Duration of ownership??

slave600

slave600

New member
Visit site
I have seen a handful of these bikes for sale with little to no real mileage on them. How would you all explain this? Is it due to poor decision on buyer/ loss of appeal/ loss of value/ maybe they moved on to bigger bikes?

I am fairly certain I will buy used for less depreciation, but a new one isn't out of the question. As the bike will take the place of my secondary street bike I am more willing to try something less conventional like this "tank"
 
BTW, not asking to be combative... I have owned 75+ bikes over my years! I have bought and sold/ traded bikes for less reasons, lol. Even the "flavor of the week" has pushed me to sell.
 
I truly believe the R18 is not everyone’s cup of tea and many owners may have bought the bikes on the heat of the moment and not got used to its character. Many cruiser riders associate the cruiser bikes with forward controls and smoother ride and this bike does not offer these features. I think a few owners fancied something new or perhaps different and later on found the R18 was not for them. There was an incredible hype before the R18 was launched and chances are people rushed to get their bikes before demand influenced the price and availability. Another thing is that dealers were selling their demos with 500/1200 miles on the clock to give way to newer models and this may also explain the availability of low mileage models out there.
 
There are a few threads about the pricing and sales you can search the forum for some varied thoughts to browse through.

Here are a few contributing factors in no particular order.

The R18 models are in the same type of motorcycle as those offered by HD and Indian, but they are very different with each having their own pros and cons.

BMW had brought in many/too many people on their team from the Motor Company and IMO created too much focus on being a BMW Davidson rather a BMW. While the focus group(s) input was/is critical, in my many years of riding many Brands and types of motorcycles there are a very small group of HD riders that actually will buy anything else even though they may enjoy a ride on something different. So IMO very little conquest sales potential for such a large percent of pre sales model design-selection.

The First Edition was/is beautiful and I lusted for it. But, I couldn’t get beyond tube required rims and cruise control not being an option and this was compounded by Covid supply issues where almost nothing was available for accessories. This lack of supply further hurt the conquest sales group as they are ready and willing to pay the “Harley Tax” to make it their own off the showroom floor and bringing Plain Jane home had little appeal (based on several conversations I had with some of potential buyers).

An unforgivable “shooting themselves in the foot” was a totally unacceptable failure to set up demo bikes for individuals and maybe more importantly the press fleet. The rear shock on the “non bagger-tc” models which were the first R18 platform models that were sent out rode like a hard tail with zero comfort and negligible ground-cornering clearance. 30 seconds of effort transforms the bike and yet almost universally the horse was already out the barn door with the damaging assessments already in print.

BMW accessories for the R18 may be the only OEM items to make Indian accessories appear to be reasonably priced.

BMW should kick to the curb those that used the incentives as a never ending part of the R18 models official Suggested Retail $. It was one thing to jumpstart things after Covid issues pissed on their (and all OEMs), parade, but doing so year after year undermined new sales and i am a little gutted and a little pissed off when I see 8 year old “other” BMW models like F8XX or S1000XX bikes offered at similar pricing as 1-2 year old barely used R18 models. It’s a buyers market for sure, but reselling has still not recovered so be eyes wide open.

All that said, I love mine subjectively for both fit and finish as well as how it offers so much fun with a great roadster type ride and the visceral blend of old feel and new tech. So much motorcycle for such little money. Mine has been flawless and I have covered a good bit of the lower 48 on her with only a change to a “weekender” seat.

Cheers
 
I fell for the R18 when I first saw one in 2019 when I bought an R1200R from a Motorrad dealer. Never thought I’d own one but after my Dad died in July 2022 I bought one-a 6 month old first edition Classic. I’ve lost money on it no doubt but I bought it as I believe it is a work of art both aesthetically & mechanically. I ride my R18 as much as I can but I admit she’s a Winter garage queen. I have a GS that I commute on year round & in total I ride c20000m a year.
I intend to keep my 18 & enjoy riding it as long as I can. Who knows it may get the classic status it deserves.
 
I could easily see folks buying it on the spot based on its first impression, as a piece of jewelry and or art; however, we all know that ownership for the most part is a hobby and not a necessity - unless we're discussing mental health.. then it's a necessity..

I wanted to ditch my 2008 GS Adventure for something like a HD Street Glide ST and or Road Glide ST, I wanted music, navigation and wind protection.

