- Powered by twin-cylinder boxer engine
- Features smartphone connectivity, hill start control, and more
- Available in five paint schemes
BMW Motorrad India has launched the latest variant of the R 18 cruiser in India. It’s named the R 18 Transcontinental, and here’s what the bike offers.
The new R 18 Transcontinental’s design is majestic!
While the standard model already looks huge and enticing, the Transcontinental takes things up a notch with its massive bodywork. The bat fairing, hard case panniers, and the pillion backrest with the top box add to the visual mass of the bike. It even gets an elevated sense of cruiser styling.
The front fairing is topped by a large bubble windscreen that shades the wide instrument console layout. Even the paint schemes are contrasted well by the abundant chrome elements all over. Right from the mirrors, the clutch and brake levers to the exhaust pipes and every piece in between, the R 18 Transcontinental seems to make a style statement.
What sort of engine does the BMW R 18 Transcontinental use?
BMW has equipped the new variant with a massive 1,802cc boxer twin motor that sticks out of the bike’s structure. It dishes out 91bhp and 158Nm and is mated to a six-speed gearbox. Owing to its cruising nature and the heavyweight, the R 18 dumps the torque at as low as 3,000 rpm. It gets a shaft drive system, and BMW claims the bike’s top speed to be 189kmph.
How extensive is the R 18 Transcontinental’s features list?
Such a mammoth-like cruiser needs an extensive list of electronic aids as well. So, BMW offers dynamic engine brake control, reverse gear, hill start control, cruise control, ABS, automatic stability control, steering stabilizer, riding modes, and more.
Apart from the aforementioned bits, the R 18 Transcontinental also gets LED illumination all over, smartphone connectivity, a TFT screen to toggle over all the features, an infotainment system, heated seats, LED fog lamps, heated grips, onboard speakers for music, antitheft alarm, central locking system and adaptive headlights as well.
What does the new R 18 variant’s hardware look like?
BMW has plonked the boxer motor inside a double-cradle frame suspended on telescopic front forks and a monoshock. Its braking hardware comprises twin 300mm front discs and a single 300mm rear disc with dual-channel ABS. The setup is mounted on a 19-inch front and a 16-inch rear wheel wrapped in 120/70 front and 180/65 rear tyres.
The R 18 Transcontinental gets a 24-litre fuel tank with four litres of reserve capacity. Overall, the bike weighs 427kg.
How much does the BMW R 18 Transcontinental cost?
The new BMW R 18 Transcontinental's asking price is Rs. 31,50,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). For reference, the standard R 18 is priced at Rs. 22,50,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) onwards.
