simpleblogdescriptionhellog
THIS STEINWAY with a license plate is the 2022
BMW
R 18 Transcontinental, the German company’s first American-style full-dresser motorcycle, powered by a 1.8-liter horizontally opposed engine and naked cultural appropriation.
You may wonder why? Or even, what the hell? Is the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide that good BMW felt it had to be copied? What forces have brought this dreadnought to our shores?
I can explain: BMW Group, including Motorrad, is based in Munich, capital of Bavaria, gateway to the Alps and one of the world’s most popular riding destinations. And when Motorrad executives themselves would go out to ride,
Sauerkraut, bratwurst, red cabbage, Bavarian beer, German engineering. If it is German, I like it. My mother came to America in her 20s from Bavaria, met my father, and the rest was history. For my entire life, I was fed a steady diet of everything German. I grew up in love with German cars and later motorcycles.
My current long-distance touring motorcycle is a BMW R 1250 GS. It is my second wasserboxer-driven bike, so I know the engine configuration well. I appreciate most that German manufacturers develop a product,
The R18 Transcontinental and its pared down sibling, the R18 Bagger, are very competent long-distance machines — if rather hefty ones
DENVER, Colorado – The conflicting messages I receive while riding the 2022 BMW R18 Transcontinental leave me dumbfounded. Looking straight ahead I can clearly see the blue and white BMW roundel embedded into the instrument panel. If that wasn’t enough to convince me I’m riding a bona fide German motorcycle, a bold statement at the bottom of
