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What is the most popular touring motorcycle?

dpmonk

P Monk
Just back from a trip through California, Oregon, Washington volcanos. Covered 6,174 miles from Orange Texas. This is just an observation, but by far most of the motorcycles I saw on the trip were HD touring bikes.
I saw a few BMW's and a very few Honda Goldwings. Especially absent were the new GW with their limited luggage capacity. I thoroughly enjoyed my R1200RT on the trip, and I know the number of HD's might be skewed some because Sturgis Rally is about to get underway, but there are a lot of HD riders out there enjoying the roads.
 
I believe your impression is about spot on, regardless of the Sturgis Rally. Harleys do seem to be far and away the most common bikes on the open road. I have been observing that for about the past 40-50 years. One thing to consider though, are the variants of Japanese touring-cruisers that mimic a Harley with batwing fairings and such; if you are not watching very closely on the road, you can sometimes mistake one of the Harley-wannabees for the real deal.

I've never owned a Harley, but have ridden quite a few over the years. They are comfortable, carry a fair amount of stuff, have good noise (music) makers, and are dead-reliable. Plus, no matter where in the USA you happen to be on a motorcycle road trip, you can always find someone to work on one if something happens. These are all points that help make them popular to the majority of two-wheel travelers. Now, on the other hand … a lesser number of two-wheel travelers will opt for something "exotic" and less main-stream, like Goldwings, BMWs and such.
 
When we're on trips the touring bikes we see most often are Full Dress Harleys.
Seems like the Goldwing market dried up a long time ago.
 
Definitely Harley.
I talk to a few different dealers and they all say the same thing. They sell way more Harley baggers than all the rest of the line up. If you can assume that goes across the nation there are maybe 100,000 new Harley baggers out there every year. If you took all the other brands that build a touring rig I doubt their total sales of touring bikes would add up to what HD puts on the street.

Harley is an alright bike, I have been running HD baggers for 15 years. Compared to what else is out there they are under powered, and ride rough. They don't do high speed interstate very well. A good headwind will really make one struggle. A bit anemic in high elevations. Great for back roads, flower sniffing type rides.

I have a '16 Limited in my garage along with my '18 RT. Since I bought the RT the Harley does move much. The performance and ride comfort of the RT is miles ahead of the Harley if you can adjust to the sportbike style seating position. You can not even begin to compare the suspension differences. It is like comparing an old farm truck to a Cadillac.
 
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We live 25 miles north of the west entrance to Big Bend National Park in the Texas Big Bend. We do see, and hear the racket of, a lot of HD bikes. But given that they outsell BMW 20 to 1 that is not surprising. What we also see are a whole lot of big dual-sport bikes. Big metal top boxes, metal panniers, etc. We see folks riding Old Ore Road, or West River Road, or Glenn Springs Road with big GSs where I wouldn't take my 250 Sherpa. We also see large numbers of small dual sport bikes - many trailered south and then back north after a romp in the National Park or Big Bend Ranch State Park.

We also travel mostly the west most of the summer and there we also see big dual sport bikes and HD bikes. Also a number of BMW and metric sport touring bikes that as I meet them with a 140 mph speed differential I am hard pressed to identify. But I agree Goldwing bikes are getting more scarce.

As a bit of an aside but interesting, it is 80 miles from Alpine, Texas south to the park. There is a roadside park 25 miles south of Alpine. That becomes rest stop one for many HD riders. Our driveway, another 28 miles south, is a long horseshoe drive, over 600 feet long. That becomes rest stop two for many of them.

When I see a big group smokin' and jokin' I sometimes go out to welcome them to the Big Bend. They are nervous as the "owner" approaches, but a few bits of conversation soon make everything OK. I offer water, coffee, tea etc. It becomes all just fine. I do laugh at doo rags and assless chaps and high-rise handlebars and the pap smear leg position, but all in all my experiences with riders in the big bend is positive. The guy who needed a board to keep his head studs from backing out is another story, but his wife who has probably been charged for a serious crime by now since she missed work and probably got fired because his HD was failing him ...

Life where we live is interesting. I keep gas, tools, a lift, coffee, water beer, and other things on hand just in case. My favorite was the F250 van of bicycle racers that had a blowout, and a jack that was junk. We tried two of my jacks before they could mount a bald spare. But when I went out to retrieve my jack I found a complimentary quart of good Irish Whiskey as my reward for being a helpful guy who let them use my jack. Yes!! Karma!
 
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I have ridden several brands. Most H/D riding was [city] as per my job. I have traveled quite-a-bit on BMW , and some on Jap bikes of different designs. Standard, sport-touring ? and one cruiser.

Another more recent purchase was of a Victory Crossroads .... and i have to say it is pretty damn comfortable, plenty of power, [for me anyway] and carries a good amount of luggage . Recent bouts of arthritis have taken me from riding lately, but that aside & even considering it.....it [the Vic] has by far the most comfortable [stock] seat in the biz.

If my bones/joints would cooperate [and get me back out there] it would be my ride of choice .... particularly for travel.

I do wish it weighed less :) but that is minor.

Am seriously thinking about selling both my BMW's & keeping the Vic.....just in case i get some relief from Arther ....:dunno
 
I agree

I just got back from a 6 month 10,000 mile RV trip from Texas to Glacier NP back South to El Paso then to New York City and back to Texas via Florida. I started 1st. Sept and ended in Feb. I hardly saw any motorcycles but when I did it was Harleys and not just one but in packs. I did see the blurr of a couple of lone bmw riders but not many at all.

I agree that most bikes on the road are Harleys; I've passed a million of them on my '78rs.
 
When I'm on the road I see Harleys and a variety of sport bikes , but doubt that many are far from home.

