Most new owners of the R18 probably aren't yet considering getting inside the Big Boxer engine, but I can't help but wonder what the potentials are. After all, the magazines and ad copy all talks about how BMW designed the R18 to be especially customizable. Naturally, most of what they're suggesting is that it is supposed to be easy to change handlebars, exhausts and other simple "bolt on" stuff.
But I want to know if the cylinders are all-aluminum or do they have iron sleeves. Most likely, they are entirely aluminum, with hard plating (commonly called Nikasil). Plated aluminum cylinders cool much better than iron sleeved cylinders, cost less to produce and have better anti-wear characteristics. And, as long as there is sufficient material thickness in the lower protruding "sleeve", they can still be bored out & replated for bigger pistons. I've read that the piston tops are "dished", such that they contain part of or most of the combustion chamber. I'll bet that there's plenty of room there to increase the compression ratio. How's a 2-liter boxer with 135 lb/ft or torque sound? The very thought makes my mouth water!
I expect that there will eventually be higher performing cams available. Changing the way the engine breathes, by swapping cams, will require altered fuel injection and (possibly) ignition tuning. Will the OEM CPU/ECU be tuneable with software? For that matter, did BMW design tuneability in the "computer(s)"?
I know that a lot, maybe even MOST of you are already wondering what's wrong with me. The R18 is a NEW motorcycle, so why would anyone already be thinking this way? The answer is: because that's the way I'm wired and I've been building high performance motorcycles for decades. Getting to know a new engine in it's most intimate details and then finding it's greater potential is nirvana!
But I want to know if the cylinders are all-aluminum or do they have iron sleeves. Most likely, they are entirely aluminum, with hard plating (commonly called Nikasil). Plated aluminum cylinders cool much better than iron sleeved cylinders, cost less to produce and have better anti-wear characteristics. And, as long as there is sufficient material thickness in the lower protruding "sleeve", they can still be bored out & replated for bigger pistons. I've read that the piston tops are "dished", such that they contain part of or most of the combustion chamber. I'll bet that there's plenty of room there to increase the compression ratio. How's a 2-liter boxer with 135 lb/ft or torque sound? The very thought makes my mouth water!
I expect that there will eventually be higher performing cams available. Changing the way the engine breathes, by swapping cams, will require altered fuel injection and (possibly) ignition tuning. Will the OEM CPU/ECU be tuneable with software? For that matter, did BMW design tuneability in the "computer(s)"?
I know that a lot, maybe even MOST of you are already wondering what's wrong with me. The R18 is a NEW motorcycle, so why would anyone already be thinking this way? The answer is: because that's the way I'm wired and I've been building high performance motorcycles for decades. Getting to know a new engine in it's most intimate details and then finding it's greater potential is nirvana!