BMW Motorrad has announced that it will unveil the R 18 on 3 April 2020. The unveiling will take place at The Handbuilt Motorcycle Show in Austin, Texas, which is the same event where the BMW Concept R 18 was showcased last year. Patent images of the BMW R 18 flat-twin cruiser had leaked recently, giving away some of its crucial details.
The BMW R18 will be an important motorcycle for the company. It will feature a massive 1,802 cc powerplant which is the largest Boxer engine BMW Motorrad has ever built. So people will have their eyes on its performance. Talking about performance, this engine produces 91 hp of max power at 4,750 rpm and an enormous 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.
BMW will be entering the cruiser segment with its R 18 flat-twin motorcycle. It is quite a popular segment in many markets and is usually led by American companies like Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle. This means that BMW Motorrad will be competing with these brands now - another reason why the R 18 will be in the limelight.
As per earlier reports, BMW might have been working on two different motorcycles based on the R 18 Concept. One would be a proper ‘Bagger’ with features like a large windscreen, front fairing, an elaborative instrument console, hard-case panniers, more comfortable seats, alloy wheels, etc. The other one would be a much cleaner model; somewhat like the original R 18 Concept. However, both of these variants would be powered by the same enormous Boxer engine.
Also Read: Second TVS premium bike co-developed with BMW Motorrad to be launched in 2021
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