– hence the very mellow ‘ Rain ’ power mode . It ’ s not the modest 67kW ( 90hp ) that causes this , but the prodigious 158Nm of torque and Farmall tractor-like flywheel mass . Wind it up , a little clutch and ... well , let ’ s just say that mass in motion tends to stay in motion . In fact , there ’ s a very healthy 150Nm of torque ( 95 % of peak ) available from 2000-4000rpm , just 750rpm shy of peak power . There ’ s a lot of grunt available all the time . ‘ Roll ’ power mode offers decent power across the board and is very user friendly all the time . But ‘ Rock ’, the most powerful mode is better still and this one gives you all the power the engineers intended from the two 901cc pistons for dry weather work . And to be fair , will probably be 95 % of the riding this machine will ever do anyway . People don ’ t really take works of art out in the rain , do they ? I ’ ve been having a hard time trying to describe the power delivery , it ’ s a challenge , in a good way . The R18 doesn ’ t ‘ waft ’ along , that ’ s too civilised a word for the R18 , but it ’ s equally effortless . I ’ d say it ’ s more of a long , thrusting
lunge with all the low-down grunt of a drag tractor . Of course , it ’ s still very ‘ proper ’ in feel , like most BMWs , with only a few uncivilised vibes at each extreme end of the rev range . In the engine ’ s sweet spot , the feeling is of smooth , unstoppable thrust .
GEARING The six-speed gearbox has well spaced out ratios with quite large differences between gears . There ’ s a reverse gear there too for backing out of parks with a modicum of dignity . First gear is tall and prolonged in town manoeuvring , and slipping the clutch will quite rapidly over heat the single dry clutch plate clutch and start to cause slippage . Happily , it returns to normal quite quickly once out in the open and given the chance to cool down . The necessity for long gear ratios comes from the need to make best use of the massive torque curve and the fact that the engine has a relatively narrow rev range . It took a little time in the saddle to get my head around how best to use the engine . For
KIWI RIDER 55