Just out in the States leading a tour. - 'The Cowboy Ride'. We've got 9 R18s out of a pack of 14 bikes. Hard to love immediately, but two weeks to impress.
I should have added, after 30 minutes I'd got numbness in my hands. It's buzzy at 75mph, the cylinders force the foot pegs back and it's hard to get the back brake pedal. The infotainment screen and controls aren't intuitive and the cruise control doesn't disengage with a dab of the clutch which seems unnormal. But time to overcome all that.
@@nathanthepostman Before I retired to Thailand, I owned an R80GS for 20 almost faultless years. The build quality was 2nd to none and when I sold it, it still felt like a relatively new bike. It was basic and easy to work on. I certainly wouldn't buy a modern BMW. I'm now on my 2nd CRF in Thailand plus an SR400 gor the road. Love your Channel for it's down to earth honesty, diversity and off road antics! You should organise a trip around N.Thailand, its awesome!
A muddy track in Devon on a £1k Honda Benly or a gravel road in Nevada on a £25k BMW Cruiser "piece of junk" 😂 Love the honesty Nathan as always safe trip.
I was lucky enough to borrow one for the day. Beautiful Algarve roads, sunshine, lovely g/f on the back…. I liked the look of it. I loved the Marshall sound system. But everything else was a massive disappointment! Nathan’s comments are spot on.
Well you won't be invited to a Spain press launch anytime soon Nathan 😂😂. What an absolute legend of a video, telling it how it is... so rare these days. Love it. Regards, Sean
Toured Europe on my old Honda NX650, a big air cooled single. It did everything I asked it to do and didn't cost me an arm and a leg. go small, go simple and enjoy the journey.
Rented one for a day from ER Las Vegas. Because it was the cheapest bike to rent. Wanted to see if it was a bike to take on a two week tour. I quickly understood why they were cheap to rent… my experience (others may of course love it) was vibrations of a combine harvester, clutch like a grip strengthener, brakes were as effective as deploying a drogue chute, and aerodynamics of an umbrella. It is certainly a marvel of pure teutonic heavy industrial engineering and you could mount a cannon on it. But I decided against touring on it. Will be interested to see how you get on!
Just love the honest review. I can think of one redeeming thing - they're over there in the States cluttering up their big roads and not adding to the congestion over here...!
Having put a deposit down on one of these this week, I stumbled across your review and liked your style. I worked as a sales manager in a BMW Motorrad dealer in the UK, yes they are poor sellers. I believe in trying different bikes as you progress through life, with some being very memorable and leaving a really positive owner experience (Panigale V4S) to some not so good (selling my 3rd GSA, a 1250) to get one of these (7 miles & nearly half price). I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the 1250, it just doesn’t seem to have any soul and often leaves me feeling a bit cold towards it. Due to pick up Transcontinental on Monday, and am sure I’ll either think it’s a piece of shite, or be fairly impressed by the time I get it home. Anyway thanks for the great intro and looking forward to some more feedback. Safe riding.
I own both a GS and R18 TC. These bike are not comparable. I suggest you just enjoy the TC for what it is. A heavy Cruiser. I have taken my TC on the Twisties in North Carolina and Tennessee. It was fun to ride. Not the same as on my GS. Yes the pace as slower, It dose not flick through the turns…. Because it is a heavy cruiser. But when touring or cool weather you are going to love the wind protection. And if you get a bit warm in the summer, those little winglets let in a ton of fresh air. I have not met an actual owner that didn’t enjoy the ride.
Superb initial review. Makes you wonder what sort of market they’re actually aiming at. Be interesting to see how it fairs as the trip unfolds Have a good one Nath👍👍
Euch! You can have my share of that too! Hideous looking thing, that (by your description) goes as well as it looks. I wonder why no-one wants it…? Hard luck mate. Perhaps you’ll find a redeeming feature on it somewhere. Let us know at the end of the trip🤣. Stay safe! Les
Great initial impressions review and as straightforward and clear as we’ve come to expect. I wouldn’t swat it for my old R50 beemer (1955) which looks similar but that’s where it ends😂
Yeah totally different sense of weight and character as well. Someone had to have the big one. I got the short straw! The other guys seem to be gelling better with their baggers and classics.
I had a XVS1600 for a couple of years and everything you just said about the R18 applied to the XVS… hard work and no fun… even posing gets boring! Much prefer smaller more fun stuff… just not old PX’s! 😉 Have fun!
I thi k you buy one of these purely because you want one. Even BMW's own r1250rt or k1600gt will be better in every concievable way, but some people like the idea of a classic air head and batwing fairing I guess. Cool looking thing but not my cup of tea... especially in the galaxy purple thing they do lol
Haha...you made me smile. As well as a Voge Rally and old GS I have a cruiser, a Yamaha XV1600 (known as a Hardly). To your average motorcyclist it is a crap bike, but it wins in one area that overshines all the others, it is FUN, even on A roads here in blighty. Sticking to the speed limits, a ride on the totally competent GS is dull and not as comfortable as I'd like, but it handles really well, is more than quick enough and quite fuel efficient for a big bike. The XV1600 takes some riding, corners need some preparation, but the engine is a pleasure to blat out of those corners at relaxed speeds and it never fails to put a smile on my face. I describe it as a funfair on wheels to anybody who asks, but as a motorcycle it is crap by any measure you choose to use, expect maybe comfort. The Voge, well its a tool to do a job, not a thing of joy by any means, but my weapon of choice for narrow roads and local journeys now.
