Bargain Beemer

If you can even find a new car or truck at a dealer these days you'll surely pay the sticker price or more. But apparently BMW motorcycle dealers have a surplus of R18s. Yesterday at the post office I saw a guy on a brand new R18. It was the standard model, not the bagger or full dresser I'd consider owning. We talked for a few minutes and he said the sticker price was about $23K. But the dealer had them all clearance priced, and he paid just $14K.

I bought my first Valkyrie in 1998 because it was so different from anything available at the time. The R18 has a similar appeal. These remind me of the Valkyrie Standard, Tourer, and Interstate. They were at BMW's display at Sturgis last year.

http://dchealy.com/valk/r18all.jpg

Stopped at Daytona BMW and checked one out. Sat on it and realized I would never buy one. My legs felt cramped because of the motor and I can't see any way to fix that. Like the look and always thought I would own a BMW one day. Instead I doubled my stable buying adding a 97 Valkyrie Tour model to the the F6B. The salesman was nice enough to tell me big discounts were coming. I would have been pissed if I paid 20K and they lowered it to 14!

They do look sharp. For me, the chrome exhaust just reeks of heat on the legs in warm weather riding.

I still own a 1988 R100GS and love the character of BMW boxer twins. The pistons rise and fall in unison but fire on alternate cycles, so there's some vibration off of idle, but it gets very smooth as the revs increase. The heat isn't bad until the temperature gets well into the 90s. Having said that, the GL1800's side radiators keep heat off my legs better than any bike I've ever owned.

http://www.dchealy.com/valk/r100gs.jpg

I've been reading up on the full dress model... and stopped "considering" it when I saw that the weight came in at just over 900 lbs. I'm shifting gears (sorry) and looking now at the 1600 Grand America that is about 100 lbs. less and has Reverse Assist feature...

or the K1600 B which is very F6B-like in terms of form factor (i.e., "bagger" - no trunk) and only weighs about 760 lbs.
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I like the R18 a lot I have not rode one but I did sit on one and started it. You need both hands on the bars because once the flywheel turns the whole bike wants to twist with it. It’s a beast.

I sat on a K1600 B, it was sweet. A bit more than I wanted to part with.

The local BMW dealer closed its doors last fall so I can't even go look at one. But if I was in the market I think I'd be all over one of the non touring models.

So I stopped by the semi-local BMW/Ducati dealership this weekend to check out the following:

> K1600 GTL
> K1600 B
> R18 (Base and Touring)

Following are some of my observations:

> K1600 GTL: Of course, very nice scoot... features galore and I know the engine is a beast. BUT... I'm 5' 10" and my build and inseam have me "tippy-toes" when off the side stand (mimicking stopped at a stop light). I guess I could have the seat customized to drop a bit in the saddle, but even with that, the riding position relative to the foot pegs would get even a tad "tighter" although there is a bit of adjustment that could fine-tune the riding position. Mounting the scoot is also a case of step on the left foot peg and stand-up to get enough clearance to swing my right leg over the saddle (and clear the rear top case).

> K1600 B: Same as above... although w/o the rear top case, "throwing a leg over is a lot easier.

> R18 (Base and Touring): OK.. so I can be flat-footed at a stop... but boy, this is one heavy scoot when taking it off the side-stand. And... ergonomically, not a great fit (for me, YMMV) when dealing with the two massive cylinder heads and the peg position. Reminded me a lot of riding position when I've ridden Harleys.... a bit "close-coupled" for me. And the full-dressed touring model was stickered at $32K+!

All this said, all are beautiful examples of fine engineering and design. I'm going to stay with my F6B.

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