🎉great review! Wanted one for the longest! Very grateful to be able to have the 21 Classic. Fuel gauge is missing. Hopefully, there will be a aftermarket gas cap with gauge. Fingers crossed.
I own the Classic version. Love it! A retro metal art sculpture. Two flaws. The windscreen is abhorrent. Horrific wind buffeting. Shame on the BMW design "engineer." Abysmal failure. However, there is a fix, at a very reasonable price. Clearview Shields (Fort Collins, Colorado). Multiple heights, widths, and curvature to redirect wind. Impressive design and material, and a great price. They brought their 36 years of experience. Number two is the stock seat. Very stiff. I upgraded to the Day Rider seat offered by BMW, but made by Mustang. There are other BMW (Mustang) seats offering even more padding.
Surprisingly it's not that much of a pain with slow riding and parking. Keep in mind that the weight is very low down, so although you can feel that it is there, because it is not a "top heavy" bike, it is really not as difficult to move as you would except.
We'd give it a solid 7/10. Although it has ESA, when it comes to cruiser styled bikes, nothing beats an air suspension setup. Not too say that it's uncomfortable in any way, but there's always room for improvements 😉
It's definitely built too last. The boxer engine has always been known as one of the most reliable engines around. Comparing it to something like a Goldwing is a tricky thing though. Very different class of motorcycle.
My 1972 R75/5 (small boxer with 750cc) is still going strong alongside my 2012 R1200GSA (midsize boxer with 1170cc). They run great despite their age and the GSA has been in all kinds of single track off road. My R18 Classic (big boxer) joined them in the garage 2 weeks ago. I’m a big fan of the boxer motor. Easy to service, BMW has been building them nearly 100 years now. Honda is a relative newcomer to the boxer. Might be better to think the opposite… would a Goldwing be as reliable as a BMW boxer?
