10 Touring Motorcycles That You Can Buy For Under $25,000

The touring motorcycle segment, in general, represents a relatively small number of models when compared to the total number of bikes across the board. Yet, it remains disproportionately popular per biker capita. Whether you’re actually planning on putting state lines in the mirrors, in need of a weekender bike,

commuter
, or grocery-getter, such motorcycles have you covered worldwide.

Here we will consider not only the fully-dressed variety of tour bike that comes complete with a top case, but also the slightly stripped-down

bagger
version. Many baggers also come with a solo seat, so to share the ride with a friend, you may need to hit the accessories catalog. We will, however, skip the sea of adventure and sport-touring examples here.

Touring models tend to run toward the upper end of the pricing range, and with good reason as the cargo capacity is usually just the beginning of the tour-tastic goodies. Lots of folks would like a tour-capable machine but may be put off because of monetary constraints. So here is a list of bikes available without having to mortgage a house or sell a kidney.

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Here Are The Cheapest Touring Bikes From All Popular Brands

The list comprises sporty adventure tourers, traditional American cruisers with hard saddlebags, and some heavyweight faired offerings

10

Moto Morini Calibro 700 Bagger

Price: $6,799

Italian marque Moto Morini slides into the bottom slot with its

Calibro 700 Bagger
model. This pocket tourer hits all the requisite design points with stock color-matched bags that pack up to 19 liters of goods, and a bikini batwing fairing topped by a teensy smoked screen for a bit of torso protection. As for the overall look, it would disappear in a group of the new Honda Rebel 1100T, like brothers from another mother.

The high fuel tank holds 3.9 gallons perched up on top of a somewhat dramatic forward frame structure. Power comes from a liquid-cooled, 693 cc, parallel-twin engine with 68 horses and 50.2 pound-feet of torque for modest, non-threatening power delivery, and it comes with a slipper clutch for some backtorque mitigation. A single, 320 mm disc and twin-pot caliper provide most of the stoppage with a 255 mm disc out back and stock ABS feature, as well as full LED lighting.

Moto Morini Calibro 700 Bagger Performance Specifications

9

Honda Rebel 1100T

Price: $10,799

Honda’s second-generation of its venerable Rebel line has fairly recently hit the streets, and it’s already getting copied. The factory boosted the base

Rebel
into bagger territory with its small, vented, batwing fairing and stock, hard-side bags out back. This new generation is more modern looking with little of the ’70s-ish American cruiser style that defined the original run.

A water-cooled, 1,083 cc, parallel-twin mill drives it with plenty of power and torque to turn out a thrilling ride with a six-speed manual transmission. Honda also offers the Rebel 1100T with its Dual-Clutch Transmission that delivers twist-and-go operation, not entirely unlike a scooter, but on a motorcycle proper. That puts its rider in rare company indeed, whether you need, or just want, simple operation. Top speed is limited by the revs, which are governed at eight grand, and it works out to right around 100 MPH.

Honda Rebel 1100T Performance Specifications

8

Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Vaquero

Price: $19,499

Kawasaki gets in on the action with its own American-style duo that starts with the Vulcan 1700 Vaquero. Built as a bagger, this bike pushes a broad, vented, sharknose fairing with a custom-style smoked windshield up top for decent torso protection. However, your helmet will still be in the breeze, which is rather necessary for riders with a full-face or modular brain bucket. The stock saddlebags are color-matched, weather-tight, and lockable for security. Whereas, the infotainment goodies start with SiriusXM radio support available along with AM / FM / WB receivers.

Kawi ups the ante with a large, V-Twin engine that packs a solid 1,700 cc and fits with the American style the factory was clearly going for. The transmission is a six-speed, and the top two gears have overdrive ratios for low-RPM cruising at interstate speeds. Dual, 300 mm discs and four-bore calipers slow the front wheel with another 300 mm disc and twin-pot anchor out back. Here we find the only safety electronics with the factory’s proprietary K-ACT ABS system that delivers linked-brake operation.

Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Vaquero Performance Specifications

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7

Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager

Price: $20,199

Kawasaki’s Vulcan 1700 Voyager
takes things up a notch into full-dresser territory. It builds on the Vaquero with pimp lights to supplement the single headlight, fairing lowers for leg protection, and a whopping windshield that pushes the rider’s pocket up to around the top of your bucket, depending on height of course.

Out back, a proper top case adds to the cargo room and doubles as a wide backrest for your riding partner to go with the stock pillion pad and passenger footboards. An integrated audio system comes stock with SiriusXM satellite radio along with AM / FM / WB receivers and the Navigation Audio Prompt Capability. Like its little brother, the Voyager comes with Kawi’s linked-brakes system for safety.

Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager Performance Specifications

6

BMW R 18 B

Price: $20,375

BMW makes an extensive lineup based on the R 18 platform. But the least expensive tour-capable variant is the R 18 B. It pushes a fork-mount, batwing front fairing with a floating windshield fully vented for low turbulence at the top, just the thing for long, low-fatigue trips at highway/ interstate speeds. Hard-side color-matched bags add secure dry storage. This bike carries a dated mien with its old-school frame geometry that terminates in the back with a triangular swing-cage to emulate the look of a hardtail.

