BMW Motorrad has recently registered the name “Roctane” domestically and has applied for international rights to the title with the intention of using it for a future model. Is this the production version of the Concept R 18 /2?
Where BMW Motorrad normally deposits names that are easily traceable to new models, the Germans have made it a lot more difficult for the media this time with the recently registered name “Roctane”.
So it was not difficult to trace back the name M 1000 RR, as well as M 1300 GS and M 1000 XR. Or R 12, which is expected to be the smaller brother of the R 18. With the name “Roctane”, however, that is a lot more difficult, but we try to give it a try.
The fact that the name Roctane starts with an R is a strong indication that the new model is powered by a boxer engine – after all, the boxer family invariably starts with an R. That the letter R is not followed by a number is not new, the R nineT family is a living example of this.
If the Roctane is indeed powered by a boxer engine, the question remains whether this will be the R 18 or the upcoming R 12. We put our money on the former, you could also see the name Roctane as R Octane which could be a very fitting name for a performance cruiser.
And let BMW have presented just such a performance cruiser as a concept model in 2019, even before the official unveiling of the R 18: the Concept R 18 /2. With the Concept R 18 /2, BMW Motorrad wanted to show what the massive 1,802 cc air-cooled boxer cruiser could look like in sporty trim. As a counterpart to the XDiavel and Rocket 3.
However, it may be a while before we will know what BMW Motorrad has in store for us with the “Roctane”. If you consider that BMW registered the name M 1300 GS in 2019 and the bike is expected to go into production in 2023, it may take until after 2025 before we have an answer to that question.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.