BMW R 18 Cruiser Motorcycle Is Big, Beautiful, but Harley Looms Large

• After three years on the market there are now five versions of the BMW R 18 cruiser motorcycle, and with each hard-won sale they make another dent in the Harley-Davidson cruiser-bike juggernaut.

• Dealers say you can get an R 18 for a lot less than the equivalent Harley.

• She’s a beaut, ain’t she?

What’s a motorcycle gotta do to get some love? Some respect? Or at least some sales? Consider the plight of the beautiful BMW R 18.

BMW sold a record 202,895 motorcycles worldwide last year and remained in first place in the global premium motorcycle segment. BMW Motorrad USA sold 17,690 bikes to set a record of its own. The top sellers continue to be the new R 1250 GS and GS Adventure, with what BMW calls “strong performance” from the superbike S 1000 RR and even the M 1000 RR. But the Roundel also gave credit to a “freshened product lineup of new models like the all-new R 18 B and R 18 Transcontinetal,” both variants of the historically significant R 18 cruiser bike.

When it came out in 2020, the R 18 was almost universally regaled as a beautiful bike. Even riders who weren’t familiar with the R5 of the 1930s that inspired it loved the styling of the new R 18, and could probably recognize some historical heritage in the hardtail-looking frame, pinstriped gas tank, and big, honking cylinder heads poking out sideways from the case.

Before anyone actually rode it, the R 18 got great reviews from people who simply loved the way it looked. I, too, went a little bonkers with enthusiasm three years ago.

But the big Beemer faced a whole set of challenges all its own, most of which had nothing to do with how big and beautiful it was or how well it cruised. It had to compete with Harley-Davidson. Harleys have been the darlings of American bikers for 120 years, since shortly after the first motor was placed in the first cycle. There’s a culture built up around it, a way of life, an all-consuming identity that would make any modern moto marketer mince.

Globally, Harley did not sell as many motorcycles as BMW. The Motor Company, as it’s known, shipped only 193,500 Harleys to BMW’s 202,895 sales. Sales and deliveries are different things, and BMW is ahead. But while BMW offers a wide variety of motorcycles, Harley specializes in cruisers. (LiveWire is a separate entity with separate figures of its own.)

BMW’s challenge with the R 18 was to crack the cruiser market that Harley has owned for seemingly ever. How to do that? They’re dealin’!

“The way they’re going about that is a very aggressive finance rate, as well as a rebate,” said Kevin Reynolds of BMW Motorcycles of North Dallas, one of the leading R 18 dealerships in the country.

While you can easily spend over 30 grand on a CVO Harley, followed by adding options on it that Harley buyers love, you can get onto a 2023 R 18 at Irv Seaver Motorcycles in Orange County, California, for $15,495 after rebates. Or you could yesterday when I looked. BMW Motorcycle dealers are offering financing as low as 0% for 60 months and rebates as high as $3000, depending on year, make, model and probably a few other things.

You can get a Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic for $21,199 with ABS (standard on the R 18) but then there’s dealer prep and destination, which can vary widely by dealer. (Harley offers 8.99% financing for 84 months.) BMW also has a deal where they cover the buyer’s first four payments.