We compare the spirit and essence of 3 Heavyweight Cruiser Motorcycles: the Harley-Davidson Breakout 117, Triumph Speedmaster Bonneville 1200, and the BMW R 18 1800cc Big Boxer Cruiser Motorcycle.
This is not a ‘Top Trumps’ review nor a spec comparison, but we get to the essence of the bikes and what different flavours they offer, to help YOU with your buying decisions.
If it’s torque you’re after; then these 3 Bad Boys have plenty of that!
The new 2023 Harley-Davidson Breakout 117 shows its face for the first time before our comprehensive review (coming next week!). The Ol’ Man literally fresh from his testride of this motorbike, delves into this comparison review.
Which one is for YOU? Let us know n the comments below!
We have a V-Twin, a Boxer Twin, and a Parallel Twin, and theres a massive price difference between the bikes of course!
What about the Triumph Rocket 3? Listen to the Ol’ Mans explanation in the video!
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If you have made money, and as a result, have some disposable income, you may look at buying a motorcycle like one of these, to invest your money in, and if you choose wisely, you may find the right bike that becomes a future classic, and actually, over time, appreciates in value. As we are entering a new era, with electric vehicles becoming more and more prevalent, the choice motorbikes of today, could be the valuable classics of tomorow. You could of course invest in gold, silver, stocks and shares or bonds, but a motorcycle is much more fun!!! This is not financial advice but merely our opinion. Choose wisely! BMW, Harley-Davidson or Triumph?
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as a bimmer fam i would go with a the r18 because of its history and heritage so im an old soul like that. the modes on the r18 rain, rock and roll so you know which mode im going to be using most of the time. plus the r18 would pair perfectly with my leather jacket and bowtie aesthetics for the weekend.
the soul is all that matters -the bmw r18
I don't particularly like HD's but this one certainly looks a whole heap better than the others, and sounds really good. The Triumph would probably be for me. Loved the bmw R9T i had which to me was a real torque monster, but the R18 is just way too big. Thx for the vids !
The R-18, is one of the biggest flops for BMW ever built. They can't give those turds away. They're offering as much as a $8000 Rebate for those ugly whales. BMW needs to get out of that old fashioned, "Classic" Bullshit looks, and modernize the looks of that bike so it can at least break even.
You look way too big for the Speedmaster.
I'd probably go with the R18 since the engine and drivetrain is kinda unusual
I just decided that I’m buying a bike recently. I want to make sure I’ve done my research before going to test drive anything, and this channel is proving to be a huge help with that. The first video of yours I watched was your review of the BMW R Nine T, which I was sure was it, the bike for me. But then I started looking into others. Enter the Triumph Speedmaster, which brought me to another of your videos. At a dealer I was in awe of the R18, so huge. So I searched it up on YouTube and found myself in the English countryside with the Ol’ Man yet again. My dad rode a Harley, and there’s a lot of Harley riders where I live, and yes I have a bit of a bias against them, but I find myself liking the Fat Bob and could see myself on my own Harley.
Anyway, long comment to say your channel is helping me explore while I save up a down payment and get my motorcycle license, and it’s entertaining. Much rather listen to an English gentleman motoring through the countryside than somebody else fighting American suburban traffic jams.
Of those three bikes it’d be the Speedmaster for me. Just love the looks and more than enough power for my needs.
Breakout is beautiful but the Harley reliability keep me away from it…
In a BMW dealer earlier this year they had an R18 First Edition NOT SOLD! The dealership principal guy hadn't taken it. Nobody interested. It's junk.
I’d like to have the BMW
Don't go for the Harley not worth the money unless losing money is not a problem
Could be me being a huge Triumph fan, but gotta be the Speemaster.
Looking at one from 2015 to buy for longer trips with the missus.
I would go with the Speedmaster, however I'm not a fan of forward controls so I would definitely change the Speedmaster to mid controls, I'm not a fan of longer rake either which is probably why I also prefer the speed master. My family are all Harley riders and I have to say Harley definitely make the most beautiful Engines the BMW when you see it in person it really is an extremely impressive bike one almost has to see it in person to really appreciate that bike, all the bikes are beautiful but Speedmaster with mid controls would be my choice
I love the Breakout. The styling, the use of materials, the finishes and the heritage of the brand make it second to none. 👌🏻I love bmw’s and triumphs as well but I love HD even more.
