BMW R18 cruiser finally comes to life on April 3

BMW Motorrad has announced that the production version of the R18 cruiser will be officially revealed on April 3 this year. The original concept of the R18 cruiser was showcased at the EICMA 2019.

Till date, the cruiser has appeared only as a concept and its final production version still remains to be seen. The pre-bookings for the R18 cruiser started in France in September last year.

The R18 concept employs cradle-type chassis housing a new 1,800cc, two-cylinder boxer powertrain. The engine reflects a similar design and takes inspiration from the flat-twin engines which were built until the end of the 1960s, but of course, with a bigger displacement and modern air/oil cooling.

At 107 mm bore and 100 mm stroke, this stands as the largest displacement motorcycle engine developed by the German auto brand. This unit is known to churn out 91 PS of maximum power at 4,750rpm and 158 Nm peak torque at 3,000 rpm. The company claims that most of the torque is available right in the lower rev band (2,000 rpm to 4,000 rpm).

Apart from that, its other visual highlights include the exposed chrome-plated universal shaft which is the connection between its rear wheel and the drive.

It doesn't feature any other body panels which make it look even more intimidating than it already is. Electrical components in its concept form were limited to just electric starter and lights, while electronics were nil. But on the contrary, its final production form will certainly make use of at least some basic basic safety features such as ABS, traction contol and power modes.

Past spy images have revealed that the new platfrom of the R18 cruiser will spawn out not only a cruiser, but also a touring motorcycle. Expect the latter to boast some touring-centric elements including batwing fairing, large infotainment system, side panniers and comfort oriented ergonomics.

The BMW R18 cruiser will rival the likes of some already established bikes from Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle. It would be rather very interesting to see how the R18 cruiser compete against these rival brands.