10 Most Practical Touring Motorcycles For 2025
Touring is one of the dreams of motorcycling. To get far away places in supreme comfort, to feel the wind in your face (but not too much), and to come back home with memories that will last a lifetime. As the idea grows, the touring motorcycle segment grows with it, and there is an incredible range of tourers available to the consumer today. They range from motorcycles that match cars in terms of creature comforts and weight, to others that have a more street bike-style orientation but with cushy long-travel suspension to better bad roads.
A little practicality is important, too. An overwhelming chunk of your holiday’s enjoyment hinges on your bike’s ability to make your trip easier. It can do that by offering enough luggage space, comfortable seating, a great safety net, or simply by being reliable and offering great gas mileage. Considering these aspects, here are 10 of the most practical touring motorcycles you can get in 2025.
To ensure accuracy, the information compiled in this article was sourced from the respective manufacturers, as well as other authoritative sources. We’ve arranged them in order of engine size to give things some order.
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Honda NC750X DCT
The Budget Bad-Road Tourer
Honda
Honda’s NC750X might look like an ADV, but it doesn’t even pretend to be one. It takes a 750 cc parallel-twin engine, puts in street manners, adventure bike ergonomics, and suspension travel that is somewhere in the middle of the two, and rounds it off with an automatic gearbox. The NC750X is now available only with the DCT, which gives it incredible fuel efficiency and a tank range of almost 250 miles.
It is also a surprisingly practical motorcycle, with the ‘fuel tank’ actually being a 6-gallon storage space. The 2025 NC750X has updated front brakes, with a dual disc setup that should help braking with a full load become a much easier affair. But that's yet to be launched in North America.
Engine Type | 270-degree parallel twin, liquid cooling, 4 valves per cylinder |
Displacement | 745 cc |
Max Power | 57.8 HP @ 6,750 RPM |
Max Torque | 50.9 LB-FT @ 4,750 RPM |
Price | $9,499 |
Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+
The Reliable Liter Sport Tourer
Suzuki
The GSX-R1000 is one of the liter sports bikes great for someone stepping up to the class, and it is no different with the GSX-S1000GT+. You get a massive 150 horsepower to play with from a singing inline-four, along with a long list of features that help it become a great tourer. You have electronic cruise control, five-mode traction control, a two-way quickshifter, ABS, and suspension that is fully adjustable. In addition, there is Bluetooth connectivity for both rider and passenger, and the 6.5 inch TFT can display navigation as well via Suzuki’s mobile app. Hard luggage that can store 9.5 gallons is standard, too.
Engine Type | Inline four-cylinder, liquid cooling, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder |
Displacement | 999 cc |
Max Power | 150 HP @ 11,000 RPM |
Max Torque | 79.6 LB-FT @ 9,250 RPM |
Price | $14,299 |
Honda Rebel 1100T DCT
Most Affordable Traditional Automatic Tourer
Honda
The Rebel has quietly become one of the great bargains of current times. You get the most power as well as the most torque among any cruiser under $10,000. Add $1,500 to that and Honda will give you the Rebel 1100T with a six-speed automatic dual-clutch gearbox. This is in addition to the fairing and hard luggage that the Rebel T offers. This engine has been detuned for use in the Rebel, so you know it’s going to be reliable. It also has great gas mileage, which means you can ride off into the sunset without worrying about the distance to the next fuel station when you’re on tour.
Engine Type | 270-degree parallel twin, liquid cooling, 4 valves per cylinder, Unicam SOHC |
Displacement | 1,084 cc |
Max Power | 87.1 HP @ 7,250 RPM |
Max Torque | 72.2 LB-FT @ 4,750 RPM |
Price | $11,499 |
2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800 Hero
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Ducati Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour
Service Intervals Are Now In Line With Competition
Ducati
The Multistrada V4S Grand Tour sits at the top of the road-biased Multistrada V4 range, and you get the full electronics experience with it. This includes forward and rearward-facing radar, frontal collision warning, a tire pressure monitoring system, heated seats, and electronic suspension that automatically lowers the bike at walking speeds. The engine itself is the lauded Granturismo seen on the Diavel, which uses valve springs instead of Ducati’s signature Desmodromic tech. This allows maintenance intervals of 37,000 miles for the valvetrain, while regular services need to be done every 9,000 miles or two years. These are almost industry-leading figures.
Engine Type | Granturismo 90 degrees V4, liquid cooling, 4 valves per cylinder, counterrotating crankshaft, twin pulse firing order |
Displacement | 1,158 cc |
Max Power | 170 HP @ 10,500 RPM |
Max Torque | 92.2 LB-FT @ 8,750 RPM |
Price | $28,395 |
BMW R 1250 RT
BMW’s Oft-forgotten Sport Tourer
BMW
BMW has so many options for you if you want to tour, it is easy to forget about the R 1250 RT. However, for those who are discerning riders and want their cake and eat it too, the RT makes for a very compelling case for itself. The boxer twin engine has been a favorite of off-road motorcyclists, thanks to the R 1250 GS. In this particular case, the 1,254cc mill gets liquid cooling and variable valve timing as well.
