BMW is going into the bobber business. With many manufacturers going down the bobber route and launching lean, low, cut down motorcycles that ape the American cruisers of the 1950s, the German automotive giant has gone bigger than most with its Motorrad Concept R18. The machine features a newly designed, two-cylinder 1800cc boxer engine.
Visually based on the flat twin engines that BMW used to build up until the end of the 1960s, the new engine features combined air/oil cooling. Unusually for a modern machine BMW used conventional Solex carbs rather than fuel injection and the prototype is fitted with an exposed, chromed drive shaft. The electronics of the concept bike are reduced to operating no more than the starter and the lights.
The paint follows classic BMW tradition, being black with a subtle hint of metal-flake and white lining.
There’s a leather solo saddle. Frame design follows current bobber fashion, with rigid style rear end using a hidden under-seat shock absorber. At present shown only as a prototype, it is not clear whether the R18 will appear in showrooms in its current form.
