Thanks for the kind words, Joe. Full confession, while I don't particularly like the looks of this bike - the jugs are way out of proportion to the rest of the machine - I admit to being fascinated by the genre - big full boat Harleys included. And I did want to take one for a test ride because I will never own one, and opportunities to dip my toe in the water (so to speak) are rare. I would liked to have been able to see what the suspension feels like going over some real world bumps - for example, the raised asphalt ridges on the interstate that runs by my house a mile away, but compared to my ST, or V Strom this bike was plush on relatively smooth asphalt. My first choice would have been an RT, but absent the optional low seat I would feel uneasy testing a bike I could easily drop at an off camber stop/turn (I did drop my ST about 1/2 mile away from
@dohboy's house on my way home at an uphill, off camber right turn w/ stop sign). And, of course, as said, BMW did not make bikes with all the options available. In face, the infotainment systems were all disabled to prevent distractions.
There are two dealers in Cleveland, and one about 50 miles south of us. That latter dealer has three R18's on his floor, and my good friend who has bought a number of bikes from them, and has them service all of his Beemers says he really does not think the Harley guys will buy them and they are going to be around for a while. Said dealer has already sold a GS and a couple of the more popular models (that I am aware of) so your comments are spot on. It remains to be seen how the Cleveland dealers will move the R18's.