Good comparison. Sometimes I think I should trade my red-and-chrome Royal Enfield INT650 and my BMW R18 Classic in a Triumph Speedmaster. That would get me a beautiful new motorcycle, but at a big cost with current prices and trade-in values. That's the problem with having awesome motorcycles and a pretty normal budget. Any changes I make cost a lot of money, leave me with less in my garage, or both!
I prefer the Triumph because of weight , handling , miles per gallon , looks , cost of buying and probably cheaper to fix also , then this bike will cart you crap anywhere you want to go on a lower budget to boot , plus i am a short old fart that loves retro and mechanical watches so they go well together like mom and pops
I don't have any of these, though I like the look of the Breakout. I have a Yamaha Raider 1900 and it's an absolute joy to ride. Gobs of power.
Excellent comparison, not an easy choice, new subscriber here.
I love all three bikes choose one I would have to go with the break out!
Hello my Friend
I hope you and your family will find a Happiness in Spain
A while back i told you i bought the 2023 tiger 850
Many many decisions were thought out before i plopped out the 13600 for it
I had saved for a few years
But theres no test riding here
So i was hoping i could have a bike that fits my size and one that doesnt have too much tech and one that i could burble around between 5 and 50 mph
This has a abrupt twitch throttle whether in rain mode or not
Its jumpy from idle right up to 6000 rpm jerky and jumpy
And the sound is more of a inline 4 than a rumble , the only other style bike i was going to buy was the street bob114
But that would be 17500 out the door without even ABS so i went for this.
Also the seat does click and move
A manufacturer defect
So i may have to change some things
It will take time to get all the money restored
Thank you for making your videos
And im sorry those sloppy people made a disrespectful mess at your lovely place
All Happiness to you my Friend
Take care
Hello, I've really liked the speedmaster and wanna buy it👍 I'm 192 cm tall and is it comfortable to ride it for me? Because it looked little smaller for me in this video 😓
All three are great bikes I have the speedmaster because of the cost and don’t regret my decision because at the end of the day it’s about the ride no matter what you choose
theres Legend about Harley's Quality and their customer Service 😀
I love them all, I wish I had more money to cycle through a new bike each season. If I had to choose, probably the Harley for me. (I currently ride a triumph scrambler 1200
Love the new format guys … come SA Eastern Cape can arrange all. Have a SM
harley davidson ,triumph dan bmw adalah merek favorit saya. jika harus memilih saya akan memilih harley davidson.namun ada yang lucu ada pria kecil dibelakang menggunakan kendaraan warna biru disaat 3 pria besar menontonkan otot mereka,maaf hanya bercanda. salam dari indonesia
Danke für das schöne Video 👍. Die Breakout ist für mich die schönste Harley aus der aktuellen HD Modellpalette.
Having owned two of those bikes (the Speedmaster 1200 and still have the Breakout 117), I commend you on this objective review. It's exactly how I would describe them! Perfectly assessed IMHO. Well done!
Compared the wrong Triumph….should have been a Rocket 3 for a fair comparison
The BMW 100%
Glad he mentioned the Rocket 3, agree too that it's a different breed.
Thanks for including the specs for us in North America. R18 in the USA
7K miles on a 2020 Speedmaster. This is so much fun to ride in the tight twisty leisurely. Riding beteween 2K-3K RPMs. The freaking torque just floats you up and down the hills. Just give it a little twist. No need to down shift. Country road, pure riding joy.
only one winner for me and that is the HD, another great video, well filmed and put together, keep up the good work
Weirdly I’d prefer the HD and I’m not a fan. If you’re going to have a cruiser, it pretty much is the classic of bling and raked out riding position, add in that soundtrack and it’s a clear winner. The other two look merely interesting by comparison, but are likely the better motorcycles overall. Step off that Harley and people are going to look, even if they probably won’t talk to you, step off the speed master and you’re the common man everyone can relate to.
I love the Speedmaster
The Speedmaster looks to be the perfect balance of a classic motorcycle with contemporary refinement.
