Broadly speaking, there have been three main categories that automotive journalists like to club motorcycles into. First you have the sport bikes, machines like the Kawasaki Ninja, built for all-out speed and performance. Then you have the all-terrain adventure bikes, which are meant for exploring off the beaten track –- think motocross, rallying, and dirt biking on the weekends. Finally you have the bikes that were made for the joy of motorcycling, ones that were built to explore the open road, to enjoy the spirit of riding itself. 

This last category of motorcycles, called “touring” bikes, are atypically comfortable for motorcycles. They can usually seat two people in total and have big, throbbing engines built to gobble up highway miles. The comfort of the touring bike mostly comes from the upright riding position that these motorcycles have. Other common creature comforts include large storage compartments as well as good rider aids and connectivity. However, there has always been a tradeoff; a rider either prioritized comfort and convenience by choosing the touring bike or opted for performance by getting themselves a sport bike. Meanwhile, adventure bikes remain a niche choice that are viewed as weekend toys rather than daily transport, owing to their specialized nature. 

However, as time has passed, the modern touring bike -– and yes, this includes cruisers -– has become quite fast. So fast, in fact, that speeds that were once achievable only by sportbikes are now commonly attainable by regular touring bikes, not even sport tourers. Here are five of them.

First up we have the Yamaha Star Venture, which had a very short production run, having been introduced in 2018 and phased out in 2021. While no official reason was given, what we can say is that it didn’t exactly sell like hot cakes -– which was probably a major contributor to the bike being axed. It was truly a shame, since the motorcycle did indeed have a lot to offer, starting with the engine. It was a 1,854 cc, twin-cylinder unit that churned out 78.9 hp along with 109.4 lb-ft of torque at 2,700 rpm, which could push the bike to a top speed of about 100-110 mph. 

Further adding to the performance was the wheelbase of the Star Venture, which clocked in at 67.6 inches, meaning that for once, a Yamaha cruiser/tourer wouldn’t have the turning circle of the USS Texas. The gas tank could hold approximately 6.6 gallons of fuel, and with an estimated economy of 42 mpg, riders could expect about 270 miles of range between fill-ups. The Star Venture -– no doubt named so as to capitalize on the success of the V-Star line of bikes from Yamaha –- also had a sibling in the form of the Yamaha Star Eluder, which was of the bagger body style. However, both models were given the axe after just three short years in production. When new, a 2021 Star Venture had an MSRP of $26,999, along with a $475 destination charge.

For those wondering, “CVO” on a Harley bike is an acronym for “Custom Vehicle Operations”, which is Harley-Davidson’s special edition workshop. For 2025 models, a CVO Road Glide ST comes in with a base MSRP amounting to $44,999 –- for which price you could get into a new economy Toyota -– along with a destination freight charge of $850. However, an economy Toyota wouldn’t give you that wonderful feeling of the wind blowing your hair back as you cruise to the bike’s top speed of around 110 mph, or the throaty, V-twin rumble that people have come to know and love. 

That top speed comes about courtesy of a 1,977 cc, V-twin cylinder engine known as the 121 High Output from Milwaukee House that makes the respectable sum of 126 hp at 5,020 rpm, along with 142 lb-ft of torque at 3,750 rpm. Creature comforts on the Road Glide ST include eight selectable riding modes, a 12.2 inch color infotainment TFT screen, ABS, and a TPMS, among others. If the as-new MSRP is a bit too much to stomach, used CVO Road Glides from around 2024 are selling in the range of $37,000; which is not all that much difference in the grand scheme of things –- especially not when $7,000 more buys you a brand new one with warranty. It is also worth mentioning that the CVO Road Glide is built to carry only one rider, despite its substantial size and heft.

Also with a top speed of around 110 mph is the bike that is the closest competitor to the CVO Road Glide ST that we just looked at above: the Pursuit Dark Horse from Indian Motorcycles. Enthusiasts will know that Indian is actually one of the oldest still-surviving motorcycle brands in history, though it did have a long hiatus between 1953 and 1998 when no bikes were produced. A 2026 Pursuit Dark Horse comes equipped with the PowerPlus engine from Indian, displacing 1,834 cc across two cylinders mated to a six-speed transmission. This engine produces the impressive sum of 122 hp, along with 134 lb-ft of torque at 3,800 RPM –- which is plenty of power, even for this bike’s substantial 937-pound wet weight. 

That power is enough to rocket this comfortable touring bike to its top speed that can reach 110 mph or more, depending on the road conditions and the rider profile, of course. As of this writing, the price for a brand new Indian Pursuit Dark Horse stands at $33,999 as base MSRP, though a freight fee of $850 (this was for the 2024 models) will be tacked on top of that, bringing the minimum take-home price for one of these monsters to $34,849. However, you can snag used models from about 2023 for between $18,000 and $22,000 on the used market –- which is actually not that bad of a deal, especially when compared to the Harley from earlier.

