This is without debate, without question, and without doubt the most thoughtful and thorough review/explanation of the BMW R18 I have yet seen. This man knows his stuff.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Cheers Bob, so you enjoy the review? Only kidding, thanks mate for the kind words.

One of the best motorcycle reviews i've ever seen 💯

@standupmoto

20 күн бұрын

Thanks 👍

I own a 2023 100 year Anniversary R18 and absolutely love it !! Been riding my K1100RS for 30 years now but the R18 re-charged my “ motorcyclist “ batteries and I can’t stop riding it !! Great bike !

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Fantastic to hear, yes they have that old school charm but with modern technology and reliability. Enjoy & ride safe.

This is the best review of the R18. I have the R18b and have put more miles on it than any bike I have owned. Watching videos from guys that have riden for a hour has been painful.. learning to ride in the maximum torque range is key. maintenance is very simple.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks glad you enjoyed the video & yes I agree, this is a bike you have to spend time on before passing opinion on it. Thanks for the comment 👍

Excellent review! I bought a Roctane. It blows my mind that the R18 lineup doesn’t dominate the market. Way more competitive than your typical cruiser. One of the unmentioned things of the R18 is it needs no modifications. With my Harley, you immediately had to start buying upgrades.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks glad you enjoyed it, yes interesting point re Mods. Ride safe 👍

I live at Goolwa and ride the Adelaide hills on a R18 I've had for a year now.... your review is spot on. I also have R ninet and preffer the 18 for most rides. My first edition 18 benefitted from a Wilbers rear shock.... the +20 gives 115mm of travel and reduces scraping whilst working really well on our poorish roads. Also added Wilbers springs and yss emulators to the forks..... really fun riding fastish now. I also added a sprung BMW homage seat and the bike feels really sort of vintage... a real keeper.... quite well nehaved on dirt as well.... if you are down goolwa/medows/strath way happy to catch up.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Top stuff, I’ll definitely yell out when I’m next down in your part of the world. Love Goolwa ! Yes the one I tested in this review had the preload wound right back, didn’t help it in the bends as far as scraping but gave a lovely smooth ride. I’ll look into the Wilbers gear for future reference, thanks for the info & glad you enjoyed the video 👍.

Best review I have seen on the R18. Well done.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks very much 👍

Brilliant review sir! The most thorough I've seen. I've watched dozens of the classic version reviews and I actually learned new things watching yours. (adjustable heel/toe levers for example) Still dreaming of getting mine - hopefully soon! Thank you!

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks very much, yes on many bikes that sort thing is an add on but BMW fit it from factory. Glad you enjoyed the video 👍

Going on 2 years on my classic. It still makes me grin and has that look-back factor when I get off.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Yes I agree, it certainly has the LBF👍

Most informative review I have ever seem. Thank you for your time and effort.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks 👍 Also (side note) Have done some time in a VP2, great dependable proper old stick & rudder aircraft.

I’m loving what BMW has done with this bike I think it’s my fav cruiser period.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

👍

Did a group ride to Tassie a few years when the R18 just came out and 1 rider had one. The group consisted of mixed bikes of all types, sport, adventure, cruisers but the BMW always had crowd around it when we stopped. An amazing machine and the guy loved it too. Great review 👍

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks glad you enjoyed it, yes they certainly are a fine machine & they certainly get attention. Tassie is is a great ride also 👍

The mention of Lycoming/Continental motors, that is exactly what struck me test riding this bike - right down to the stagger. And as a pilot, that really spoke to me.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Yes spot on, although it can rev a bit higher than the L/C motors it’s really not necessary as seen in the video. I would imagine TBO would probably out live the rider in most cases if looked after. I was waiting for a fellow flier to notice the comparison.👍

@PatrickJWenzel

Ай бұрын

@@standupmoto The reference stuck out for sure. What do you fly?

What a fantastic review no over the top shouty commentary. You are a natural thanks very much best motorcycle review I have seen on youtube cheers from uk

@standupmoto

22 сағат бұрын

Cheers Rod, thanks Mate👍

A beautiful and magnificent piece of machinery 😎 great honest review 👍

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thank very much 👍

I love 💕 my URAL side car outfit. She is a 1998 Tourist. First year with the electric starter.l call her my "truck".

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Yes they are a solid old mount for sure, had one a few years back 👍

@jambroish

7 күн бұрын

I had a Ural outfit in the 90s, commuted to work in London every day and put the chair on at the weekend. Now I've been on a R18C for 10k miles probably because of the Ural.