But is articulated with shock suspension support. Power comes from a torquey boxer-twin engine that uses both the cooling fins on the jugs, and an oil-cooler to remove waste heat from the system. The power flows through a dry clutch and six-speed transmission with a tough, Cardan shaft final drive. All-around 300 mm discs work with dual front calipers, all four-bore anchors for front and rear for ample braking power. BMW’s Motorrad Integral

ABS
comes stock.

BMW R 18 B Performance Specifications

5

Indian Sport Chief RT

Price: $22,499

If the big Grandpa bikes don’t do it for ya’, perhaps the Sport Chief RT from Indian is more your type of touring bike. Built more for performance, the bodywork is a bit Spartan with a bullet fairing up front, and small, color-matched saddleboxes that carry up to 10.4-gallons of cargo. But the pillion gear comes stock, so you can share the fun with a friend right off the showroom floor. Indian built this ride around a frame that displays the old hardtail geometry.

However, it doesn’t go whole hog and tries to pass it off as having a rigid rear end. Still, the overall effect on the build is both pronounced and very attractive. Dual 320 mm front brakes work with four-pot Brembo calipers, and there’s a 298 mm rear disc with twin-piston caliper. The factory shoehorned in a 116 cubic-inch Thunderstroke V-twin engine, a tier-2 lump that delivers torquey performance with something to give at almost every point of the rev range. ABS and Ride Modes join with the RIDE COMMAND infotainment system to give it the tech you’d expect to find on a higher-end machine within our price range.

Indian Sport Chief RT Performance Specifications

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4

BMW K 1600 B

Price: $23,395

Beemer builds the K 1600 B with long-distance comfort in mind for its proper touring model family. The front end shares a lot of structure with the

K 1600 GT
sport-tourer in a similar front fairing provides full coverage, but the windshield is chopped off at a jaunty height to reduce the lift at the top to leave your melon in the breeze. Fairing lowers extend the coverage to the pilot’s legs for some foul-weather capability.

At the saddle, the cruiser/ bagger starts to show up, and the rear end veers sharply into custom U.S.-style bagger territory with a clean layout and stretched bags. The factory crams in a transverse-mount, in-line six-cylinder engine that really brings the fun with tremendous performance that’ll make this thing scoot, even with its 758-pound curb weight. BMW packs on the electronics with ABS, Dynamic

Traction Control
, Hill Start Control, Reverse Assist, and a trio of Ride Modes. Heated grips and seating complete the luxe equipment package.

BMW K 1600 B Performance Specifications

3

Indian Chieftain

Price: $23,999

The Indian Chieftain is the base model for the platform that the Dark Horse and Limited are built on, just without quite as many goodies. This how it falls under the $25,000 cap. It pushes a batwing fairing with dead-short glass up top and vents to smooth out airflow at the top. It’s joined out back by a set of stretched saddlebags that lend the

Chieftain
the requisite utility as a tour bike with secure dry storage in color-matched boxes.

Naturally, Indian didn’t pass up an opportunity to show off its iconic war bonnet ornament on the stretched front fender, mimicked by the tank graphic. The big V-Twin adds to the old-school American charm with polished cooling-fin edges to accentuate that big Vee shape. This engine also carries faux cooling fins on the valve covers with paired parallel pushrod tubes to mimic the look of the old flathead/ sidevalve machines, but it’s a thoroughly modern powerplant. The RIDE COMMAND infotainment suite plays through 100-Watt speakers, while Ride Modes, ABS, Rear Cylinder Deactivation, and an AM / FM receiver complete the package.

Indian Chieftain Performance Specifications

2

Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST

Price: $24,199

Harley-Davidson has its own take on the sport-tour build with the

Low Rider ST
, which is an amalgamation of previously unrelated models. First off, the Low Rider used to be an FXR model, then it was a Dyna. It survived the purge and made the jump to the new, second-gen Softail frame that replaced all the Dynas. To that platform, the factory added a front fairing similar to the old FXRT with side-opening panniers for the cargo stowage.

This is definitely a tourbike-lite as it’s actually built on the current Softail frame, and the shocks for the rear end were placed under the seat rather than under the transmission for easier access. The MoCo wasn’t playing when it powered the Low Rider ST. A

Milwaukee-Eight
117 High-Output does its thing with solid performance numbers. It comes stock with Cornering Enhanced ABS, Traction Control, and Drag-Torque Slip Control.

Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST Performance Specifications

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1

BMW R 18 Transcontinental

Price: $24,395

BMW’s R 18 Transcontinental puts the big, 1.8-liter boxer-twin engine in a big touring chassis for a wonderfully fat and loaded full-dresser touring bike. The batwing fairing is, shall we say, a sporty design as its upswept wings present minimal resistance, and it comes with little air deflectors low on each side to help protect your upper legs. Stock color-matched saddlebags are joined by a top case complete with a generous passenger backrest.

Said backrest has little winglets for containment of the passenger, and the bike comes stock with passenger footboards for a little extra comfort. The 1,802 cc boxer-twin engine delivers torquey performance with something to give at any point of the range, and it comes both air- and oil-cooled for extra thermal stability. Adaptive

Cruise Control
, TPMS, Hill Start Control, and the Marshall Gold Series Stage 2 stereo fandanglery are all optional equipment at an extra charge.

BMW R 18 Transcontinental Performance Specifications