Another bike that comes up on every “best tourer” list on the internet — for comfort, value, performance, collector value, or any such metric — is the Honda Gold Wing. Here, we specifically want to mention the Tour trim level, which is one of two trims on offer on modern Gold Wings. As the name suggests, this variant comes with some upgrades to make the already-legendary bike even more suited to the long journeys that touring riders undertake. 

The engine in this motorbike displaces a whopping 1,833 cc – equivalent to 1.8 liters, which is more than some cars today — that spreads its displacement across six cylinders and is mated to a seven-speed gearbox. The total power output for a 2026 Honda Gold Wing stands at 125 hp at 5,500 RPM, along with 125 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 RPM. The entire bike clocks in at an elephantine 809 pounds with all fluids in running order. 

Now, it’s pretty easy to divide any group of automotive journalists –- on a number of opinions at that –- but many reviewers seem to agree that the Gold Wing is one of the most comfortable touring bikes out there. It is the last bike then that you would expect to be rubbing shoulders against a Yamaha R3 sportbike, which has a top speed of 112 mph. However, the Gold Wing manages to actually match that speed, though it is actually electronically limited for safety reasons.

While all the other bikes on this list have been edging each other out by a couple mph –- indeed, a rider of a different stature could probably have that order shuffled around -– the BMW K1600 GT changes that. You see, BMW’s flagship touring bike manages a top speed of a whopping 125+ mph under the right conditions. This eye-watering figure comes about courtesy of a 1,649 cc, six-cylinder motor that ends up making 160 hp at 6,750 rpm, along with 133 lb-ft of torque, which is available from a reasonable 5,250 rpm upwards. The transmission is a six-speed unit that turns the rear wheel via shaft final drive –- and that’s all there really is to it. 

Other details that buyers might be interested in are the wet weight of the bike, which comes in at a ridiculously heavy 782 pounds in total, along with a wheelbase of 63.7 inches  (ironically among the sportiest on this list) and of course the price. A new 2026 BMW K1600 GT will run buyers the cool sum of $26,885 as base MSRP, to which a freight charge of $1,195 will be added, bringing the out-the-door total to $28,080 at minimum, and that’s before any option boxes are ticked. However, used models are actually quite hard to come by, meaning people would be forced to get a new unit. Still, to enthusiasts, that’s a small price to pay for a very fast touring bike.

You’ll be forgiven for assuming that the top speed test for a car and for a bike are affected by the same factors. This is not true; a driver’s weight will not meaningfully affect the top speed of a consumer-grade car, but it absolutely can on a bike. For instance, someone who is 6’4″ and 220 pounds will not get the same top speed as a 5’10” 175 pound rider, owing to a multitude of factors. Key among those are the height of the rider, as being taller would lead to more wind resistance on the rider, and hence, a lower top speed. 

Furthermore, people who are shorter but with a longer torso (compared to the lower half of their body) will also face the same problem, albeit to a lesser degree. As we mentioned, the weight of the rider also plays a role, to a much larger degree than for four-wheelers. The rider profile is quite important; the best example we can give for this would be to say that a heavier, taller rider on a Honda Gold Wing Tour will get a lower top speed than a shorter, lighter rider on an Indian Pursuit, though the Honda has the theoretical upper hand. The road conditions do matter as well, as does the weather, because these directly affect factors like traction. That is why we’ve used a comprehensive methodology to actually determine the real-world top speed.

After we’d made a short list of Touring motorcycles that we knew to have a good top speed owing to a balance of power, weight, and dimension, we first began by looking at official manufacturer specification sheets. For older models that are no longer in production, such as the Yamaha Star Venture and the Honda ST1300 Pan European (which didn’t make the cut), we looked for from-manufacturer press releases. Where this information was not available, we used reputable reviews from publications like Motorcyclist and Rider Magazine to determine the official specs of the bike in question. 

Furthermore, if these editorial sources had a hands-on review of the motorcycle we were talking about, we made sure to factor that into our work as well. In addition, YouTube videos posted by people who own and daily-ride these bikes were an invaluable source of information, as were the great many owner-specific forums that exist on the internet. Pricing data was sourced from manufacturer releases, and current models all have their destination charges included for transparency. Collating all of this information, we condensed the most important facts for each model, vetted the accuracy one last time, and were off to the races. And before anyone makes a fuss about the Harley CVO Road Glide being a sport-tourer bike, that’s just the trim name. There’s nothing sporty about that behemoth, though it is a fantastic ride.