I have had my R18c for a year. Amazing machine. Your review is spot on.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Great, seems to be the general consensus from owners 👍

I love the side to side shake of boxer twins, can’t help but smile every time you start the engine! I haven’t ridden the R18, but I have seen it in person and have sat on it. The build quality is out of this world, it feels really solid, and it looks amazing in the simpler trims imo. Thanks for the great review!

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks glad you liked the video, yes I completely agree with the smile factor 😁

Wow what a beautiful motorbike. Maybe the prettiest ever? Great reviewing. Thanks

@standupmoto

20 күн бұрын

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

Greetings, As always another brilliant detailed video production 🇺🇲🍾🎉🇺🇲 Keep producing more videos

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Cheers mate, thanks 🇦🇺 🇺🇸 👍

Based on your review I test road and purchased this exact bike from Moto Adelaide. Also met you today at the dealership.

@standupmoto

4 күн бұрын

Gday Graham, yes pleasure to meet you. You’ll love the R18, it’s a hell of a bike. I was there by chance organising another bike to review, ride safe. Cheers.

Fantastic,professional and thorough review ! I owned an R1200C for 8 years and travelled all over Europe and it never let me down. Test rode R18 Classic a couple of years ago and was seriously impressed. Currently own K1600B which is a workhorse and suits my current lifestyle. Keep up the great work mate 👍

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed the review. 👍

Great review. What a beast !

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Cheers Des, yes it’s a ripper machine.

I own a first edition love it, quality bespoke motorcycle, I also owned a honda rune I'm now in my seventies and owned many bikes I know my bikes this BMW is one of the best I've owned and ridden .

@standupmoto

6 күн бұрын

Thanks for the feedback Dave, great to hear from owners of this beautiful big machine 👍

Excellent review. Thank you.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Cheers mate glad you enjoyed it 👍

looks nice! the main worry for me is not being able to stretch my legs out

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Yes a valid concern, I met a rider with an R18 while doing this review that had lower crash bars fitted. He had what he described as a cruising pegs fitted to the top of the crash bars, I didn’t try them but they did look quite high.

@jfro5867

24 күн бұрын

Depends how leggy you are Andy. The riding position is extremely roomy, I’m 5’11” with 31 inside leg. No issues whatsoever. You honestly don’t feel the need to stretch out, try not to think it’s missing forward controls, it isn’t. It doesn’t need them. If you must have them then it’s not the bike for you.

Great review...very comprehensive...wot a great exhaust sound too.. well done... keep up the good work..

@standupmoto

5 күн бұрын

Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it 👍

It would seem to the uneducated listener that you work for BMW however I bought one 3 months ago and agree with everything you said in this review I’ll never sell this bike, so comfortable and easy to ride. I’m surprised there isn’t more of them on the road.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Wrong side of the world to work for BMW & probably too old but glad to hear you agree with my review 👍

I have a 2021 and I love it!

We have owned one of these for about a year now your review is spot on excellent review thank you so much

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks Chris👍 Always nice to hear from owners.

Very good review. Thank you.

@standupmoto

24 күн бұрын

Thanks for watching!

beautiful bike, could have in my garage - good review

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it 👍

Terrific review .

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks👍

I have a 2023 BMW GSA and I want to exchange it for the BMW R18 Classic. Thank you very much for the video.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Great, glad you enjoyed it 👍

Still a great review mate

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Thanks, I really enjoyed doing this one 👍

Great review and good to see Skippy !!. I'm likely to buy an R18 Classic next week. Your review helped. Have you done a review of the different seats that are available ? BMW stock seats are rarely any good. Pity they didn't do the keyless fuel cap ... I find that useful as I tuck my key well away in my jacket.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Gday no I haven’t done anything yet in regards to accessories, I did sit on a Transcontinental & it was very comfortable. Glad you enjoyed the video & glad it helps even if only in a small way, let me know how you go with your R18👍

I am hearing you right, a 2024 model, I'm amazed BMW stiil make them as i always thought they were thier worst seller.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Yep a 24, yes I don’t think they moved quite like BMW would have hoped. I recon a combination of things, when they were first released buyers thought they were too expensive for an unproven product compared to the competition, the fact that they were just so different to everything else, reviewers were just so used to the V twin. But in all honesty spend some time with one of these and you honestly fall in love with that beautiful 1800, it shutters and rocks at idle and gives a big throw to the left on start-up and just has so much character. Maybe the wrong bike at the wrong time, personally I thought it was great and as I say in the video I could own one of these but I will be interested to get feedback from owners after having them for extended periods. Cheers mate thanks for the comment.👍

@jfro5867

Ай бұрын

Worldwide sales are actually on par with the R9T. No doubt the GS is the big seller for BMW but on the plus side it allows the company to make all these other bikes for us to choose from.