Haha. I think that's it. Once you get your head around the fact that it's a crap bike, you do start to enjoy it. I had a good ride on it yesterday. I can see the appeal.
I went to look at an R18 before I bought my GS and never even got as far as a test ride. It was so heavy to get off the side stand it was ridiculous and with me and my wife sat on it it became a mammoth task to get it up off the stand. It felt like a super tanker so straight away I said it was not for me.
Good luck with the Beast Motor Wagon! Almost half a tonne, weight looks low down though 😂 but the wheelbase of a small hatchback. I’d be jealous of those on the Tiger, sounds a much nicer proposition.
I love how you are describing my motorcycle. My other bike is a GS adventure. I am sure you are going to have a much better outlook after touring on it. I have taken my TC on the Tail of the Dragon and really enjoyed the ride. No it is not nearly as spirited as the GS, but it is fun for what it is. Not to fair to compare it to the GS or RT. Those bikes are flat out amazing. But I love you initial comments.
Thanks A2. Yeah we've had a good ride on it today (see the latest upload). I'm getting the hang of it. We even tried it on a bit of a sandtrack which wasn't ideal. But look, we all kind of enjoy bashing the bike and picking out its faults, but we're all still enjoying riding it. I can understand why someone would buy and enjoy one. Great to hear you're getting on well with yours.
It replicates a Harley. What more can I say. Some people like very heavy, slow acceleration, and minimal suspension travel. Not my cup of tea but then it takes all sorts🤗😵💫👋
Drops to around 7-10c but feels really nice. You've got a great forecast for the next few days in this area so shouldn't be a concern. Avoid the True Grit Cafe/Diner in Ridgway... Charged me $30 for a burger and the service was awful. @@nathanthepostman
i did that loop in a grand cherokee. given the choice again i might have to flip a coin. its the bike equivalent. lovely country though. all the national parks and monument valley. a bit jealous. ooh that bikes not a looker is it.
I’ve been dreaming of an ADV cruiser. Only thing I’ve seen come close was an Indian scout with raised flat track suspension. I think that would be perfect bike… I have no idea how to make the ergos work but I think it’s a fun idea.
I own a KTM 990 and an ‘01 1800 Goldwing. As a bike the Goldwing only makes sense to me when carrying a pillion…..so you need to include that in your testing I reckon 😀.
So was this bike all that was left to pick from? You may have covered that question, I’m not a very good listener at times … especially before morning coffee 😂. I wish you and your group all the best !! Have fun Nate & guests!
I tested an R18 last year, the cruiser version not the tourer, I found the performance alright as I wasn't bothered about going that fast on it. However, I found that it was sometimes reluctant to go into first gear, and it did jump out of gear pulling away once. But the big killer for me was the suspension, the rear in particular. It is rock hard, I looked to see if the preload was wound up fully or something, but it wasn't it was just a piss poor rear shock, with far too much compression damping that sent every bump in the road up your spine. I liked the look of the bike, I liked the sound of it, but there was no way I was going to buy one.
Bloody hell, I wouldn't go looking for any BMW press bikes after that assassination. It can't be quite as bad as your first impressions suggest: you're used to smallish, lithe bikes so getting on any bagger is going to feel like grappling with a whale. Your opinion in two weeks' time will be a fairer judgement. Can't say I'd want to do the trip on a small bike though: my RT would be fine, although if I was hiring from Eagle Rider I'd probably go for a Road King. Good luck.
Yeah unfortunately after 5 days on it now my initial opinion still stands. It's a terrible bike. Or at least a terrible attempt at a £30k cruiser from BMW. There is nothing exceptional about it. Nothing Impressive about it's design or function. But I crank up the stereo and waft if along and so i'm still having fun riding it and can still understand why people would buy one. So difficult to challenge the supremacy of Harley out here tho and looking forward to putting more miles on it.
Two different points of view. Nathan doesn’t like the bike. You tuber the Ol’ Man and You tuber Nick Hodge both went on to buy an r18 with their own money. Why is one opinion honest and the other not?
I just watched Nick's video and yeah for £9k second hand, as a sunny day bike - and viewing it as a rolling work of art - I can see how that would definitely make sense. Spending £30k on a Transcontinental like this would seem a little insane -- it comes with such great expectations at that price. And measurable against so many other bikes - even most of BMWs line up - I'd call it a very average piece of engineering. But we had a good ride on them yesterday through Death Valley. Started to make a little more sense. So I can see why someone would buy one, despite my initial impressions of it. So probably perspective is everything and why you're going to get different opinions.
Agree. I’ve had my R18FE from new, had it for nearly two years. It’s wonderful and yes it is rolling sculpture. Love it. I’ve had pretty much every type of bike there is over a 30 year period (Gen6 Goldwing, a number of big HD, Gen1&2 Hayabusa’s to name just a few). Think the secret is to buy the bike to suit what you want it for, and over time that changes (IMHO), then it never disappoints. This TC is the polar opposite of his usual ride so it’s going to feel very odd, I’ve never ridden a TC version myself but I expect I would enjoy it. Different strokes for different folks.
a cruiser in the States is ideal, just those bikes are designed to steal sales and nothing more from Harley, they have tried to "engineer" character and the style and ethos of something that has taken decades to evolve, never going to work, never has before, the whole range of those things to me looks nasty and pointless, those wanting a big cruiser will look at the more traditional bikes and not that thing or they will look at something from Japan for the reliability and ease of use