I jumped on the R18 B First Edition based on price, 0.9% financing and it being a First Edition; I probably could have gotten 0% financing and 4 months of payments if I had waited out the 2022 riding season...

I haven't once regretted my purchase of the R18 B; it's a great looking bike right out of the box, and lots of fun to maintain.
 
I found my bike in the R18, I got one, and then added a couple more since, a Pure, Classic and TC.
They all have very different personalities, and each is my absolute favorite when I'm on it.
:)
 
Last edited:
Thanks folks, I have been considering the sell of my secondary bike [2015 bmw r1200r LC premium] for a "big cruiser" more for me... I have a new goldwing for me and the daughter as well for the missus. The candidates were a fat boy (my 3rd), a new gen fat bob (had 3 older gens), a rocket III, or an Indian dark horse.
The r18 falls well into the "similar" category, but has a terrible resell value and seems to be about the same price.
 
All in all I figure if I sell my r12r for a fair price and plan on 10k to 14k on an r18 (non bagger/ Tc) style I would be in an ideal situation.
 
Fwiw.... I've never owned or thought about owning a cruiser or for that matter a HD (I'm Australian)..... but as a second bike in retirement I could not resist my "cheap as chips" R18... now I don't want to ride anything else.... nor do I want anything else*. Go figure.

* clearly I'm not reffering to pizza and wine (oops, forgot coffee).
 
LCRC18B said:
Also, it's really not that uncommon for people to buy new motorcycles, not ride them very much, and then sell them. Craigslist is full of bikes that average less than 1000 miles a year.
Click to expand...
I understand that to some degree, but for a new bike (only 2 years old) I was more surprised to see the number of them. I recall the serious challenges when the new vrod muscle, triumph thunderbird storm, and HD panamerica came out.
 
I think the boxer has great optics. I rode an R1200C for 14 years. It is the only bike (of many) that I never got tied of looking at or swinging a leg over.
Now finally I’m back with an R18 anniversary edition. Gunna keep it.
 
slave600 said:
I understand that to some degree, but for a new bike (only 2 years old) I was more surprised to see the number of them. I recall the serious challenges when the new vrod muscle, triumph thunderbird storm, and HD panamerica came out.
Click to expand...
I think the other posts summed up the other points, but I have 10,500ish on mine, and I love it. I've put more miles on it than my super tenere in the same time, which is a great bike too.

This is the r18 forum. We like the bike. If you want the perfect bike get a gs1300, 🤣
 
slave600 said:
I understand that to some degree, but for a new bike (only 2 years old) I was more surprised to see the number of them. I recall the serious challenges when the new vrod muscle, triumph thunderbird storm, and HD panamerica came out.
Click to expand...
The bike market is brutal. The R18 launch bikes were expensive (MSRP) and out of reach for many, having a big chromed cruiser was never going to be an essential purchase. HD have closed down loads of dealers in the UK and well…..gone. If you want practical, hose it down, do it all, at a keen price, by a Transalp.

Kawasaki launched their H2 in 2015. Supercharger, £22k list price, exclusive, ridiculous, only a handful made. There were still quite a few unsold in the UK that were hanging around in the classifieds for ages. Then Kawasaki had to drop it not long after for emissions reasons anyway (Euro4). Rumor mill had Kawasaki losing big money on every one they made. Why did they even bother? Because they wanted to.

I believe the R18 is a sort of BMW middle finger in a crisp white shirt, they made it because they wanted to. They already had the R9T lineup to cater for neo retro buffs. Everyone knows the GS makes all the money. Where they went wrong is building too many when the market just couldn’t support the volume. If HD cant sell enough to survive how on earth did they think they were going to get on? There might be some but I’ve never even seen one big Indian cruiser over here, nor a Rocket3 for that matter and there is a Triumph dealer only 30 miles away from me.

It’s not easy to get right though, take the new Norton 961 (only available in home market UK). That’s in exactly the same predicament as the R18. Norton fanboys see past any negatives and buy with the heart. Everyone else can’t get past the negatives and walks on. They are already being heavily discounted so early adopters are being stung in the pocket. Sound familiar?

I can see both sides. Buy into it now you get a great bike at a great price. The R18 is a jewel. The rest of us have lost money, some a great deal of money. Honestly I think BMW should pull it, stop the race to the bottom. They have to supply parts for 10 years anyway which by then we’ll all either be dead or riding horses again because of the eco mentalist lobbies…..
 
