The American Touring Bike With The Longest Riding Range

Touring bikes are quite diverse in the rest of the world, with ADVs and even sports bike-derived machines making their mark. While America has also jumped onto this bandwagon with the H-D Pan America 1250 lineup, the majority of “touring bikes” are still defined by low-slung, comfy, and uber-luxurious heavyweights. These are essentially land yachts powered by torquey big twins and weigh in excess of 800 pounds.

So, the concept of fuel efficiency goes right out the window! But these are touring bikes, right? So, they ought to cover a considerable distance between gas stops. Despite packing an almost 2,000cc V-twin and producing close to 140 pound-feet of torque, an uber-hefty Harley-Davidson touring bike leads the way with a commendable riding range of well over 250 miles.

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The CVO Street Glide Offers The Highest Riding Range Among American Touring Bikes

Total Riding Range: 270 Miles

All motorcycles in the Harley-Davidson touring lineup have a sizable fuel tank of 6 gallons. And all the bikes have an MPG rating of over 40. But the CVO Street Glide takes the cake with the highest fuel efficiency rating of 45 MPG. Couple this with its 6-gallon fuel tank, and we have a luxury touring cruiser bike that can do up to 270 miles on a tank of gas. This is commendable for a touring bike that weighs over 800 pounds.

However, the CVO Street Glide outclasses its similarly specced luxury stablemates due to a better power-to-weight ratio. That, apart from improving the performance quotient, also puts less load on the engine. In simpler words, its powerful V-twin (more on that below) isn’t as stressed as the smaller Milwaukee-Eights (like the 117) in propelling heavy motorcycles.

The CVO Road Glide Also Offers The Same Range But…

Due to its extra weight, we believe the Road Glide will have a withered-down efficiency rating in real-life situations. The CVO Road Glide weighs 866 pounds (28 pounds more than the CVO Street Glide), which will translate to a shorter riding range. The difference might be minuscule, but it is something to consider, given its added heft. Otherwise, on paper, the CVO Street Glide and Road Glide duo share the tag of offering the “highest riding range among American touring bikes.”

Powered By The Biggest Series-Production Harley V-Twin Offered Today

Torque: 139 LB-FT

The most fuel-efficient CVOs (a.k.a. the Street Glide and Road Glide duo) are powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 121 V-twin. With 115 horsepower and a grin-worthy 139 pound-feet of torque, the 121 on these bikes is actually the least powerful version. The more aggressive version (121 High Output) found on the CVO Road Glide ST produces 127 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. However, with more performance, the efficiency rating also takes a hit, as the ST returns 44 MPG.

A major factor in this gigantic 1,977cc V-twin’s return of commendable MPG ratings is its integration of modern engine components, like Variable Valve Timing. This feature advances or retards the camshaft timing consistently through a potential range of 40 degrees of crankshaft rotation. This results in a 3-5 percent improvement in fuel economy over similar touring-focused luxury Harleys powered by the smaller Milwaukee-Eight 117s.

Notable Milwaukee-Eight 121 V-Twin Features

• 58 mm throttle bodies
• Variable Valve Timing (VVT)
• Compression Ratio of 11.4:1
• Liquid-cooled cylinder heads
• Early peak performance curve (peak power at 4,500 RPM and peak torque at 3,000 RPM)

Engine Specs

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The CVO Street Glide/Road Glide Are Luxurious Grand Touring Bikes

Priced At An Equally Luxurious MSRP

These touring motorcycles are high on luxury, comfort, and technology. Harley-Davidson has not cut any corners, hence the eye-watering price tag. Gliding comfortably on the freeway is courtesy of top-spec hardware. The engine sits cocooned in a double downtube steel chassis coupled to a bolt-on steel swingarm. Chunky 47 mm USD front forks and hand-adjustable dual shocks at the rear help iron out the bumps.

Braking duties are handled by dual 320 mm floating discs up front and a fixed 300 mm disc at the rear. Brembo rotors take care of biting force here. A cool feature specific to the CVO Road Glide is its combo cast-laced wheels. This brings about a fusion of an old-school look and the advantage of tubeless tires.

Technology is top-spec here, with the cockpit flaunting a 12.3-inch TFT touchscreen. Its interactive Skyline OS comes with features like smartphone connectivity, full-screen navigation, and multiple display modes. Convenience features are aplenty, too, with lots of storage space around the bike. A USB charging port is neatly hidden in the right-side cubby as well. Harley also offers a powerful Rockford Fosgate Stage II audio system with speakers built into the front fairings and atop the saddlebags. It even comprises a 500W amplifier. Then, there are a slew of assistive and safety features catering to comfort and security. Notable ones include:

• TPMS
• All-LED lights
• Cruise control
• Cornering ABS
• Hill-hold control
• Traction control
• Cornering linked brakes
• Cornering drag torque control

Hardware Specs

Top American Touring Bikes With The Highest Range

Harley-Davidson Dominates The Scene

The majority of American-made luxury touring bikes come from two major makers: Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles. But despite Indian’s vibrant and cool lineup, Harley still populates most of the ranks regarding “bikes with the highest riding range.” This dominance is mostly because Indian Motorcycle doesn’t officially mention any of its bikes’ MPG ratings. So, we are bound to take into consideration what is officially available. The only Indian bike’s data we could source was the Roadmaster (From MCN). With a claimed 43 MPG and a fuel tank of 5.5 gallons, its available riding range is 236.5 miles. This is lower than that of the 258-mile H-D Road King Special, which actually ranks seventh on the list.

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After the CVO duo, four Harley luxury touring bikes share the same fuel efficiency and fuel tank figures (44 MPG and 6 gallons). The Street Glide, the Road Glide, the Street Glide Ultra, and even the CVO Road Glide ST have the same riding range of 264 miles. This bunch is truly diverse. The Road Glide ST packs the most powerful version of the 121 V-Twin. The Street Glide Ultra is the official 2025 replacement for the iconic Ultra Limited. Whereas, the Street Glide and Road Glide duo are essentially whittled-down versions of their CVO twins with the 117 V-twin and even a staggering price difference of around $18,000.

Top 6 American Touring Bikes With The Highest Riding Range