There are plenty of tow and hill shifter that are independent, and are adjustable that you can install on your Harley. Back to BMW - R18 is a pretty decent cruiser, but I'd say it's largely overshadowed by Harley's touring classes. They are just that good. R18 just falls largely short of comfort and prowess - and falls short on performance and functionality versus its Japanese rivals such as Kawasaki and Suzuki Boss. Kind of stuck "in-between" where no one really wants to buy.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Hi Jon, thanks for your thoughts. I did have a suz 109 for a while and it was a great bike, very quick for a cruiser (in a straight line) but not to offend any owners of one it was to use that word again “generic”. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it but it lacked character, the R18 I tested in this review is just full of character. I think a huge amount of this is due to that Boxer, it’s something that I can’t really explain. Riders that are into older machines that are different from everything else will understand and appreciate what I don’t seem to be able to put into words. You mentioned the Harley Davidson in your comment, not being that familiar with the brand what model would you suggest I review that’s an equivalent to the R18? I’d be really interested to do a comparison. Cheers.

Slow speed maneuvering is rather awkward. The Bagger and Roctane handle better.

@standupmoto

26 күн бұрын

I haven’t ridden the Roctane yet but found the Classic pretty easy at low speed, I hope to be looking at the Transcontinental soon to compare. Cheers

🙂👍.

How's the highway wind buffeting? Heard some owner mentioned there is, someone said no.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Hi, personally I found it ok but as mentioned in the review but if you were sitting a little lower I think it could be an issue. It’s probably something that needs to be a trial & error thing until you find the right height screen.

The Norton looks very nice and did I see a sidecar on it? Could we please have a review on that as I think it would be of interest to a lot of people, especially if it has a chair fitted.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Hi Dave, yes mate a 52 Norton Dominator 500 with a 600 fitted. The chair is a 55 Tillbrook fully spring single. 👍

@davidrochow9382

Ай бұрын

@@standupmoto Very nice. I'm in the process of getting an Inder sidecar fitted to my 82 VF 750 Magna.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

@@davidrochow9382 Nice! Good combo, are you staying with the std forks or going leading link? I would think std should be fine with an Inder, they are pretty light like the Tillbrook. Maybe just turn up a couple of spacers about 1.5’’ long to pop on top of the fork springs to stiffen it up a whisker but stay with the std oil.

@davidrochow9382

Ай бұрын

@@standupmoto Dion at Adelaide Retro is doing all the work. He fitted a setup on a 2012 Royal Enfield 500 I had a few years ago. It was great fun but not quite fast enough. The front and rear suspension was updated just over a year ago at Hoey . It has YSS rear shockers and the front are standard suspension with slightly heavier oil in them. Unfortunately my knees aren't as good as they used to be and it's getting harder to get on and off the bike so hopefully the sidecar should help me ride for a while yet.

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

@@davidrochow9382 It certainly will, it also takes the worry out of damp corners if you are going for a ride in the hills. Suddenly dirt road bends are also not scary anymore either, I think you’ll love it. I’ve had many outfits over the last 50 years, they are not everyone’s cup of tea but I like them.

Can you lock the panniers? and it need crash bars to protect those cylinders

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

No on the panniers & yes I think I would be putting the same roll over crash bar that’s on the Transcontinental.

Gday mate i have to admit i have never been a BMW fan just personal preferance but if your a fan of them great i think it has to do with the cylinders sticking out from the side , how do you think this would rate against your goldwing ? i know there is a few years between them and i suppose they are slightly different bikes ie: tourer /cruiser ,i am a fan of the goldwing even though some of the maintenance is a bit overwhelming as in air filter replacement but for me i like there look and still believe they are the ultimate road tourer but as you showed in your review they are just at home in the city good review on this bike and for someone who likes the styling probaby a good buy for the money .

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Hi mate good to hear from you, I was waiting for this question. These bikes are polar opposites really, or horses for courses may be a better choice of words. As old as my Wing is it’s a great old bike that I love and don’t think twice about riding from my city to Darwin each year for a motor race I attend (6000kms or 3700mls) return. When I ride out to the farm & it’s freezing cold on the freeway for a couple of hours with the heated grips,seat & feet heaters on it’s perfect. Then there’s the rear seat comfort that’s, well in a word brilliant. But on that beautiful sunny day when I’m going for a coffee cruising through the hills with a friend or two just soaking in the atmosphere with that giant boxer twin banging away & with no time agenda I’d say it’d be pretty hard to go by the big R18. Did I get out of playing favourites?