BMW R18 and RE Classic 350 for me are the most beautiful new big and small bikes in the market. They have no rival 😮
So, I’ve owned a Speedmaster 1200, I’ve owned an R18 and now own a Low Rider S 114. So not quite the full set. The Speedmaster I loved. The bike feels great, is super easy to live with and I found on mine with the rear shock stiffened up incredibly competent at fast road riding. From a standstill being so small and “under powered” you can dump the clutch and disappear up to road legal speeds. Upset a GSXR 750 rider twice from two sets of lights before he went past me like a rocket down a dual carriageway and then within a mile there was a speed camera on a bridge, so that was three times he was disappointed and upset within minutes. The only things I didn’t like with the Speedmaster, the small fuel tank. Yes it’s frugal but if you ride it hard 12ltrs is not enough. And the bike feels small, with a large pillion it’s just not really practical. I would love to see Triumph bring out a 1800cc+ Thunderbird with the Speedmaster styling, that would absolutely be a winner. The R18 I had for a very short time. Parts availability where I live is absolutely horrendous, it was constantly broken and the dealer was one of the worst I’ve ever come across. I had the bike 3 months and it spent most of that time at the dealers waiting for parts on 3 separate occasions. When it did work, the stock seat is absolutely awful, woeful in-fact. Suspension isn’t bad once set up for your weight and ground clearance not too bad. Goes quick enough, the bike feels solid but in my experience definitely isn’t and as a whole package the looks, fit and finish are really really good (there’s very few exposed wires or anything ugly). Also when riding looking down at the cylinder heads is absolutely ridiculous and just makes you smile. Shaft drive is a massive bonus, valve clearances every 6000 miles not so. Also makes a very addictive sound and can be spec’d with actual useful extras. My Harley, “feels” super light weight in comparison to the R18, but everything you touch feels less well built than the BMW. However I’ve had zero problems with my FXLRS. I test rode a 117 and a 114, I much preferred the 114. To me riding back to back the 114 feels more eager to rev up, although once going the 117 feels a lot more powerful. But for me and my bum it felt more powerful when rolling on and the 114 when accelerating from slow speeds. Where I live everything’s super tight and twisty so it was the 114 for me. Suspension wise I’m amazed at how hard the Harley feels, front and back. Makes it feel stable at speed but bumpy pot holed roads are not fun. However the benefits of Harley is any and all complaints or parts I don’t like are easily fixed relatively cheaply with a massive amount of after market parts. Every single thing I bought for the BMW was even more expensive than Harley’s own parts catalogue. But here’s the thing. The Triumph dealer near me is one of the best dealers I’ve used anywhere, they also own the Harley dealership next door and they have been really easy to deal with. My two local BMW dealers are the same franchise and they are the worst I’ve come across. I think really you hope to never see a dealer for problems, but a good dealer should always be a big part of the decision on the bike you choose. Good dealers are hard to find.
It's a crying shame Triumph don't make the Thunderbird anymore as I'd imagine this review could be quite different. I have friends with all three of these each swears blind there's is best.
How is it with safety features like IMU / cornering ABS / C-ABS I think it’s called for Harley riders , is there any option for that ?
Think the R18 is the only one with C-Abs , traction control …
I like the triumph but if I had the money and was into the cruiser scene, the BMW is just glorious. Well made, elegant, powerful and the BMW dealer near me (Cotswold Motorrad) are just the best I've ever dealt with.
I own a Speedmaster and its my favorite bike I have ever owned.
I have had a VRod in the past and I did test a Breakout. The Breakout's large front wheel made it feel less nimble to me.
I have never ridden the R18, but I do like them.
I am 5'9" so I think the Speedmaster just fit me best.
Besides my Speedmaster, the Yamaha Road Warrior was my favorite cruiser. I wish they still made them.
Love my R18 so much so I am going through the very costly exercise to ship it from Canada to Australia as private import
I would go for the Triumph, just because I am to small ( 170 cm ) to ride the two others . Used to ride an Indian Scout, but now converted to a Ducati Multistrada V2S.
I’m an American Triumph guy. Brilliant motorcycles. Harley is just way to expensive to own and maintain.
I can appreciate the comparison of brands but longevity of engine internals is also a major consideration for long term riders like myself. Doesn't that need consideration if you want to compare motorcycles ?