VOLUME 57 ISSUE 14 APRIL 7, 2020 P41
The R 18 doesn't go full
cruiser, instead going for mid-
mounted foot controls set behind
the motor's cylinders.
The R 18 is still packed with
electronics. There's three riding
modes: Rain, Roll and Rock
(Rain is a dumbed down throttle
response; Roll gives a more
direct throttle and less
intervention on the
Automatic Stability
Control and Motor
Slip Regulation set-
ting; and Rock gives
the most "spontane-
ous," according to BMW
speak, throttle response,
while giving more slip
from the MSC. There's
LED lights, traction control,
cruise control, hill-hold control,
drag-torque control for down-
shifts, ride-by-wire throttle, key-
less ignition, cornering lights
and combined ABS.
At this stage, there are two
R 18 models—the standard and
the First Edition, which comes
with more chrome and differ-
ent paint. Plus, First Edition
owners get a "Welcome Box"
that includes historical tank
emblems, assembly gloves,
and the all-important R 18 First
Edition trucker cap. There's
also a massive load of acces-
sories styled by BMW and col-
laborators like Roland Sands
Design. CN
