2022 BMW R18B (And R18 Transcontinental) Review - First Ride

Riding 1,475 miles to see if the BMW R18B has the bagger chops to ease into this competitive market

As I pull the 2022 BMW R18B out of the underground parking of the hotel where BMW had hosted its new model introduction, I wonder if a 7:30 departure still qualifies as my crack-of-dawn goal. Within a couple of blocks, I’m fully embroiled in the peak Denver commuter bump-and-grind. Still, I settle into an easy rhythm of following the mechanical voice instructions paired with their informative visual counterparts on the massive TFT screen. The saddlebags are packed to the point of bulging, and the overflow gear is rolled up and strapped down on the back. Yes, I’d have more room with the BMW R18 Transcontinental, but I prefer baggers for their cleaner lines and lower weight. Eventually, I head up the entrance ramp that will guide me to I-70 W out of the city. When I roll the throttle open, accelerating up to cruising speed, the beefy Boxer shudders its approval. The mountains and the road west beckon.

2022 BMW R18B

BMW Releases Details On “Big Boxer” R18 Engine

2021 BMW R18 Review – First Ride

A Big Boxer

Ignoring the ginormous cylinders jutting out of both sides of the “Big Boxer”engine is simply impossible. Nothing about the 1,802cc Big Twin is subtle. Take its 244-lb. weight, for example, which is about 13 lb. more than a Honda Grom. Or how about the 107 mm x 100 mm bore and stroke? Despite its historical origins, the air- and oil-cooled Big Boxer is a thoroughly modern, Euro 5-certified beast. The four valves per cylinder are operated by fork rocker arms (with traditional locking screw adjusters for easy home-garage adjustment), which in turn are manipulated by pushrods. The dual cams are positioned above the crankshaft to help minimize pushrod length and reciprocating mass and contribute to the overall tighter tolerances of a modern engine.

Power is transferred from the engine to the exposed drive shaft via a constant mesh 6-speed transmission. Controlling the exchange of power is a single plate, self-reinforcing dry clutch, complete with a back-torque limiter to prevent rear wheel hop under hard deceleration or botched downshifts.

Working my way through the morning traffic is an object lesson in how clutch effort need not be hard on a torquey, large-displacement engine. My hand can easily manage the repeated clutch releases in the shuffle from one stoplight to the next. One feature that is not as sunny as this Friday morning is the clutch’s friction zone and final engagement point, which seems to vary with the throttle position. So, if I try to get a quick launch by giving a little more throttle, the clutch ends up slipping more, making me sound like I don’t know what I’m doing. The workaround I settle on is getting the clutch fully engaged while almost lugging the engine and then rolling on the throttle, which works quite well in traffic. Still, I’d prefer a more consistent clutch engagement point.

Once I enter the mountains and leave the interstate behind, I can really focus on the engine’s power delivery. The Big Boxer has a sweet spot between 2,000 rpm and 3,500 rpm, and if you can ride the crest of the torque wave here the engine seems its happiest. Get up above 3,500 rpm, and vibration becomes pretty prominent. Above 4,000 rpm you become acutely aware of how huge those pistons are as they slam back-and-forth inches from your feet. There was some discussion about engine vibration among the journalists, with some of them finding objectionable vibrations occurring below 3,500 rpm. Personally, I find that if you can keep the rpm within that 1,500-rpm range, the vibration is really quite pleasant and part of the character of a Big Twin. Try to rev out the engine to redline, and unless you are accelerating very quickly, the vibration becomes oppressive, particularly above 4,000 rpm.

Rolling through seemingly endless corners through the Rocky Mountains is a great way to test the EFI’s fuel metering. As I found with the R18 when I had one in my possession last year, the fueling is spot on. Nothing I could do would make the power delivery hiccup in any on/off or off/on throttle transitions. While I’m sure the flywheel effect helps to mask any small miscues, the overall impression is one of polished precision.

