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Tendancy to veer to the right

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Richard

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Jun 27, 2025
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France
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BMW R 18 B First edition
Dear Friends, on m'y R18B year 22, I noticed that when the speed regulator is on, should I try to take my hands of the handlebars, the bike tends to veer slowly to the right. Has anyone noticed that ? Thanks for your feed back.
 
My TC actually veers a little to the left. I simply shift my balance to make Alcina (my bike) straighten out. It could just be me who naturally sits off-balance too. 🤷‍♂️

Mike
 
Richard, your bike has PTTR (pulls to the right). Keehn's bike has PTTL. I don't know what causes this aside from center of gravity shifted during production? Fortunately, my R18 anniversary edition will let me take hands off the bars at highway speed.
 
Thanks guys for your comments. I am wondering if it has something to do with the aerodynamic of the bagger or the torq effect of the engine. I checked the tyres and they seem worn symetrically. The bike has 3000 kms and is pratically as good as new.
 
Fwiw.... my R18 "pure" has just one saddle bag..... the bike tracks straight reliably with bag empty..... with say 5lbs or so weight in it (groceries from shop) it no longer tracks straight.... I only post this to say it doesn't take much.

And another fwiw.... when removing a front wheel (say tire change) there is a process of "resetting the front end" on bikes to assist with the wheel taking up a "true" alignment.... might be worth a try.... most places wouldn't bother doing it (time is money). Link for ref:

 
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BER18 100 said:
Richard, your bike has PTTR (pulls to the right). Keehn's bike has PTTL. I don't know what causes this aside from center of gravity shifted during production? Fortunately, my R18 anniversary edition will let me take hands off the bars at highway speed.
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Mine does this.... depending on what side of the road I'm on..... (camber joke.....)
 
Noelpolar said:
Fwiw.... my R18 "pure" has just one saddle bag..... the bike tracks straight reliably with bag empty..... with say 5lbs or so weight in it (groceries from shop) it no longer tracks straight.... I only post this to say it doesn't take much.

And another fwiw.... when removing a front wheel (say tire change) there is a process of "resetting the front end" on bikes to assist with the wheel taking up a "true" alignment.... might be worth a try.... most places wouldn't bother doing it (time is money). Link for ref:

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Thanks for the info Noelpolar, it's True that I never gave much attention to the load repartition. I' ll will make some tests.
 
When we blip the throttle the bike tugs hard with the torque reaction and at speed the bike will be pulling and off vertical to some degree and combine that with the road surface (i.e subtle camber changes) and normal tyre wear (squaring off maybe) and then the wind strength & direction it’s likely to cause the bike to run in whichever way it wants to unless we counter all those forces with steering input. I fully expect my bike would be just the same if I went hands free with cruise on. Could be wrong but I don’t think you have anything to be concerned about. At all.
 
Rufus said:
When we blip the throttle the bike tugs hard with the torque reaction and at speed the bike will be pulling and off vertical to some degree and combine that with the road surface (i.e subtle camber changes) and normal tyre wear (squaring off maybe) and then the wind strength & direction it’s likely to cause the bike to run in whichever way it wants to unless we counter all those forces with steering input. I fully expect my bike would be just the same if I went hands free with cruise on. Could be wrong but I don’t think you have anything to be concerned about. At all.
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Hi Rufus,
My first reaction was also to consider the engine torque. True also the road camber influences as well. The only thing that concerns me is it never has à tendency to the left except under consequent wind coming from the right. I had an RT 1200 and a Roadking in the past that were both really stable in most conditions. I am surprised that this heavy R18B FE be so sensitive despite its weight. Thanks for feed back.
 
Yea no worries, the engine spins the same way (obviously) so the slight drift always the same way IMHO is all you are noticing. The R18 is a very visceral bike, it moves around a lot and that’s something I really like, it feels alive. I expect the longer you have it the more you will learn to love its quirks.

I suppose you could always find a long straight QUIET road, get upto say 30-40mph, knock it into neutral and kill the engine to roll along for a bit, see if that resolves your concerns. 🤷‍♂️
 
Rufus said:
Yea no worries, the engine spins the same way (obviously) so the slight drift always the same way IMHO is all you are noticing. The R18 is a very visceral bike, it moves around a lot and that’s something I really like, it feels alive. I expect the longer you have it the more you will learn to love its quirks.

I suppose you could always find a long straight QUIET road, get upto say 30-40mph, knock it into neutral and kill the engine to roll along for a bit, see if that resolves your concerns. 🤷‍♂️
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Hi Rufus, i'll try that. Have you ever noticed a similar behaviour on yours ?
 
