Touring motorcycles come in many shapes and sizes, from adventure-touring machines to American-made baggers and everything in between. For this list, we’re skipping the big off-road machines and focusing on the best bikes for covering long miles of tarmac.
True tourers are the bikes that make no sacrifices for styling; they’re utilitarian machines designed for covering long miles, and they’re the best at hitting that mark. Baggers are more traditionally styled bikes equipped with hard bags and fairings; these are also equipped for long miles, but with a larger consideration toward styling. And the light tourers here are unfaired motorcycles without hard saddlebags, but that can still handle serious long-mile use with some modifications. These lighter tourers are more traditional cruisers, able to be fit with a windshield and soft bags, or stripped down for shorter rides or commutes.
If you’re looking to cover some serious miles this year, these are the best bikes for the job.
True Tourers
Honda Gold Wing Tour DCT
When it comes to long-mile touring, there is no name in the business as well known as the Honda Gold Wing. It has been the best for decades, and as Honda continues to update and upgrade the model, it maintains that title. With incredible handling at any speed, multiple storage options, better than average fuel economy, excellent braking performance, and one of the most comfortable riding positions available, the Gold Wing checks every box on the list. With four models available and a massive tech package, there’s a lot to read about the Wing, so check out our in-depth review here. And for 2020, it’s no surprise that the Gold Wing Tour DCT took top awards as Cycle World’s Best Touring Bike.
Related Content: 2020 Best Touring Motorcycle Honda Gold Wing Tour DCT Automatic
BMW K 1600 GTL
Imagine if BMW aimed all engineering know-how at making a comfortable, powerful long-distance touring machine, and you’ll have the K 1600 GTL. For both rider and passenger, a trip on board this motorcycle is luxurious and plush. We’re talkin’ armrests for the passenger plush. When it first debuted for model year 2012, Cycle World’s Mark Hoyer said the large six-cylinder engine was “one of the best production motorcycle engines ever made,” and I believe that still holds true today. We haven’t seen any major updates to the K 1600, aside from the introduction of the K 1600 B model and the Grand America, so it’s pretty substantial that it remains one of the best touring bikes on the market nine years later. For a more in-depth review, check our wrap-up after some long-term testing here!
Baggers
Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited and Ultra Limited
When it comes to American V-twin touring bikes, Harley-Davidson’s Road Glide and Street Glide are the biggest names in the game. The main difference is simple: Road Glides have a shark-nosed, frame-mounted fairing with dual headlights, and Street Glides have a single headlight,within a fork-mounted fairing. The Road Glide Limited and Ultra Limited take the touring amenities one step further with lower fairings and top cases for added luggage and passenger comfort. From the fairing back, the two bikes are pretty much identical, so this is a choice of style more than anything else, with the Street Glide being viewed as a little more traditional and the Roady as more modern. Need some help deciding? Check out this Cycle World article designed to help you with just that.
Indian Roadmaster Limited and Dark Horse
The Indian Chieftain debuted in 2012, but it wasn’t until 2015 that we saw the Roadmaster, Indian’s full dresser variant that includes a top trunk and lower fairing. This bike remained mostly unchanged until 2020, when we saw the new Dark Horse and Limited editions bringing the 2019-updated Chieftain fairing to the Roadmaster platform. Powered by the Thunder Stroke 111 at the time of launch, and now the Thunder Stroke 116, the engine is smooth and strong with the sound and feel you expect from an American V-twin. With heated seats, a full speaker system, and plenty of storage, the Roadmaster is as luxurious as you can get on this side of the American touring market. If you like Indian’s style but prefer to keep things a little more traditional than the Challenger, this is the touring bike for you, or check out the base-model Roadmaster, which is essentially this same bike with the older-style fairing.
BMW K 1600 B Grand America
The BMW K 1600 B essentially takes the successful K 1600 touring platform, and changes up the tailsection to better fit the silhouette of a traditional bagger. Available in blacked-out paint schemes, the K 1600 B makes only a slight sacrifice in the name of style, limiting rear suspension travel to obtain that low-slung look. See what we thought of this bike in a comparison against the Gold Wing Tour here!
Indian Challenger
Indian’s Challenger is a new name in the bagger spectrum for 2020, but it has been making big waves. Winning the first-ever King of the Baggers race (in modified form) at Laguna Seca, the Challenger now represents performance baggers in a new way. Still built as an American V-twin touring bike, it displays a hot-rod character that doesn’t take away from its long-mile capabilities. It’s liquid-cooled, and it comes with an inverted fork, a Fox shock, and Brembo brakes straight from the factory. It’s quick, it’s comfortable, it’s new. Check out how the Challenger stacked up against the H-D Road Glide in Cycle World’s shootout here. It wasn’t surprising to see that it also made Cycle World’s Ten Best list;the Challenger was selected as Best Cruiser of 2020.
Light Tourers
Harley-Davidson Softail Heritage 114
The Heritage 114 is the most versatile motorcycle in the current Harley-Davidson Softail lineup. One moment you have a soft-bag-equipped, windshielded light touring machine, and the next, you take it all off for a lean, mean cruiser. The floorboards mount somewhere between full forward controls and mids, so they’re comfortable for highway cruising and canyon carving. Handlebars have a bit of rise to them, so they’re easily adjustable to fit any rider well, and the seat is plush. Equipped with the larger Milwaukee-Eight engine option, the Heritage 114 has plenty of passing power and chugs along down the highway effortlessly in sixth gear. Check out our in-depth From the Cockpit review here!
Indian Chief Vintage
While we’ve been waiting for Indian to update its cruiser line, the Chief Vintage remains a solid cruising and touring platform. Like the Heritage, this bike comes standard with a quick-release windshield, leather soft bags, and floorboards. The 25-degree rake contributes to the surprisingly nimble feel of the Vintage, and it’s really no surprise that it’s one of the best touring cruisers out there, as it essentially shares a chassis with Indian’s hard-bagged touring line.
Triumph Rocket 3 GT
Triumph Rocket 3 GT boasts the largest displacement of any production motorcycle on the market, but it is surprisingly smooth and easy to ride. As the more touring-oriented model available on the recently updated Rocket platform, the GT comes with forward controls, a low windshield, and a passenger backrest. More luggage and wind management options are available to further expand touring capability, but that 2,458cc engine just makes this beast a joy to ride on the wide-open highway. Check out our first ride reviews here.
Mini-tourers: Indian Scout, H-D Sportster, Star Bolt, and Honda Rebel
As these machines are a bit smaller and lighter than the other members of the list, they lack the stability and planted feel that the larger models have. But what they lack in feel, they make up for in affordability and the option to fit a massive range of accessories. Each of these machines can be easily converted into a capable tourer with a modest budget, and a quick Google search will show you plenty of images for inspiration.
