![]() ![]() “It’s been a challenge balancing a growing business and family,” says Mike Kuhl, owner of Kuhl’s Custom Choppers. And, of course, nothing beats the look of that boxer engine, giving the R18 a unique and well-balanced stance.Success in business often comes with a price tag and a great deal of sacrifice. You also won’t have to worry about arm fatigue on longer rides. The handlebars are wide and low, giving you plenty of upper body room for steering. The position lets you relax through the knees, allowing for good blood flow. As a result, you have more room to adjust and prevent cramping. This is an important distinction from other small cruisers. While there isn’t a ton of room like the big V-twin bikes, you also don’t feel constricted. The body positioning is less stretched out, so you feel more secure as you maneuver through traffic. But with the R 18, and its expanding variants, BMW had finally hit upon something different from the typical cruiser. To be fair, it's not easy to beat the two heavily entrenched American manufacturers, with such well established cruiser heritage. Throughout its history, BMW had attempted to tame the US cruiser market on multiple occasions, with varying degrees of success. Stock image of a red BMW R18 Classic 2022 cruiser motorcycle parked at a boat dock. RELATED: 10 Best Indian Cruisers Money Can Buy And if Harley comes with too much baggage, Indian can offer a much more modern and refined alternative. All of which amounts to a lot of comfort, for not that big of a price hike. It has mid-controls, a larger engine, rider modes, keyless ignition, cruise control and much more. It has a similar stance to the Scout, but there's just a tiny bit more to it. But if you want a cruiser with a little more legroom and comfort, it's the Chief that you should be looking at. These days, Indian is no second fiddle to anyone, by producing some fantastic bikes like the FTR and the Scout. But eventually it had found its way into the arms of Polaris, which were so successful at turning Indian's fortunes around, that it had outperformed the other cruiser brand under its umbrella: Victory. The company had gone through some tough times throughout its years, having long periods of downtime and inactivity due to poor sales and leadership. You can't have any kind article about cruisers, without at least mentioning the other American cruiser manufacturer. Motorcycle riding on paved road in front of forest to the right. RELATED: 10 Reasons Why You Should Buy A Cruiser To keep our readers up to speed on all the latest developments this article will be updated periodically with new information. Each year, new models are released, and previous versions are updated. Updated May 2023: Motorcycle manufacturers continue to strive to bring us cruiser options that are comfortable for everyday use as well as long distance touring. Fortunately for us, after decades of tinkering with the formula, the cruisers being produced today are miles ahead of those from the 60s, and can be comfortably ridden not only to work, but across the country, if need be. But as cool as Peter's bike was, it didn't look all that particularly comfortable, and in order for Harley, Indian and the rest to be able to successfully sell them, they would have to dream up of ways to make this new type of motorcycle an actual easy ride. The popularity of that movie, and the wild look of his "Captain America" chopper was hard to dismiss, and so manufacturers all over the world scrambled to adjust to the new demand. And if you were to zero in on something even more specific, you would probably land on the motorcycle ridden by Peter Fonda in the movie Easy Rider. You could probably trace the beginning of the cruiser class to the freewheeling 60s, a decade that birthed counterculture, civil right movements and a plethora of other societal shifts. American motorcycle manufacturers, such as Harley-Davidson and Indian, had perfected the cruiser market to such a degree, that it has proven difficult for visiting tourists like BMW, Honda and Triumph to truly compete on their home turf. ![]() It is perhaps second only to mom's favorite apple pie and a baseball game at Wrigley Field. There are few things in this world that are as quintessentially American as a cruiser motorcycle. ![]()
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