2021 BMW R 18 Transcontinental and R 18 B announced

The BMW Transcontinental and R 18 B is the German brand’s assault on the heavy weight cruiser segment

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HAVING seen the bikes at various stages of on-road testing in the last months, the arrival of the BMW Transcontinental and R 18 B is really no surprise.

BMW R18 First Ride Test 2021 | BMW R18 Engine Sound | Visordown.com

The two bikes signal BMW’s move into the heavyweight cruiser/touring segment, as the German marque looks to take the fight to the likes of Harley-Davidson and Indian.

Over and above the standard BMW R18, the heavyweight Transcontinental gains the obligatory bat-wing front fairing and high screen and wind deflectors and flaps. The dash includes four analogue round instruments and a 10.25 inch TFT colour display, while the nose includes additional lights. A Marshall sound system is included, along with engine protection bars, panniers and a top case, heated seats, chrome trim and an engine in Silver metallic. The R18 B features a lower screen – in keeping with the bagger style – a slimmer seat unit, a blacked-out engine and no top case.

Surprisingly, as BMW has added around 50kg to the R18 B (398kg) and over 80kg to the Transcontinental (427kg), the engine of the two bikes seems relatively unchanged. The 1,802 cc engine has a 107.1 mm bore and 100 mm stroke. The engine output is 67 kW (91 hp) at 4 750 rpm and the maximum torque of 158Nm (116lb-ft) is available from 3,000 rpm.

BMW  R 18 Transcontinental and R 18 B features:

  • Handlebar-mounted fairing
  • High wind shield (R 18 Transcontinental)
  • Low wind shield (R 18 B)
  • Cases in body colour paint finish (27 litres, with audio 26.5 litres)
  • Vibration-decoupled top case in body colour paint finish
    (48 litres, with audio 47 litres, R 18 Transcontinental only)
  • Wind deflectors in body colour finish (R 18 Transcontinental only)
  • 24 litre fuel tank.
  • Output 67 kW (91 hp) at 4 750 rpm, maximum torque 158 Nm at 3 000 rpm
  • 150Nm (116 lb-ft) peak torque
  • Rear swinging arm with enclosed axle drive in rigid-frame design
  • Telescopic fork with fork sleeves and cantilever spring strut with travel-dependent damping as well as automatic load compensation
  • Disc brakes at the front and rear and cast light alloy wheels
  • ABS
  • Dynamic Cruise Control (DCC) as standard
  • Active Cruise Control (ACC) – cruise control with integrated distance control for relaxed touring as an ex works option.
  • LED lighting
  • Adaptive turning light
  • Engine guard (R18 Transcontinental only)
  • Seat heating as standard (R 18 Transcontinental only)
  • Heated grips as standard
  • Keyless ignition
  • Three riding modes as well as ASC and MSR as standard.
  • Reverse gear