- Features a new 1800cc, boxer-twin powerplant
- Pays tribute to 1936 BMW R5 cruiser
- Expected to debut at this year’s EICMA in production form
BMW has been actively working on a big-daddy cruiser motorcycle and had revealed two concepts in the recent past which were designed by motorcycle customising firms. However, the company has now unveiled a concept which was designed in-house, christened as the ‘Concept R18’.
BMW calls it the R18 Concept as the ‘18’ in the name signifies the 1800cc displacement of the boxer-twin engine strapped on to this behemoth. While the details about this powerplant are scarce, the absence of a radiator or oil cooler signals towards an air-cooled mill. The newly developed engine is likely to be utilised for multiple models, one of which will be a tourer that was spotted testing last month.
Coming to the design, the motorcycle gets a retro design which harks back to the BMW R5 cruiser from 1936. Keeping with the same theme, the R18 Concept features a bare-bone styling with minimal body panels and a long low-slung profile. The round headlamp, straight handlebar, teardrop-shaped fuel tank, single seat and spoke wheels lend it a proper old-school styling. However, the most prominent bit is the humungous powerplant which gets chrome finishing on the cylinder heads and is completed with a pair of slashed, fishtail-styled exhausts.
BMW had previously unveiled two cruiser concepts; one created by Japanese firm ‘Custom Works Zon’ named the ‘Departed’ and, another by ‘Revival Cycles’ from America which was christened as ‘The Revival Birdcage.’ Now that the company has unveiled its own cruiser concept, expect it to debut a production model of the same. BMW might take wraps off this bike at this year’s EICMA show in Milan. Expect BMW to use this engine across different platforms and introduce products to compete against Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle.