No that I ride with my hands off the bars but I have tried it once or twice on the motorway at 65mph or so and my B is arrow straight. I believe the steering damper is there precisely to assist with keeping a straight line, maybe because the aerodynamics of the batwing fairing. Occasionally I use the ACC and let go of my right hand and I have not noticed any extra pressure needed on the left grip to keep my bike straight. I keep my bike chain and lock on the left pannier and the right one empty most of the time.
 
BER18 100 said:
Richard, your bike has PTTR (pulls to the right). Keehn's bike has PTTL. I don't know what causes this aside from center of gravity shifted during production? Fortunately, my R18 anniversary edition will let me take hands off the bars at highway speed.
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I have no issues taking my hands off the bars at highway speed. It's that I need to be attentive to Alcina listing lazily to the left and shift my body weight accordingly.

Mike
 
Richard said:
Hi Rufus, i'll try that. Have you ever noticed a similar behaviour on yours ?
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Yes m8, I’m pretty sure my bike would drift about just the same, I rarely if ever go both hands off though, I have a ‘vision’ of waking up in A&E and looking at myself in the hospital bed thinking why did I do that. Our roads are nothing like those arrow straight 6 lane monsters in America. Anyhow, I had a R18FE before my Roctane and loved that bike too. If money and space was absolutely no object I’d have kept that bike when I got my Roctane. The Roctane is just the same. As I say they move about under you a lot, like the obvious sideways shuddering, more subtle but ever present is the leaning this way & that when you are on & off the throttle, the harder it pulls the stronger the lean, for example leaning into a strong headwind down a dual carriageway (freeway). The very wide handlebars and open riding position accentuate this, just think about a small sailing dinghy tacking back & forth into the wind. I don’t really ever bother but I suppose on a very long ride you could move about in your seat, think its sometimes referred to as body English, like leaning into the wind to counterbalance it all 🤷‍♂️.

These bikes are built like tanks, they have shaft drive with the rear wheel having no adjustment, it’s locked into position so the tracking of the wheels should be nigh on perfect. Honestly, I would just forget about it, ride the bike, enjoy it, enjoy the quirks. I think it takes a few hundred miles to really start bonding and getting into these bikes. It took me a good IDK, 400-450 miles to gel with the heel & toe on my Roctane because I’d never ever used one before, despite the fact I’ve been riding over 35 years now on all sorts of bikes. At first I wasn’t sure but I got there and now absolutely love it, I’ve learnt how to get the best from the bike. I think this is why many, but not all YouTubers that review an R18 just don’t ’get It’. A short ride around the block won’t let the bike shine. They aren’t IMHO easy bikes to just jump on and go (like a generic Honda would be). That’s the charm of them though.

The only thing I would mention is tyres. You didn’t say what mileage they have on them and whether they show any signs at all of wear & tear. R18’s are heavy on tyres. Fact. Whatever sensations you feel may be being accentuated by tyres that are perhaps not as fresh and perfectly profiled as they were when new.
 
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Did I miss it or has anyone mentioned that most roads are crowned to shed water? Yes, since I'm in the US, almost every bike I've ever owned will eventually veer right without handlebar input. That said, my TC is much less straight line stable than Victory Vision. I would assume that's due to the fork mount fairing and front end geometry that's more for show than performance.
 
RhoXS said:
Did I miss it or has anyone mentioned that most roads are crowned to shed water? Yes, since I'm in the US, almost every bike I've ever owned will eventually veer right without handlebar input. That said, my TC is much less straight line stable than Victory Vision. I would assume that's due to the fork mount fairing and front end geometry that's more for show than performance.
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And French roads drive on the right too so the camber would (I expect) be similar to yours RhoXS.
 
RhoXS said:
Did I miss it or has anyone mentioned that most roads are crowned to shed water? Yes, since I'm in the US, almost every bike I've ever owned will eventually veer right without handlebar input. That said, my TC is much less straight line stable than Victory Vision. I would assume that's due to the fork mount fairing and front end geometry that's more for show than performance.
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Most of my riding is on highways, which is obviously wider than the standard two-lane; thusly, the engineered crown isn't as pronounced.

I should clarify that, while Alcina likes to go left if left to her own devices, she's not "out of control", hence it's why I use the term "listing lazily". It's absolutely nothing that concerns me, nor do I intend to do anything to correct. I should note that I am still on the factory tires she shipped with....perhaps the pulling dynamic will change, come fresh tire time?

Mike
 
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