Last edited:
BobW said:
There are a few threads about the pricing and sales you can search the forum for some varied thoughts to browse through.

Here are a few contributing factors in no particular order.

The R18 models are in the same type of motorcycle as those offered by HD and Indian, but they are very different with each having their own pros and cons.

BMW had brought in many/too many people on their team from the Motor Company and IMO created too much focus on being a BMW Davidson rather a BMW. While the focus group(s) input was/is critical, in my many years of riding many Brands and types of motorcycles there are a very small group of HD riders that actually will buy anything else even though they may enjoy a ride on something different. So IMO very little conquest sales potential for such a large percent of pre sales model design-selection.

The First Edition was/is beautiful and I lusted for it. But, I couldn’t get beyond tube required rims and cruise control not being an option and this was compounded by Covid supply issues where almost nothing was available for accessories. This lack of supply further hurt the conquest sales group as they are ready and willing to pay the “Harley Tax” to make it their own off the showroom floor and bringing Plain Jane home had little appeal (based on several conversations I had with some of potential buyers).

An unforgivable “shooting themselves in the foot” was a totally unacceptable failure to set up demo bikes for individuals and maybe more importantly the press fleet. The rear shock on the “non bagger-tc” models which were the first R18 platform models that were sent out rode like a hard tail with zero comfort and negligible ground-cornering clearance. 30 seconds of effort transforms the bike and yet almost universally the horse was already out the barn door with the damaging assessments already in print.

BMW accessories for the R18 may be the only OEM items to make Indian accessories appear to be reasonably priced.

BMW should kick to the curb those that used the incentives as a never ending part of the R18 models official Suggested Retail $. It was one thing to jumpstart things after Covid issues pissed on their (and all OEMs), parade, but doing so year after year undermined new sales and i am a little gutted and a little pissed off when I see 8 year old “other” BMW models like F8XX or S1000XX bikes offered at similar pricing as 1-2 year old barely used R18 models. It’s a buyers market for sure, but reselling has still not recovered so be eyes wide open.

All that said, I love mine subjectively for both fit and finish as well as how it offers so much fun with a great roadster type ride and the visceral blend of old feel and new tech. So much motorcycle for such little money. Mine has been flawless and I have covered a good bit of the lower 48 on her with only a change to a “weekender” seat.

Cheers
Click to expand...
What 30 seconds of work? Do you mean turning down the shock?
 
slave600 said:
I have seen a handful of these bikes for sale with little to no real mileage on them. How would you all explain this? Is it due to poor decision on buyer/ loss of appeal/ loss of value/ maybe they moved on to bigger bikes?

I am fairly certain I will buy used for less depreciation, but a new one isn't out of the question. As the bike will take the place of my secondary street bike I am more willing to try something less conventional like this "tank"
Click to expand...
Number one reason - as with all things with motors, these were COVID bikes bought as getaway machines when people had nothing else to do. Well documented. Then pile on all the BMW mistakes and...
 
HAH... I installed new Metzler tires and a brand new Touratech Mono-shock on my 2008 GS Adventure with 90,000+ miles on it during COVID.. probably because all of my buddies went out and bought new Harleys...

I didn't jump on the R18 B until the Spring of 2022.
 
It's not just the R18, I regularly see bikes that are 3 years old with less than a thousand miles on them for sale. To a lot of people, they make an emotional decision to buy a bike, then realize the actual practicality of using that bike doesn't fit their expectation or lifestyle. After a couple years of it not being used they decide to take the hit and make space in their garage.

As an example, the last two Harleys I bought were a Low Rider that was 5 years old at the time and had 79 miles on it. Dude must have rode it home and never used it again. Other one is a 1 year old Sportster that had more than $1k worth of stuff put on it that had 700 miles on it. The guy spent more time swapping parts than riding. This is why I almost never buy bikes new, there are always smoking deals on barely used bikes. Nearly every bike I have bought was less than 5 years old and less than 3,000 miles for significant savings over new.

For every guy that buys a Gold Wing or GS and puts 20k a year on them, there are 2 people who impulse buy a bike and almost never ride it. With the R18 being so pretty and so affordable compared to the competition, I bet a lot of the buyers fall into that second category.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top