The BMW R18 Concept, that was first showcased at the Concorso d'Elegenza Villa d'Este last year, seems to be finally taking shape to become a reality. A bunch of leaked patent images gives the first look at the production BMW R18, which will reportedly be a flat-twin cruiser.
Apparently, BMW Motorrad has two different types of cruisers in mind. One is with a cleaner look, similar to the original R18 Concept. It has no windscreen, a simple instrument console, somewhat stylish exhausts, and spoke wheels. The other one is slightly different. It has a large windscreen, front fairing, an elaborative instrument console, hard-case panniers, more comfortable seats, differently-styled front and rear fenders, simpler exhausts, and alloy wheels. All these features are more than enough to put this bike into the ‘Bagger’ category.
While there are indeed many variations between these two models, they have a one ‘big thing’ in common and that’s the Boxer engine. It is a massive 1,802 cc powerplant which is the largest Boxer engine BMW Motorrad has ever built. It has 8 valves, a simple OHV, and air-cooling. It produces 91 hp of max power at 4,750 rpm and an enormous 16 kgf.m or 156 Nm of peak torque that kicks in from as low as 3,000 rpm. The total weight of the engine, including the intake system, clutch and 6-speed transmission, is 110.8 kg.
The suspension setup on these flat-twin cruiser motorcycles appears to be similar to that of the original R18 Concept. Instead of a 21-inch front wheel, there's a smaller, 18-inch unit.
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With its new R18 Concept-based flat-twin cruisers, BMW Motorrad is, perhaps, trying to enter a segment that is lead by companies like Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle. When these new motorcycles do get launched, it would be an interesting battle to watch. It is being anticipated that BMW Motorrad would showcase both the flat-twin cruisers at the EICMA 2020.
[Source: motor1.uol.com.br]
