“…A BIG, LOW MACHINE WITH A DARK PRESENCE…”
BMW wants a slice of Harley’s pie. The Motor Co. commands over 80 percent market share of the big-bore cruiser market in the USA, and Indian owns most of the rest. BMW wants a slice of the action, and the new R 18 Roctane might just be the bike to take it.
The cruiser market is driven by appearances: for a bike to be successful, it must look good. So BMW invested a lot of time and money into developing a machine where a lot of the cables, hoses and wiring are hidden away so the engine could be the stand-out feature. The biggest-ever BMW Boxer engine was developed to power the bike, and for the Roctane it’s been finished in beautiful black.
The original heritage style of the earlier R 18 models — the Roctane is the fifth member of the R 18 family — has been shelved in favour of solid, dark colours and a more modern look. It still has the hidden suspension, steel chassis and exposed shaft drive (now with a nickel finish rather than chrome) to differentiate it from its belt-driven competition.
Many of the changes have come from customers and custom builders providing feedback to BMW on what’s wanted by the
