Tourers

Heavyweight tourers are a different proposition to sport-tourers. We're talking Gold Wing, K 1600, R 1300 RT, and the now-departed Concours 14 (last sold US 2015). 350kg+ wet, full fairing, integrated luggage, top-box, heated everything, and engines designed for cruising at interstate speeds for as long as you want.

This segment is shrinking. The audience is older, the bikes are expensive, and big ADVs have eaten a lot of the customer base. The K 1600 is the only six-cylinder motorcycle on sale anywhere, and the Gold Wing is one of the very few flat-six bikes ever built. They're engineering exotica masquerading as practical machines.

If you do thousands of miles a year with a passenger and want the best long-distance motorcycle money can buy, this category is unmatched. If you don't, look at sport-tourers or ADVs instead.