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Rides like a Truck

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Tusler

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2023
Messages
34
Location
Southern California
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Bike
2022 BMW R18
Even with the cross country seat on this it rides like my old sportster did if the road has any bumps in it. I was coming up the 2 lane from Yuma off of exit 1 and the tar used to patch the cracks in the road were not smoothed out with the asphalt, wow was it ever a rough ride for a while. I checked the setting on the rear shock and put it according to the manual, on the freeway or a smooth road it is super smooth they could put self drive on it and I could take a nap. Lol
 
I consider suspension work a prerequisite for the basic suspension R18.... if one is discerning..... so a Wilbers rear shock, front springs and maybe some lighter weight fork oil. My R nine t Scrambler was worse...... if I had a back issue it would be the 1st thing I would do. I don't have a back issue and it was still the 1st thing I did.
 
Noelpolar said:
I consider suspension work a prerequisite for the basic suspension R18.... if one is discerning..... so a Wilbers rear shock, front springs and maybe some lighter weight fork oil. My R nine t Scrambler was worse...... if I had a back issue it would be the 1st thing I would do. I don't have a back issue and it was still the 1st thing I did.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestions, it gives me a place to start.
 
How smooth is this bike on a dirt/gravel road or a rough road? We just rode two Urals through New York last week, we could make about 200 miles a day max due to how bad the roads were in most places, very rough hard BACK PILE DRIVING bad roads. Considering buy R18's and hacking them, but want a smoother highway ride.

Part 2... how would the R18 Classic do on the Dalton Highway? I know an the R1250 or any number of bikes would be better suited to the Dalton Highway, but the deal is, for our rigs 90% of our rides are going to be paved, highway type roads and 10% might be a gravel road every now and then. I really don't want an adventure bike and ride it 90% of the time where we don't need it. Would rather have a cruiser type bike and only ride it 10% of the time where we don't normally ride. Not concerned about fuel capacity, looking for handling and ride quality (remember, sidecars, not worried about falling over). Would you think the R18 could handle a cruise up the Dalton highway without making you walk funny?
 
I’ve only seen the Dalton on ‘Ice Road Truckers’ but I can’t imagine a worst place for an R18 sidecar or not. I’ve actually seen a Ural sidecar in person, only a month or so ago at a service station, I chatted to the guy who was doing a 500 mile trip around the coast (UK) and it appears to me to be a completely different vehicle, designed for the military and way way more simple and robust. I think you’d be absolutely mad to do it. Suppose it would be the ultimate test for BMW roadside recovery when you shred a tyre 😬. People use the GS and Adventure type bikes for a reason.
 
MIne is a "pure"..... and this is my opinion as an Australian.... I also own/ride a r nine t.... and am about 85kg geared up...... with stock suspension dialed in as best as it allows.... bike handles well.... but I would rate it as medium harsh..... seat/rider set up (ie bar reach) can have some effect on this... but still generally harsh.... this harshness is less tolerable when in a cruise mode.... when riding hard and fast it is less of an issue and the bikes "connected'ness" is more desirable.

It took me $2k to get both things.... that is reasonable comfort and high speed handling.... needed a rear shock and fork work for that (springs, lighter oil and emulator valves).
 
Dunno about taking it on the Dalton but...

On our local, and reasonably well-maintained, dirt roads (a graded gravel surface but WITHOUT a fresh layer of gravel) I have found the R18 TC handles amazingly well. I think the tire size plus the low center of gravity help with this. But you don't forget the mass & inertia of the bike: slow & easy is the rule, for me anyway.
Of course my GS does it better but the TC handles it much more smoothly than I expected.
 
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