The same can be said of the slick-shifting transmission. Once I had the heel and toe shifters height adjusted to my preference, running through the gears was simply a joy. What makes the shifter adjustment so critical is that there is precious little space for the rider’s toes to access the shifter, and having the front shifter only slightly too high or too low makes shifting quite difficult. Still, on my journey through the Rockies, I frequently wondered why BMW chose not to outfit the R18B with its typically flawless Shift Assist Pro system. Given that the engine’s happy place is only 1,500 rpm wide, the rider has to stir the gearbox a little more frequently than is typically required of a Big Twin.

Updated Chassis

BMW could have simply installed the fork-mounted fairing and saddlebags without making any changes to the chassis (we’ve seen it done before), but that would have compromised the chassis rigidity and stability of the R18B and the R18 Transcontinental even more so. Consequently, the BMW engineering team tackled the chassis from two directions. First, the headstock and backbone were strengthened to handle the additional loads of the fairing, saddlebags, passengers, and cargo. More interestingly, the rake was changed, and the fork tubes were moved behind the steering stem. These changes were made to give the bike a lighter steering feel at lower speeds and to lessen the tendency to fall into corners at higher speeds.

BMW was successful in both goals. Once you get the R18B (and Transcontinental) moving, parking lot maneuvers are pretty sprightly for a machine claimed to weigh 877 lb. In my travels home from the Denver introduction, I bent the bagger into hundreds of corners and not once did I feel an inkling of falling in. Quite the opposite. The R18B wants to stand up slightly and understeer in corners, requiring a bit of pressure on the inside grip to hold a line. This is not to say that the rider has to fight the bike, and the tendency is not increased by rolling off the throttle or applying the brakes mid-corner. It’s just a characteristic that I noted and played around with throughout my ride, and it does not affect the ability to change lines mid-corner at all.

As my ride takes me out of Colorado and into the remote southeastern corner of Utah, I encounter bumpy pavement that gives me the perfect environment to consider the suspension and chassis stiffness. Having been spoiled by semi-active suspension, I miss it a bit on the rough pavement. The taut fork and shock that stabilize the chassis in corners feel a little harsh in this environment. However, given the choice between a firm ride in the corners with a little more delivery of bumps to the rider and a pillowy ride that wallows in the corners, I’ll take the firmer suspension every time. Despite the firmness, I can clearly feel the additional suspension stroke allowed by the 4.7-in. travel BMW claims in the rear. Where the R18 felt harsh as the shock ended its stroke, the R18B (and Transcontinental) does a better job of handling big jolts.

Encountering bumps while leaned over, particularly in high-speed sweepers, is a great way to test the stiffness of the chassis, and in all but the biggest of the rolling bumps encountered mid-corner, the chassis displays no flex. Those big hits, which are followed by G-outs, give a slight, momentary hinge-in-the-middle feeling but not the oscillation that can turn into a wobble.

Not surprisingly, the limiting factor in cornering is the floorboards. While the shock is 1.2 in. longer, the ride-height only increased by 0.3 in. So, the R18B has marginally more cornering clearance and, like its older sibling, drags cleanly when the peg/floorboards do touch. Still, the cornering fun ends sooner than I like. However, by the time I arrive in Utah, I’ve had two days of riding to adjust my lean angle sensors and only drag the floorboard twice in the state while still having fun at a cruiser-touring pace and continuing to be the fastest bike of all those I encounter on the road.

Capable Cruiser Brakes

I come up with this description of the R18B’s binders, as I’m trail-braking into a long, downhill, slightly decreasing-radius corner along Utah’s scenic Highway 12. The phrasing is meant to imply that, while they are decent, the brakes are not up to sporty-touring standards – not that it’s really a problem since the R18B is a cruiser. So, what we have is a pair of axial-mounted four-piston calipers squeezing 300mm floating rotors up front with a single four-piston caliper and 300mm disc out back to handle your deceleration requirements.

While the lever is mushier than I would like – and consequently, limits feel – the front braking system is plenty powerful and can haul the big bike down from speed with gusto if necessary. Notably, the brakes are linked, making the front brake also apply the rear brake to some degree. This is a good thing since the brake pedal position makes it difficult to cover or even apply the rear brake in a hurry. I can only guess that the position was an attempt to address the issue with the R18’s pedal. Unfortunately, the new location is a detriment to the rear brake’s use.

