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Thoughts appreciated

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andys

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2024
Messages
4
Location
Cambridge UK
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Bike
BMW R Nine T, R1100RS, Moto Guzzi California EV1100
I fell for the R18 as soon as I saw it in the press releases, but at the time it was out of my reach.
Then the year before last when my R Nine T went in for a service, knowing how keen I am on the bike, my dealer offered me one as a loaner for the day.
It was exactly what I was hoping it would be but I found one irritating drawback.
It's lack of ground clearance.
Scraping metal on tarmac at moderate lean angles is fun at first, but quickly got tedious.
When I mentioned this to the dealer they said words to the effect of, it's a cruiser, not designed for attacking bends.
Yeah OK but I've got a 20 year old Moto Guzzi California EV1100 that says otherwise, which on tight twisty roads would leave the R18 for dust.
In every other respect I absolutely loved the Beemer so this isn't a deal breaker.
I was just wondering if anyone here has addressed this and found a solution.
Anyway prices on the R18 have plummeted in the UK to the point where I can now afford one, and I've found a first edition with 5000 miles in a main dealer which I'm currently considering at £9000.
Interestingly they're advertising their bike with the reverse gear, which I thought had to be disconnected as part of a recall.
A mistake on their part?
It's got the pillion hardware and seat fitted which is Ideal.
Thoughts appreciated 👍
 
I have the R18 Model B, where on occasion I scrape the replaceable nubs on the bottom of the floorboards; however, nothing so extreme where the exhaust is dragging...

Buy extra nubs for the floorboards or pegs, depending on which model you decide on..
 
andys said:
I fell for the R18 as soon as I saw it in the press releases, but at the time it was out of my reach.
Then the year before last when my R Nine T went in for a service, knowing how keen I am on the bike, my dealer offered me one as a loaner for the day.
It was exactly what I was hoping it would be but I found one irritating drawback.
It's lack of ground clearance.
Scraping metal on tarmac at moderate lean angles is fun at first, but quickly got tedious.
When I mentioned this to the dealer they said words to the effect of, it's a cruiser, not designed for attacking bends.
Yeah OK but I've got a 20 year old Moto Guzzi California EV1100 that says otherwise, which on tight twisty roads would leave the R18 for dust.
In every other respect I absolutely loved the Beemer so this isn't a deal breaker.
I was just wondering if anyone here has addressed this and found a solution.
Anyway prices on the R18 have plummeted in the UK to the point where I can now afford one, and I've found a first edition with 5000 miles in a main dealer which I'm currently considering at £9000.
Interestingly they're advertising their bike with the reverse gear, which I thought had to be disconnected as part of a recall.
A mistake on their part?
It's got the pillion hardware and seat fitted which is Ideal.
Thoughts appreciated 👍
Click to expand...
Maybe the advertising was done before the recall was announced and they have no edited the listing or they have not bothered disconnecting the module until the sale is a go. For example, I still have my reverse gear in place and have yet to receive the letter.
Regarding ground clearance, I have been on twisties and silly mini roundabouts and have never scraped the floor boards. I don’t ride like Valentino Rossi but I believe the board are better than the pegs when it comes to leaning the bike.
 
I have a r ninet (for 3 years or so)...... ride mostly local roads in the hills and got hooked on the R18 and bought one a year ago (as they became more affordable/a steal) and kept my r ninet scrambler.

20231201_152811-01.jpeg

My R18, once the standard rear shock was set correctly* for my weight, would occasionaly touch down but not near what youtube dunces were saying.

Anyway, I added a +20mm Wilbers shock that increase rear wheel travel from 90mm to 115mm..... makes a huge difference, rarely scrapes now and the ride is much improved on 2nd rate roads. I also added front springs and emulators. Currently have a raised/sprung BMW Homage seat with a bit of dead sheep fitted As per photo.

I now enjoy riding my R18 fast in the windies about twice that of my r nine.

