ROAD NEWS
BMW R18 GETS RSD TREATMENT
W
hile it is still some time away from
landing on our shores, BMW Motorrad
is continuing to see how much variation
they can get out of the upcoming R18 platform
with the reveal of a one-off dragster based off
the Big Boxer Platform.
Teaming up with the motorcycling industry’s
favourite customiser, Roland Sands of Roland
Sands Design (RSD) the base BMW R18 has
received a host of custom refinements and
choice parts from the BMW Motorrad parts
catalogue to turn the bike into an incredibly
purposeful looking straight-line weapon.
“With an engine that’s so visibly the centrepiece,
I immediately thought of muscle cars. My family
has always been into going fast and my dad was
a drag racer, so I thought it made sense to strip
the bike down to the essentials and shape it to
go fast on a straight track,” the designer explains.
The major changes taken by Sands and his team
revolved around the chassis, where they cut the
frame to make the R18 a hardtail and allow for
fitment of a massive rear tyre, while the front
suspension has also been replaced, this time with
a set of forks from BMW’s S1000RR superbike
along with the supporting braking system.
“Every new bike concept is a bit of a learning
process even after having built over 200 bikes.
We always want to understand the genre of the
bike we are building in, it’s the key to keeping it
authentic and functional,” explains Roland Sands.
In fact, the R18 Dragster retains many of the
bike’s factory components or optional accessories
from BMW.
In addition to the bike itself, Sands also created
two different design collections of milled
aluminium parts for the launch of the R18
Cruiser: “Machined” and “2-Tone-Black”. The
“Machined” and “2-Tone-Black” ranges include
front and rear wheels available in different
dimensions than the standard sizes. The range
includes speedometer housings, handlebar
clamps, risers, handlebar grips, hand levers and
mirrors as well as engine housing trim elements,
filler caps, intake silencer covers and much more.
At the time of writing, BMW Motorrad New
Zealand is yet to confirm the local launch of the
R18 and what the price point of the bike will be.
With that said, we’re guessing the R18 will be in
Harley-Davidson territory price-wise.
Check out the latest episode of BMW’s Bavarian
Soul Story on YouTube for a full look behind the
scenes of the build.
80 KIWI RIDER