Media Appreciation For The R18 Is Improving

Caveman

Active member
I was bored last night and I wasted a couple of hours watching YouTube videos and reading R18 reviews. I watched/read a few from when the bike first came out and I watched/read a few from 2022. The early ones were all pretty much the same. They begrudgingly appreciated the quality and uniqueness of the bike but overly focused on issues like the alleged harsh ride and minimal cornering issues. Basically that's all they had to complain about but as those of us on here know it was a nonissue caused by poor rear shock setup.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that more recent reviews are really starting to sing the bike's praises. Now that the setup issue is common knowledge more and more motorcycle video sites are appreciating what this bike is and how good a motorcycle it really is. Obviously, I think they're late to the party but I'm glad to see the bike starting to get the respect it deserves.

I made a comment sometime last year that I thought the R18's days were numbered because the market share wasn't strong enough for BMW to keep building them. Now, I'm not convinced that's true. Wandering around the web last night has given me hope that the R18 may be staking it's claim as a legitimate contender in the big cruiser market. More and more moto journalists are saying really good things and I think it's about damn time.
 
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I've realized a lot of those review carry some strong biases. A lot of those guys doing reviews don't actually ride big cruisers and so I can't imagine they would understand or appreciate the point of a large machine like the R18. Regardless, whatever gets people buying the bike, I am all for it. I want more accessories!

PS: On instagram I see the r18 appears to be very popular in Asia, so there is hope!
 
I've realized a lot of those review carry some strong biases. A lot of those guys doing reviews don't actually ride big cruisers and so I can't imagine they would understand or appreciate the point of a large machine like the R18. Regardless, whatever gets people buying the bike, I am all for it. I want more accessories!

PS: On instagram I see the r18 appears to be very popular in Asia, so there is hope!
It would be nice if BMW could just produce the accessories that were in the initial sales materials.
 
I agree Caveman. By now I think most people who were genuinely interested have ignored the negativity, tried one themselves and if it met their expectations got one. I don’t think it needs to be or should be compared with anything, it’s unique. Personally I hope for 2023 the 2nd hand market (UK) settles down a bit, I can’t see hardly any leftover bikes now so that’s a good thing. If BMW get their production numbers right and don’t flood the market with too many bikes (like launch year) then maybe, just maybe our bikes will hold value quite well.
 
I agree Caveman. By now I think most people who were genuinely interested have ignored the negativity, tried one themselves and if it met their expectations got one. I don’t think it needs to be or should be compared with anything, it’s unique. Personally I hope for 2023 the 2nd hand market (UK) settles down a bit, I can’t see hardly any leftover bikes now so that’s a good thing. If BMW get their production numbers right and don’t flood the market with too many bikes (like launch year) then maybe, just maybe our bikes will hold value quite well.
I’m surprised that they have struggled to shift the individual colour FE’s, the Marina Bay Blue in particular is stunning in the metal. Numbers on Biketrader were falling but seems a fair few were pre registered at the end of last year. There are a couple under £12k which is a lot of bike for the money but also a hard sell when nearly new ones are sub £14k. When I traded my R18 for the B they did say that demand had picked up a bit for them but I’m not sure that will continue now that the finance contributions and cheap finance seem to have ended.
 
Yea I do think it matters hugely which country you are in. Seems there have been some stellar deals in the US that I don’t think we were even offered over here in the UK plus everything seems so much cheaper there. Winter is a very hard time to sell so I guess dealers have to go low to shift and clear out ready for 2023 bikes, it’s the same with most makes. There’s been the odd colour version for sale but not many (from what I saw anyway).
 
Maybe there's a big difference with stock suspension for the regular r18 compared to the bagger and tc. I find the TC suspension very compliant and comfortable, especially compared to my stock Road King.
 
Maybe there's a big difference with stock suspension for the regular r18 compared to the bagger and tc. I find the TC suspension very compliant and comfortable, especially compared to my stock Road King.
Big enough for myself and others to make the swap. The extra 30mm rear travel is noticeable as is the reduced rake.
 
I wanted to make mention though, many of these ‘reviews’ aren’t from owners of the bike. These are seeded by BMW Motorrad to YouTubers so they’re given the bike for a while so my opinion is they are going to be less subjective Than an owner.

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/bmwr18partner/ is where you want to go. These are all of the folks who got R18s for almost indefinitely on loan from BMW for no cost. Some of them have had the bikes for a year now and so any time you see those folks posting videos, just know they’re almost being paid to do it.
 
nothing wrong with paying for a good review as long as it helps the brand and sells more of the R18 platform !!

Is any review ever truly objective anyway ? only your opinion matters. I would never make purchase decision as a result of anyone else's thoughts or opinions.

Only MY opinion matters.
 
nothing wrong with paying for a good review as long as it helps the brand and sells more of the R18 platform !!

Is any review ever truly objective anyway ? only your opinion matters. I would never make purchase decision as a result of anyone else's thoughts or opinions.

Only MY opinion matters.
That’s true but these influencers do alter the perception of a bike to the wider public and definitely impact on its desirability, or not and importantly the resale value. I watched and read everything I could find about the R18FE around launch time, 2 years or so ago and was put off TBH. There were quite a few (let’s call them) haters and a lot of ‘click bait‘ headlines kicking around. In no order of importance vibrations, peg scraping, too quiet, no fuel gauge, no cruise, fishtails, weight, seat, not a HD.

It was only last summer after the dust had settled (post Covid) that actual owners started popping up and giving genuine feedback on their experience that I gave it a proper second look. I started reading everything on this forum, I went to look at one in person and spoke to a BMW tech at the dealership about how things were going. We all know no bike is perfect and I decided I didn’t care about any of the negatives. It is what it is.

So here I am. I love my R18FE.

Euro 6 & 7 regulations are looming fast and whether we like it or not new ICE vehicles are being killed off. Maybe small capacity motorcycles will survive but I doubt any big air cooled bike will so now is the time to bag one if you want it. Very soon it might just be too late.
 
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