Worth mentioning that wheel size, frame geom, weight etc varies a bit with different models so keep this in mind when people with a different model R18 give their experience.

* rear shock preload was wound all the way out (so soft and droopy rear end) for transport purposes from factory, this compromised ride and ground clearance and subsequently gave the bike a bad rap initially..... as testers never checked suspension set up nor did BMW do a proper predelivery... so in a way everyone got what they deserved.
 
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andys said:
I fell for the R18 as soon as I saw it in the press releases, but at the time it was out of my reach.
Then the year before last when my R Nine T went in for a service, knowing how keen I am on the bike, my dealer offered me one as a loaner for the day.
It was exactly what I was hoping it would be but I found one irritating drawback.
It's lack of ground clearance.
Scraping metal on tarmac at moderate lean angles is fun at first, but quickly got tedious.
When I mentioned this to the dealer they said words to the effect of, it's a cruiser, not designed for attacking bends.
Yeah OK but I've got a 20 year old Moto Guzzi California EV1100 that says otherwise, which on tight twisty roads would leave the R18 for dust.
In every other respect I absolutely loved the Beemer so this isn't a deal breaker.
I was just wondering if anyone here has addressed this and found a solution.
Anyway prices on the R18 have plummeted in the UK to the point where I can now afford one, and I've found a first edition with 5000 miles in a main dealer which I'm currently considering at £9000.
Interestingly they're advertising their bike with the reverse gear, which I thought had to be disconnected as part of a recall.
A mistake on their part?
It's got the pillion hardware and seat fitted which is Ideal.
Thoughts appreciated 👍
Click to expand...
I have a R18 TC for a couple of years now, riding across good parts of the US and Europe. Standard set-up..... never scraped the pedals once on any of the curvy roads, not even climbing up the Stelvio pass. I would not worry about it. Only issue on the bike, the Michelin front tire is incredibly noisy; get rid of it ASAP and replace. I have 888s on there now and the noise is 90% less
 
Joost R1200CL to R18TC said:
I have a R18 TC for a couple of years now, riding across good parts of the US and Europe. Standard set-up..... never scraped the pedals once on any of the curvy roads, not even climbing up the Stelvio pass. I would not worry about it. Only issue on the bike, the Michelin front tire is incredibly noisy; get rid of it ASAP and replace. I have 888s on there now and the noise is 90% less
Click to expand...
I was scraping the footrests all the time on the dealers demo 🤔
 
Joost R1200CL to R18TC said:
Maybe I ride a little more conservatively, but down here in Spain we don't lack for hairpin corners.... but seriously, it is not something I worry about as I take the B roads
Click to expand...

Buenas @Joost R1200CL to R18TC

Same here. Southern Spain drivers heaven aka ´Touge´ country.
I ride my R18 just about exclusively two up and have scraped it ónce only. Was the bottom mount of the pear drop muffler and to be fair on the ground clearance it was on a ridge in the tarmac.

Ok, even though I did share the tarmac with Graziano Rossi once, my boy racer days are over. On the interior roads there he R18 can be ridden quite fast but it needs a none befitting ´attacking´ style for that and why would one? The weight, wheelbase and riders position tell one loudly in capital letters what the bike is for. Boohoooo it does not do the subida a Colmenar on the A-7000 like a KTM Duke ;)

And... scraping the foot boards. Reads almost like a contradiction in terms no?! 🫣
 
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My Classic (with the same front end rake as the base r18) is my day bike and is for cruising and looking good. Drags hard parts too often to carve corners. Rear suspension set up for me at 180lbs which is 4 clicks.

My previous Bagger and now Trans Continental is the choice for carving corners. I have not had a clearance issue with either the B or the TC even when riding 2 up thanks to the automatic leveling rear suspension. The steeper rake makes the bike turn in quickerPXL_20250825_005228592~2.jpgPXL_20250823_173920777~3.jpg. So my recommendation if you want the clearance is go with a B or a TC. Seems counter intuitive but it is what it is...
 
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