Biking with Bones – BMW R18 Dragster breaks cover

With the R18, BMW Motorrad presented the brand’s first production bike for the cruiser segment in April this year. The R18 is based on the R5 and shifts the focus back to the motorcycle essentials: purist, no-frills technology, and a Boxer engine.

More than any other motorcycle, the R18 offers a highly customisable design. It features an easily removable rear frame and a simple-to-dismantle painted parts set. This gives you a high degree of freedom for easily converting the new R18 to suit your preferences.

For the R18 Dragster, the team around Roland Sands retained the stock neck geometry, removed the bike’s rear end, and turned it into a drag racer. Moreover, they chose to maintain the bodywork but modified the front and rear fender to fit the modified frame. The whole customising process took about three and a half months. The bike then headed to the workshop for final assembly and a day at a drag strip.

For the R18 Dragster, Sands used the milled parts design collection to customise levers, wheels, valve covers, breast plate, headlight, and gauges. The front end was taken from the S 1000 RR superbike. The seat as well as the exhaust was created from scratch.

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