Any motorcycle can technically be taken on an extended journey, but go touring with the wrong bike and you’ll soon find your muscles cramped, your body burnt, and your groin utterly unusable.
The multi-faceted beauty of a touring bike is that it keeps you comfortable for the long road ahead, gives you plenty of space to stash your specialized gear, and adds a sense of fun to the winding ways you’ll encounter.
Honda NM4
The six-speed dual-clutch tranny lets you climb through gears with fluid grace and then stop as sleek as you started with their anti-lock braking system.
1
Yamaha V Star 1300 Tourer
An inexpensive choice to be certain, with a belt final drive that cuts noise way down and reduces the amount of maintenance, giving it a gold star as far as “tour bikes for beginners“ go
2
Suzuki Hayabusa
The 1,340cc water-cooled V-twin has 194 bhp ready and waiting, along with spry handling that doesn’t show its age.
3
Yamaha FJR1300
It’s sleek and slick, made for speed as much as comfort, with folding mirrors and quick-release luggage mounts that can be dropped in a moment for a little light track work.
4
Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager ABS
Truly a new work up top, with an intercom headset system and cruise control, it gets older as you look lower.
5
Ducati Multistrada
As a touring bike, it has the dandy self-adjusting windshield, semi-active suspension, ABS, and traction control that is necessary for chewing through blacktop and chasing the horizon.
6
Moto Guzzi California 1400 Touring
They’ve managed to fit their signature 90-degree V-twin and classic stylization without scrimping on ABS, cruise and traction control, or ride-by-wire throttle.
7