BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles

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BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles

18th pictures

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

1/18
Martin Becker spontaneously ordered four R18s from BMW and converted them with a Harley fairing.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

2/18
He lowers the chassis by 70 millimeters at the front and 50 millimeters at the rear.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

3/18
The wheels grow to 18 inches at the rear and 21 inches at the front.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

4/18
The fairing is adapted from a Harley Sport Glide.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

5/18
MB Cycles does not have a front fender in the Black Edition.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

6/18
The license plate holder is from Wunderkind, the bobber seat pushes the line further down.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

7/18
The complete conversion will cost 44,900 euros.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

8/18
MB Cycles calls its R18 “Black Edition”.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

9/18
MB Cycles designed the mufflers themselves and offers them for individual purchase.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

10/18
Engine tuning is not necessary with the 1800 boxer. It pushes another 158 Nm and a good 90 hp into the cardan.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

11/18
Avon Cobra Chrome provides grip on the new rims. In the back in 200 / 55-18, in the front in 130/60-B21.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

12/18
The license plate holder is from Wunderkind, the bobber seat pushes the line further down.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

13/18
To match the growing front wheel, MB has lowered the fork by 70 millimeters.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

14/18
A bobber-style saddle also makes the rear smaller.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

15/18
Riders and handlebars come from ABM.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

16/18
Hand pumps from Magura now build up pressure on the brake and clutch.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

17/18
Nice excavator look thanks to the new fairing and the flat handlebars.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles
Melissa Rademacher

18/18
Martin Becker, the man behind MB Cycles, has been building motorcycles for 20 years. Mainly Harley. The BMW R18 is new territory.

motorcycles

Chopper / cruiser

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles

BMW R18 meets Harley Sport Glide
R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles

Martin Becker from MB Cycles in Heidelberg blindly orders four R18s and starts converting them. He tells the story in an interview with MOTORRAD.


Jens Kratschmar

03/15/2021

In this article:

  • R18 from MB Cycles for 44,900 euros
  • Martin Becker and the BMW
  • Conclusion

MB Cycles from Heidelberg with maker Martin Becker is one of the most prominent customizers in Germany, perhaps even in the world. Specialized in Harleys and the construction of real choppers, the thrust is clear. A Suzuki GS 900 with Kreidler fairing or like now: ein conversion of the BMW R18 to an evil-black, large-wheeled, half-faired Black Edition.


BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles


Melissa Rademacher

Martin Becker, the man behind MB Cycles, has been building motorcycles for 20 years. Mainly Harley. The BMW R18 is new territory.

R18 from MB Cycles for 44,900 euros

A pattern is emerging: the standard 16-inch rear and 18-inch front wheels are a thorn for the world’s renovators. In addition to the R18 from Marcus Walz Martin Becker’s Black Edition also stands at 18 inches at the back and 21 inches at the front. At the front Martin does without a fender, while he replaces the huge fender of the series with a tightly sewn, swinging fender, supplemented at the side by an adapted license plate holder from Wunderkind – the cruiser brand from ABM. Martin gets the new riders and handlebars from Breisgau, on which hand pumps from Magura now brake and couple and hide behind the adapted half-shell of a Harley-Davidson Sport Glide. Martin has attached it to the fork, which is a good 70 millimeters lower. The new mufflers are from our own production, which cheekily let the big boxer breathe out next to the also lowered rear. The rear is lowered with an Ohlins strut specially developed for Martin. The muffler and shock absorber can be ordered in the MB Cycles shop, the motorcycle will only be available four times. Price: 44,900 euros.

BMW R18 Black Edition from MB Cycles

Chopper / cruiser


BMW R18 rebuilt

Bobber as a small series from the rolling mill

read more

Martin Becker and the BMW

MOTORCYCLE: You have been successful in the scene for 20 years and your name enjoys a very good reputation worldwide. After many Harleys now a BMW R18. What made you resort to this motorcycle as a conversion base?

Martin Becker: “I am a gut person and make a lot of my decisions accordingly. In the morning over coffee, the idea came up with the R18. 45 minutes later I had ordered the first three from different dealers. One in Munich, one in Heilbronn and one in Stuttgart. As is so often the case in my life, it was only in the course of the morning that I realized what I was doing. Actually, I don’t have time to convert BMWs now. My schedule is full of contract Harleys for months. Conversions and new constructions. However, I saw the BMW as a challenge and wanted to see what I could do with it.”

MRD: As a designer of custom bikes, does it make a difference which brand is in front of you? Would a Harley, Indian or Honda with similar key data have looked different? Do you adapt your style to the bike or the bike to your style?

MB: “Yeah that definitely makes a difference. At Harleys I know every screw and can handle tons “Aftermarket” Use parts, even if it’s just sockets for centering the rims or similar small but important things. With the R18 or Japanese motorcycles, there is next to nothing that can be said about it “Louistuning” goes out. Furthermore, hardly anyone on a Harley custom bike shrugs their shoulders when the bike ends up breaking the 40,000 mark. With a BMW or a Japanese, yes. The matter of style is hard to answer. I always try to get the best out of a motorcycle. You have to remain flexible and not think in boxes.”

MRD: Who did you build your Black Edition for? The Harley friend who also wants something different or the BMW driver for whom the R18 is too classic?

MB: “That’s a good question that I can’t answer at all. I always build my bikes the way I like them, unless it is a commissioned work. Who likes the result is always difficult to assess. A risk that I’ve been taking for over 20 years. Building a bike according to someone else’s exact ideas would be unthinkable for me. I think the result can be seen and someone will find them “Black Edition” would like to have. One of four, because I definitely won’t build more. My main focus will continue to be on the American V-Twin. Promised!”

opinion poll

What do you think of custom conversions?

Voted 3674 times

Many are beautiful, but also impassable.

Better to leave it in its original condition.

Conclusion

With his conversion of the BMW R18, Martin Becker shows what he would have wished for this motorcycle from BMW. Also noticeable here: the conversion of the wheels to significantly larger diameters, which simply suit the motorcycle better.
Great and special applause for the merger of Munich-Spandau with Milwaukee in the form of a Harley shell adapted to the BMW.
This R18 Black Edition will likely find many friends. But there will only be four of them.

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