So, how does a performance-oriented rider navigate a turn on this touring cruiser? The long wheelbase means that the Big Boxer plays a big role on corner entry with an early throttle roll-off on approach and a possible downshift to begin the deceleration. When I choose to apply the brakes is a function of how I see the corner’s path. Typically, I lift to a neutral throttle position and trail the brakes into the corner using them to keep my lean angle within the ground clearance parameters. When the exit is in sight (or I’m certain my speed is correct for the rest of the corner), I release the brakes and begin the throttle roll-on. This technique is fun, challenging, and allows the R18B to make remarkably good time through a series of corners despite the ground clearance limitations.

Rider Comfort

The area of rider comfort is quite subjective. So, I believe I should start with some dimensions. I am 5 ft. 11 in. with a 32-in. inseam. At the R18B’s introduction, I encountered journalists – both taller and shorter than myself – that rated the riding position less than ideal. I’ll start with the legroom. I was riding 400-500 miles per day and never felt cramped by the floorboard position. However, I heard a rider who is a couple of inches taller than me say that the legroom was less than optimal for him. Similarly, he felt that the B’s windshield created excessive buffeting while I had no issues with it – even at triple-digit speeds.

(An aside about the taller Transcontinental windshield: I was able to just barely see over it, with the line crossing the lower third of my field of vision, but a shorter rider of around 5 ft. 8 in. said he could only look through it, which would be a consideration for riders in rainy or buggy environments. Since the Bagger and Transcontinental windshields are interchangeable, the lower option would fit on the Transcontinental. There is also a wind deflector option that is even lower, but I did not get a chance to see or sample it.)

When traveling multiple hundreds of miles per day, any seat will get uncomfortable. That said, taking occasional breaks to stretch my legs and get fresh blood in my buttocks helped immensely. I’d rate the R18B’s seat at a solid 8 out of 10 for long-distance comfort. There is also plenty of room to move around on the seat to ease the bun burn during tank-draining stints.

With regards to my upper body, the reach to the handlebar was just about perfect for me, and only during tight turns did I feel like it was a stretch for my outer arm to retain a comfortable grip on the throttle, brake, or clutch.

Storage Capacity

The fact that the B has less storage capacity than the Transcontinental is fairly obvious, and both bikes offer a fairly typical saddlebag capacity of 27 liters. However, it was a single miscalculation (the hard sides of my helmet case made it take up half of the saddlebag’s space) that forced me to strap my duffel bag to the back seat for my ride home. The electronically-locking saddlebags feature an interesting double locking system. You press the lid down until it clicks, and then you press down a lever to secure the latch. The electric lock is also keyed for non-powered use. If I were in the market for this bike, I’d go for a version without the saddlebag speakers since they eat into the storage space, and I never use a motorcycle’s speakers unless I’m testing the sound system for an article.

Electronic Touring Amenities

Here is an area where BMW typically excels, and for the most part, this is true with the R18B and R18 Transcontinental. Many of the options, when they work properly, are completely unobtrusive and go unnoticed. For example the automatic ride-height adjustment on the shock. How do I know it worked? The R18B felt completely balanced front and rear both with and without my belongings in the saddlebags. Then there are the de rigueur heated grips and seat (the grips I used when summiting Mt. Evans in 42° F weather and 30-mph winds).

Riding after dark to my hotel gives me a chance to really test the LED headlight. With the Headlight Pro with Mechanical Cornering Lights, I expected to be able to see a difference as I turned in for corners. Well, I don’t notice the low beam pivoting, but I am impressed by how far through a corner I can see after dark. BMW claims the low beam pivots over a range of +/- 35°. This is particularly important since I am riding through dusk to full darkness in the mountains…in open range…where 1,700 lb. of beef in a black fur coat could be awaiting me just out of the light’s reach. The high beam is impressive, giving me a great view down the road, but I’m even more thrilled by the low beam’s light pattern that gives plenty of illumination without prompting a single oncoming car to flash lights at me.