BMW has touted the R 18’s customized potential for the reason that big-bore cruiser broke cowl in April, 2020. Since then, we’ve seen numerous takes on the Bavarian boxer, with French, Italian, Japanese, Taiwanese, Swedish, and German customized builders delivering vastly completely different takes on the platform.
Now, BMW Motorrad Canada provides three Canucks a crack at customizing the R 18 in their very own distinctive approach. To place the R 18’s versatility on full show, the Bavarian model tapped British Columbia’s Jay Donovan and Konquer Bikes together with Ontario’s Increase Motorworks to form the stripped-down cruiser of their signature fashion.
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Beginning with Jay Donavan’s Future Café R 18, the large 1,802cc opposed-twin nonetheless stays the centerpiece, however the younger builder drapes café racer-style bodywork across the base package deal. Clip-on handlebars make for an aggressive driving place whereas the chopped entrance and rear fenders additional streamline the silhouette. Nonetheless, the Future Café’s piece de resistance is the rerouted exhaust system, which snakes upward and terminates on the tail part.
Konquer Bikes takes a completely completely different strategy with its R 18 Diamond Customized construct. Lead builder Rob Thiessen and crew persist with the cruiser playbook, however steals a web page from the customized dragster scene with a low-and-lean stance and trick metallic bronze paint job. The wrap-around fenders preserve the glossy aesthetic whereas the chin spoiler leans into the customized scene.
Whereas Jay Donavan favors the café fashion and Rob Thiessen counters with a stretched-out custom, Nick Acosta of Increase Motorworks opts for another route R 18 Tattooed Chopper. The Canadian champions the traditional American chopper fashion and nicknames the undertaking “El Boxeador” for a patently NAFTA aptitude. After all, ape-hanger handlebars, swingarm-mounted rear fender, sissy bar, stacked headlights, and a tattoo-inspired livery lives as much as chopper conventions.
“We wished to exhibit the potential of the R 18 and designed a undertaking to just do that,” revealed BMW Motorrad Canada Director Johann von Balluseck. “We selected builders that might strategy this undertaking in several methods in hopes they might give us three very completely different kinds – and that’s precisely what we bought.”
