Back in April, BMW unveiled the R 18 Cruiser, and with it they entered a new motorcycle market. The German firm isn’t exactly renowned for its custom bikes. Setting aside the often ridiculed R1200C of the mid-1990s, its new territory for them, although the R 18 feels entirely in the tradition of historical BMW motorcycles, both technically and in terms of design style. It takes its inspiration from famous models such as the BMW R 5 and is a far cry from technological flagships like the S1000RR superbike and R1250GS adventure bike, shifting the focus back to the motorcycle’s bare essentials.
The centre piece of the BMW cruiser is its ‘Big Boxer’ engine, which is the most powerful BMW boxer engine of all time, with the 1,802cc lump generating 91bhp and 150Nm of torque. And it’s the ‘Big Boxer’ engine that has most recently inspired renowned custom bike designer Roland Sands to strip it down and create a different kind of R 18.
The R 18 Dragster by Roland Sands
Roland and his team stripped down the R 18 just leaving the engine and decided to make a straight line speed machine, building the bike around the ‘Big Boxer’ powerplant. It’s fair to say that he and his team have created a unique masterpiece, using their creativity and free reign design in the process. If you’ve seen any of Roland’s work before, you’ll know that’s what he does best.
Sands’ personal story also served as a source of inspiration for his work on the Dragster. He said, “With an engine that’s so visibly the centre piece, 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 design process
Sands always starts a custom bike build by sketching his ideas on paper. This allows him to figure out the basics of the shape and what the stance and the geometry of the bike could look like. “In the end, the real magic happens when we bring the sketch to life”, Roland says.
One of the reasons Sands chose the R 18 for the project is that it offers a good customisable canvas straight from the production line, as it features an easily removable rear frame and painted parts that are easy to dismantle, which provided a lot of options for the build. But there were some difficult areas to navigate, too
“The electronics were definitely the most difficult task we had to deal with as we put in nitrous oxide, stripped out the stock exhaust and changed the intake drastically. It was a bit of an experiment, but we dialled it in!” Roland explained. “The final product is impressive and characterised by a high level of craftsmanship, as can be expected from BMW Motorrad. Right from the beginning, I couldn’t wait to get customising!”
For the R 18 Dragster, the team kept the standard neck geometry, but removed the bike’s rear end, modified the fenders to fit the custom frame, transforming the standard R 18 it into a proper drag machine. In total, the whole customising process took around three and a half months, and the bike then headed to the workshop for final assembly and a day at a drag strip.
To make sure he and his team achieved the best custom job possible on the R 18, really understanding the type of bike they wanted it to be was key. “Every bike needs different sources depending on the build, like special materials and parts. 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.”
Top 10 BMW R 18 Dragster details
- The frame has been modified completely, removing the rear suspension for drag racing.
- Front and rear fenders have been modified utilising the stock sheet metal parts in order to keep the classic R 18 silhouette.
- The headlight has been taken from the original R 18 and is highlighted with the headlight bezel from the design collection of milled aluminium parts.
- The standard exhaust has been replaced with a hand fabricated stainless steel twin megaphone system utilising the exhaust tips from the milled aluminium parts.
- The hydraulic front brake and clutch master cylinders are from Roland Sands Design.
- The tank has been carried over from the original R 18.
- The paint finish is a two tone metallic blue with classic white BMW pin-stripes by Sands’ long time painter Chris Wood.
- The forks have been taken from the BMW R nineT.
- The front braking system has been taken from the BMW S 1000 RR superbike.
- The seat has been built from scratch and is an RSD custom seat by Saddlemen.