@crispernator

Ай бұрын

@@standupmoto ill let you of this time haha , what year is your goldwing as it is one bike i would love to own .i think that it is the pinacle of touring bikes and now in its 50 year of production (this year i believe) it says something for its following . I follow a couple of guys in the states who ride them one has just bought a 2024 model ,from 2001 -2017 they stayed moderatly the same then 2018 to current with minor re adjustments ,i think if i had both in front of me and money was not an object i would still go for the goldwing not saying anything bad about the bmw just personal choice take care .

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

@@crispernator Mine is an 07 GL1800, I did think of going for the latest version at one stage. Spent some time on one, it was of course lovely but didn’t know if it was mine & 30k more lovely if you get what I’m saying. Mine has 120k on it now with no issues but I guess one will have to think about updating somewhere down the track, we’ll see. Never say never.👍

@crispernator

Ай бұрын

@@standupmoto Hi mate from what i have seen and read 120,000km is not much the americans say that 300,000 miles is not un commen for a goldwing before any major repair may need to be done now whether that is true i dont know in miles i think if my maths is correct is about 75,000 so not much at all , i am only 5 foot 6 but than i look at cruisman and he isnt a big guy either and he seems to be able to handle his bike ok so shouldnt be a problem .

No fuel gauge though. That’s a big bummer

@standupmoto

9 күн бұрын

Yeah, that surprised me also. I guess back to old school & set the trip meter or wait until the low fuel light comes on.👍

How'd you find the weight?

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Put simply extremely manageable, it’s deceiving. It looks heavy, it is heavy but the fact that it carries the weight so low you don’t notice it. Where you do notice the weight but in a positive way is on the country roads or freeway, you don’t get pushed around with the wind from trucks etc.

Does it have a center stand?

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

Not on this one but I’m not sure about the other models 🤔

@jfro5867

Ай бұрын

No. For maintenance use a stand.

They might as well give you the bike for review, they can't sell them, stockpiled in dealerships all over the place, begs the question how much is BMW paying there dealer network to warehouse all these bikes???

@standupmoto

Ай бұрын

And I would gladly accept, sadly that’s probably not going to happen I would suggest 😕

@jfro5867

Ай бұрын

So my question to you is why do you even watch this video if you don’t like them? Is it just to post a snarky remark? These were never going to be mainstream bikes and there is a very healthy R18 forum where new members are joining every week from all over the world. Harley has had its own problems and has been rescued a number of times over the years. Many Harley dealers have closed in the UK. These are tough times and no brand is having it easy.

@tomkarnes69

Ай бұрын

Great question, glad you asked. I watched with interest because there was a time back in 2019 when the concert bike dropped in a segment that I'm interested in. Year after year I walk into my local BMW dealership right here in Plano Texas seeing an ocean of R18's so deep you literally have to climb over them to get around. So I did some research and found out there not selling as BMW had hopped. There isn't anything in the HD portfolio I would shake a stick at. Forgot about the Italian job it looks ridiculous. I'm not going to give Neo $135k so that brings me to one of two possibilities Triumph -vs- BMW. While I couldn't see myself on a 900 pound R18, or a 750 pound Triumph, I can see myself on the brand new 2025 concept R20, that is of course if they stay true to the concept and not repeat the mistakes made on the production R18, only time will tell

@jfro5867

Ай бұрын

@@tomkarnes69 out of the 58 posts (so far) at least 8 are from owners who love their bikes, the majority of the rest are very positive and then there’s a couple of negative posts including yours who don’t own one, have you actually ridden one? Probably not. The R18 was launched at the start of a worldwide Covid lockdown, they could not open dealerships, we could not even leave our homes for months. No wonder bikes weren’t selling. So yes bikes stockpiled. It’s true in America BMW has dropped MSRP to shift stock. Plus at launch some ‘click bait’ bike journo’s decided they didn’t like it but they wouldn’t would they, it’s not a KTM SuperDuke with 170bhp. Anyhow, this reviewer totally gets the bike, the longer you ride it the more you bond with it. It’s a bike for mature riders who’ve been around a bit and appreciate quality not just speed everywhere. I hope you find a bike that speaks to you, it doesn’t matter what you ride as long as it’s two wheels and makes you happy.

@tomkarnes69

Ай бұрын

Did you just bitch slap me with the "Covid card", now that you opened that door let me walk through it, you in the UK got royally screwed, sorry about that. I, on the other hand, didn't for one second lay down to it, proud to say my vaccine passport was a middle finger with a twist, the twist of course is my father's 44, you get the point, we across the pond don't take shit from nobody. Comeon over, buy you a pint, and we can hug it out. Cheers mate

BMW engineers consider riders ergonomics, practicality, robustness and longevity along with style. Wrll done

@standupmoto

2 күн бұрын

Definitely , thanks 👍