R 18 Bagger / Transcontinental | RH18

The BMW R 18 Bagger is a classic bike, based on the touring models of the Harley Davidson Street Glide series.
The motorcycle has a low seat height of only 725 mm, which is achieved by a low rear suspension travel of only 90 mm. The shock absorber was designed with too soft a spring and too much preload. In combination with the excessively damped rebound damping, this results in a spongy, but also uncomfortable ride.

The Wilbers solution for the Adjustline 640 shock absorber is significantly more stable and comfortable. We use the electric spring preload installed as standard.

However, the Nivomat tuned by us offers a significant step forward in terms of comfort and ride feel. It offers the optimum spring rate and damping in every load condition. It couldn't be better!

Unfortunately, BMW did not do a good job of tuning the fork in series production either. The combination of spring, preload and air chamber offers great potential for improvement.
The R18 is too high at the front due to the combination of a linear fork spring with too much preload. The spring, which is too soft for the bike, causes the fork to bottom out very quickly.
The Wilbers solution uses a progressive fork spring with the appropriate oil and a correct air chamber. This allows the full travel of the fork to be used comfortably.

This makes the bike much more fun!