10 Heaviest American Touring Bikes In 2024

Touring motorcycles are technically land yachts on two wheels. Forget about performance and weight savings here, as these plush machines are all about luxury, comfort, and the long haul. Understandably, it’s dominated by Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle, both of which have a heritage-rich and loaded lineup of touring bikes. Those huge V-Twins on American cruisers already carry a lot of heft. Add heated seats, cozy pillion back and armrest, four+ speakers, and over 30 gallons of luggage space, and we have some of the heaviest motorcycles out there. Let’s jump in.

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10 Most Powerful American Touring Bikes In 2024

The list happens to include America’s most powerful production bagger by Harley-Davidson

10

Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ST

Curb Weight: 838 pounds

While this is the most powerful and fastest Harley-Davidson bagger in 2024, it is also one of the heaviest at over 800 pounds. The 121 High Output V-Twin has been jacked up to produce 127 horses and 145 pound-feet torque, which helps deter its heft and hits a top speed of 120 mph (restricted). The heavier components of this Harley are its huge fairing and factory-fitted hard-case saddlebags. But credit where it’s due, Harley has managed to shave off 25 pounds compared to the CVO Road Glide on which this ST model is based on. This is courtesy of lightweight components like aluminum wheels and carbon fiber body parts.

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9

Indian Challenger Elite

Curb Weight: 839 pounds

This is the arch-nemesis to the Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ST. Interestingly, despite having a smaller V-Twin, the Challenger Elite is heavier than the CVO Road Glide ST. This limited-run model is also longer than the Harley. Apart from the hefty engine and chassis combo, other contributing elements to this Indian’s weight include the chunky front fairing housing an adaptive LED headlamp assembly and hard-case saddlebags with integrated 6.5-inch weatherproof speakers. This exclusive Indian touring motorcycle is cheaper than the Harley, but this comes at the cost of lower performance figures.

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8

Indian Challenger Limited / Challenger Dark Horse

Curb Weight: 840 pounds

This duo of Indian Challenger models combines technology features with exclusivity. It slots between the affordable base Challenger model and the limited-edition Challenger Elite. The Limited model is loaded with chrome elements and has a more plush appeal. Whereas, the Dark Horse has a more sinister appeal with a blacked-out engine and exhaust pipes. Apart from these visual differences, the two have no mechanical differences. Yet, despite being very similar to the Challenger Elite, these weigh a pound more.

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7

Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide

Curb Weight: 862 pounds

The heaviest Harley-Davidson bagger today is also the most expensive one. Powering it is the biggest production-spec V-Twin from the American motorcycle maker, which is also a major contributor to its heft. This touring bike is high on luxury features and chrome, too, which explains the extra 24 pounds over the ST. Notable features include a plush saddle, a huge 12.3-inch touchscreen display running on Skyline OS, and a total of four Rockford Fosgate Stage 2 speakers two up front and two on the saddlebags coupled to a 500W amplifier.

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6

Indian Roadmaster Elite

Curb Weight: 890 pounds

Only 350 are available worldwide, and it is the epitome of luxury and custom motorcycling by Indian Motorcycle. The most expensive Indian flaunts a special red paint job (that takes over 24 hours to complete), an ode to the 1904 Indian Camelback. It sure gets a hefty 116 V-Twin, but the Roadmaster Elite’s luxury, comfort, and leisure features bundle up to take its weight closer to the 900-pound mark.

There are also 12 speakers in the front fairing, saddlebags, and touring trunk. The hard-case saddlebags and huge top box are remote-locked and enabled for added security, meanwhile. It oozes comfort and luxury with features like heated and cooled seats for the rider and pillion while the passenger is also treated with plush back support and armrests.

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5

Indian Roadmaster Limited / Roadmaster Dark Horse

Curb Weight: 893 pounds

This duo of Indian Roadmaster touring motorcycles are the “standard” variants of the exclusive Elite mode mentioned above. Apart from the exclusivity factor and the uber-cool classic-vibing paint job, these two are pretty much identical to the Elite trim. But the Roadmaster Limited and Dark Horse models are heavier by three pounds. The Limited trim has a luxurious, chrome-centric visual appeal while the Dark Horse is de-chromed and looks sinister, especially in the all-black theme. A power windscreen, heated and cooled seats, 6.5-inch speakers, and a sizable 36+ gallons of weatherproof luggage are the prime contributors to its heft—apart from its old-school 1,890cc air-cooled engine.

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4

Indian Pursuit Limited / Pursuit Dark Horse

Curb Weight: 912 pounds

This duo of motorcycles, weighing more than 900 pounds, constitutes the most powerful Indian touring motorcycle of 2024. These behemoths are not ‘sluggish’ and are powered by modern liquid-cooled V-Twin engines, which are smaller but more powerful than Indian air-cooled V-Twins. They produce a meaty 128-pound-feet torque output, most of which is available from low down in the rev band.

Cast-aluminum frames hold together these bulky land yachts. They also get an optional electronically adjustable Fox rear suspension. But the biggest contributors to their weight are features like a frame-mounted fairing with heavy-duty LEDs, a plush seating setup for two with cozy back support for the pillion, six speakers, and 35+ gallons of luggage space courtesy of hard-case saddlebags and a top box.

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3

Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited

Curb Weight: 917 pounds

Old-school charm is dialed to eleven on this charming Harley-Davidosn touring motorcycle. The Ultra Limited is also the absolute best of the non-CVO models to buy in 2024. There’s plenty of torque from the classic-vibing air-and-liquid-cooled V-Twin. The cooling system on this engine is different, as it is primarily an air-cooled unit.

However, it adds liquid cooling for the cylinder heads alone, which adds weight. The gracious, old-school styling gives this Harley a profound charm, with full-sized teardrop fenders and a sizable batwing fairing. It has four 5.25-inch speaker setups, a 6.5-inch TFT screen, and a luggage-carrying capacity of 4.7 cu-feet (35+ gallons), courtesy of two sleek-looking saddlebags and a chunky top box.

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2

Indian Roadmaster

Curb Weight: 919 pounds

This Indian touring motorcycle is all about comfort and luxury. The design is just gorgeous and reminiscent of classic American tourers. Its old-school air-cooled V-Twin produces monstrous torque, which helps this behemoth munch down miles without breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, the huge yet smooth-looking saddlebags and chunky top box provide an impressive 36+ gallons of storage space. The Roadmaster has a 600W audio system with speakers on the fairings and the trunk. The seats are heated for added comfort. And adjustable vents divert air away from the rider’s legs, elevating comfort.

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1

Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited

Curb Weight: 932 pounds

Behold, the heaviest American touring motorcycle of 2024. This motorcycle is a heavily upgraded version of the previous-generation Road Glide bagger. It has a sharknose fairing that’s one of the biggest out there and houses two huge LED lights that produce 2,220 lumens. The air-and-liquid-cooled V-Twin also contributes notably to its heft due to its dual-cooling setup (similar to the Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited). The combination of its huge fairing, chunky lighting setup, full-sized bodywork, heavily upholstered seats for two (including cozy back support), and a lot of luggage space (saddlebags and top box) dials up the Road Glide Limited’s weight to an insane 932 pounds.

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