a hallmark of BMW’s motorcycle design to this day. That tradition continues in the engine’s latest descendent, the R18’s big 1,802 cc boxer. In addition, the R18 took its overall design cues from the 1936 R5.

Cruiser-style motorcycles traditionally are big and