Shaft drive means no maintenance like a chain would require. And the standard electronics include a full safety net, plus a humongous 10.25-inch color display that can double up as a navigation display. Active cruise control, LED adaptive headlamps, and wireless phone charging are standard inclusions as well. The options list has the usual tourer items like keyless operation, heated seats, more lights, and a bigger windscreen.
Engine Type | Boxer twin cylinder, air/liquid cooling, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder, BMW ShiftCam variable valve timing on intake valves |
Displacement | 1,254 cc |
Max Power | 136 HP @ 7,750 RPM |
Max Torque | 105 LB-FT @ 6,250 RPM |
Price | $19,995 |
Indian Chieftain
Old Brand, New Model
Indina Motorcycle
If you like American tourers, it is difficult to turn away the Chieftain as an option for touring. It has everything you’d want from a tourer, be it an American badge, a large narrow-angle V-twin, and a six-speed transmission and belt drive to maximize the engine’s performance. It is a thoroughly modern motorcycle, with ride modes, rear cylinder deactivation, ABS, and one of our favorite features: an audio system that changes the output as speeds change.
The Chieftain is unique because most variants are powered by the Thunderstroke 111 engine, but you also could choose variants like the Chieftain Dark Horse and its Thunderstroke 116 engine and the added performance. For $3,100 more over the base Chieftain price, you could have one of the recently launched Chieftains with a Powerplus engine, which is a whole ‘nother level of performance.
Engine Type | Thunderstroke 111 49 degrees v-twin, air cooling, 2 valves per cylinder |
Displacement | 1,811 cc |
Max Power | 100 HP @ NA RPM |
Max Torque | 119 LB-FT @ 3,000 RPM |
Price | $23,999 |
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Honda Gold Wing Tour Automatic DCT
A Japanese Icon That Turns 50 This Year
Look carefully, and you’ll notice that the Gold Wing Tour DCT is priced substantially higher than the Indian Chieftain. They’re both large tourers, yes, but the Gold Wing offers so much more for the extra money. You get the world’s first and only motorcycle seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, for example. You get a walk mode, where the Gold Wing will creep front and rear to make parking lot maneuvers easy.
Suspension is adjustable at the touch of a button, and not just damping, but the rear preload is also adjustable at the touch of a button. Last but not least, you can have a lovely 50th-anniversary special edition for just $500 more. Is there anything that the Gold Wing doesn’t have?
Engine Type | Horizontally opposed six-cylinder, liquid cooling, SOHC, 4 valves per cylinder |
Displacement | 1,833 cc |
Max Power | 125 HP @ 5,500 RPM |
Max Torque | 125 LB-FT @ 4,500 RPM |
Price | $29,700 |
Harley-Davidson Road Glide 3
Three’s A Party
Harley-Davidson
The Road Glide 3 is one of Harley’s touring packages but it is a trike, and on the surface, it might be difficult to justify a 1,164-pound behemoth as a practical vehicle. However, for those looking to extend their riding careers, a trike makes absolute sense. You don’t need the legs to hold up a large tourer, although you do need a fair bit of upper body strength to steer one of these.
You won’t lack power as the default engine is the Milwaukee Eight 114. You also won’t lack for electronics, because the Road Glide 3 comes with Harley’s full electronics suite. Finally, you can carry absolutely everything along on your trip because of the cavernous luggage space a trike offers.
Engine Type | Milwaukee Eight 114 45-degree V-twin, air/oil cooling, 4 valves per cylinder |
Displacement | 1,868 cc |
Max Power | 90 HP @ 4,750 RPM |
Max Torque | 119 LB-FT @ 2,750 RPM |
Price | $34,999 |
Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST
Great Tank Range For Touring
Harley-Davidson
The Low Rider ST is put into the ‘cruiser’ section of the H-D website, but the ST means that it gets a frame-mounted fairing and hard luggage for touring purposes. It also helps that it has a large engine with a more than adequate output and a tank range that outdoes any of its rivals by a big margin. If you want your tourer to be a little sporty, have the ability to protect you from wind blast, stow a decent amount of luggage, and yet not be as heavy as a bison, the Low Rider ST is one of the most practical answers.
Engine Type | Milwaukee Eight 117 High Output 45 degree V-twin, air/oil cooling, 4 valves per cylinder |
Displacement | 1,917 cc |
Max Power | 114 HP @ 5,000 RPM |
Max Torque | 128 LB-FT @ 4,000 RPM |
Price | $24,199 |
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Harley-Davidson Street Glide Ultra
Pillion Practicality At Its Finest
Harley-Davidson
Motorcycle riders are spoiled, as they should be. That’s the seat that will be occupied all the time! However, pillions rarely get the love they should, but the new-for-2025 Street Glide Ultra corrects that with a throne fit for a ruler. The Tour-Pak top box is standard on the Street Glide Ultra, meaning the integrated armrests and floorboards are also standard. The new fairing lowers do double duty, meanwhile, directing hot air away from the rider and offering small storage spaces.
Engine Type | Milwaukee Eight 117 45-degree V-twin, air/oil cooling, 4 valves per cylinder |
Displacement | 1,917 cc |
Max Power | 105 HP @ 4,600 RPM |
Max Torque | 130 LB-FT @ 3,250 RPM |
Price | $30,749 |
