Photo: BMW Motorrad
The end of 2022 brought with it an invasion of custom motorcycles made in Germany. And we’re not talking here about the products of the many shops over there in the business of restyling Harley-Davidsons, but ones based on a relative newcomer to the big boys cruiser table, the BMW R 18.
Shown by the Bavarians from BMW Motorrad back in 2020, the two-wheeled machine quickly positioned itself as a serious contender for a slice of the pie most often enjoyed by Harley-Davidson and others. But BMW was not content with only going after its rivals' usual business, so it quickly expanded the offensive to include the custom segment as well.
On two separate occasions in November and December 2022, BMW released batches of customized R 18 as a preview of sorts of what it plans to do from now on. We’ve burned through almost all of them (15 in all), with just two remaining, the Huabas First Edition and Bloody Sunrise.
We’ll focus a bit on the former today, the BMW R 18 Huabas First Edition. We’re not entirely sure what the name is supposed to mean, but we do know the bike, just like the others of its breed, is a one-off, at least for now, so that First Edition moniker could pretty much mean anything, from the fact that this is unique to the fact that other bikes such as this could follow.
The crew behind the project is BMW Motorrad partner Huber, based, obviously, in Germany. The team started out with the idea of making the R 18 “completely differently,” and, as per them, the goal was achieved in just three days of work.
The bike adopts a very conservative look, if you ask us, a traditional take on a custom cruiser with black and chrome playing a game of cat and mouse over various elements. Many of the bike’s stock elements were kept, but others were remade or sourced elsewhere.
The bike sits on the original BMW spoked wheels, painted black like most of the machine. From the front, not many changes are visible, aside perhaps for the fitting of a Fehling handlebar. But once you get out back you’re instantly struck by the modified fender and the fitting of a custom single seat supplied by another crew, called Jacky's Garage. The idea behind these changes was to make the bike look slimmer, and the goal seems to have been achieved.
The engine on the ride remains the stock one, BMW’s two-cylinder Big Boxer, 1,802cc in displacement and rated at 91 hp and 158 Nm of torque. It wasn’t modified in any way except for the fitting of a custom Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde exhaust system for better breathing.
Other small bits, like Kellermann indicators and “various milled BMW Motorrad machined parts” have also been included in this rather simple but effective build.
We’re not told how much the conversion cost to make.
On two separate occasions in November and December 2022, BMW released batches of customized R 18 as a preview of sorts of what it plans to do from now on. We’ve burned through almost all of them (15 in all), with just two remaining, the Huabas First Edition and Bloody Sunrise.
We’ll focus a bit on the former today, the BMW R 18 Huabas First Edition. We’re not entirely sure what the name is supposed to mean, but we do know the bike, just like the others of its breed, is a one-off, at least for now, so that First Edition moniker could pretty much mean anything, from the fact that this is unique to the fact that other bikes such as this could follow.
The crew behind the project is BMW Motorrad partner Huber, based, obviously, in Germany. The team started out with the idea of making the R 18 “completely differently,” and, as per them, the goal was achieved in just three days of work.
The bike adopts a very conservative look, if you ask us, a traditional take on a custom cruiser with black and chrome playing a game of cat and mouse over various elements. Many of the bike’s stock elements were kept, but others were remade or sourced elsewhere.
The bike sits on the original BMW spoked wheels, painted black like most of the machine. From the front, not many changes are visible, aside perhaps for the fitting of a Fehling handlebar. But once you get out back you’re instantly struck by the modified fender and the fitting of a custom single seat supplied by another crew, called Jacky's Garage. The idea behind these changes was to make the bike look slimmer, and the goal seems to have been achieved.
The engine on the ride remains the stock one, BMW’s two-cylinder Big Boxer, 1,802cc in displacement and rated at 91 hp and 158 Nm of torque. It wasn’t modified in any way except for the fitting of a custom Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde exhaust system for better breathing.
Other small bits, like Kellermann indicators and “various milled BMW Motorrad machined parts” have also been included in this rather simple but effective build.
We’re not told how much the conversion cost to make.
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