From talking to riders that converted to newer GS boxers from other brands including several that were hard core Harley dudes, it is as good a riding/touring bike as there is.
(which is why I refuse to test ride one)

Bill
Bultaco Bultaco Yamaha R90 R100GS K1100RS
 
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I belong to 4 riding groups that regularly post weekend rides. I show up on the GS, the only GS in any of the groups. 70-75% of the motors are HD in all groups, and nearly a 1/3 of them are trikes in one group. Last weekend the group I tagged along with was nearly all HD, one Hyabusa [ sp ], my GS and a very nice 2019 v85TT moto guzzi [ it's like a mini gs with the features and hard aluminum bags ].

Each group ride has anywhere from 12-20 bikes on the ride with many more members than that. These are just weekend day rides. So I've met 4 groups, won't ride with one of them again [ 15-20 over posted on the highways is their norm ] and that's not the ride I'm looking for. They make far too many stops, ride too fast.

One guy has shown up on 3 different group rides on a Boss Hog custom v8 trike. One armed, the controls are custom and he does just fine. Last weekend I mentioned I'd seen him with 3 different groups now and his reply was "still trying to find my right group". At the end of the day, we both agreed this last ride group was good to go, and 80% were HD's, once again.

Rode HD dressers for years back in the 70's/80's. Not since, nor will I entertain owning another. So in 4 fairly large ride groups, 80% on average are HD's and 1/3 of them are trikes. One group did have 5 can am's along, they all seemed to be happy with their ride [ I ask most motors about their rides ].

There's never one person who snubs anyone's choice of ride in the 4 groups I've ridden with. The HD guys really don't give the GS much of a notice, but I'm always checking out the HD's, some are pretty tricked out [ in their own HD way ].
 
Joint pain

I have ridden several brands. Most H/D riding was [city] as per my job. I have traveled quite-a-bit on BMW , and some on Jap bikes of different designs. Standard, sport-touring ? and one cruiser.

Another more recent purchase was of a Victory Crossroads .... and i have to say it is pretty damn comfortable, plenty of power, [for me anyway] and carries a good amount of luggage . Recent bouts of arthritis have taken me from riding lately, but that aside & even considering it.....it [the Vic] has by far the most comfortable [stock] seat in the biz.

If my bones/joints would cooperate [and get me back out there] it would be my ride of choice .... particularly for travel.

I do wish it weighed less :) but that is minor.

Am seriously thinking about selling both my BMW's & keeping the Vic.....just in case i get some relief from Arther ....:dunno

You might want to google "night shades", which are 4 foods that contribute to arthritic pain. An older woman in my Pilates Class told me about it when I was bitching about joint pain and I stopped eating Night Shades about 1.5 years ago. It made a remarkable difference in about a month. Tough though. Night Shades = Tamatoes (spaghetti, pizza, salads, sandwichs), potatoes (any form, chips, fries, etc.), egg plant and bell peppers (in everything, have to pick them out when eating dishes cooked with them). I find myself picking one of the 4 out of almost everything I'm eating, but...., life is better!

I want to preserve my ability to ride as long as I can, one aspect of the relief from joint pain, which afflicts all of us, especially over 70. Check it out.

Scotty

scott-blowholes_8mar20.jpg
 
Well, I'd have to believe that by the numbers, you'll be more likely to see more HD than any other simply because there are far more HD bikes sold that all others (probably) combined.
Now, getting down to numbers.....there are also more HD bikes for sale each year with less than 5000 miles on them than other bikes. With that info (that isn't proven fact, just guess work) I'd say that as far as true touring miles logged, there's no way that the average HD has more true touring miles than BMW bikes do.
I have owned a few HD's and in my travels, most guys I see do under 2000 miles a year on their bikes and very rarely leave home to ride. Sure, trailering to Daytona for a week to ride 400 miles is a big accomplishment but realistically, not many have a bunch of miles on them. Even full dress HD bikes never go far from home.
 
You might want to google "night shades", which are 4 foods that contribute to arthritic pain. An older woman in my Pilates Class told me about it when I was bitching about joint pain and I stopped eating Night Shades about 1.5 years ago. It made a remarkable difference in about a month. Tough though. Night Shades = Tamatoes (spaghetti, pizza, salads, sandwichs), potatoes (any form, chips, fries, etc.), egg plant and bell peppers (in everything, have to pick them out when eating dishes cooked with them). I find myself picking one of the 4 out of almost everything I'm eating, but...., life is better!

I want to preserve my ability to ride as long as I can, one aspect of the relief from joint pain, which afflicts all of us, especially over 70. Check it out.

Scotty

View attachment 77498

IF you haven't already, you might also consider eliminating gluten from your diet. For many people, gluten can be a strong contributor to joint pain.
 
IF you haven't already, you might also consider eliminating gluten from your diet. For many people, gluten can be a strong contributor to joint pain.

My wife tries to avoid gluten and night shades due to her arthritis.
 
My wife tries to avoid gluten and night shades due to her arthritis.

My wife and I have been gluten free for about 5 years now (joint pain for my wife...just general allergy for me). We finally convinced my 87 year old mother to give it a try about two years ago and it's made a significant difference in her arthritis pain.
 
My wife tries to avoid gluten and night shades due to her arthritis.

For my wife, eliminating night shades has helped reduce the frequency of migraines. Previously, she was diagnosed with a wheat allergy which causes respiratory problems like asthma. In any case, during the switch to gluten-free, she found a strong correlation between her migraines and various gluten-free products. Eliminating those with potato starch (which is a large number of the available products) has helped with the migraines.

Strange, she never had a migraine before we got married......
 
For my wife, eliminating night shades has helped reduce the frequency of migraines. Previously, she was diagnosed with a wheat allergy which causes respiratory problems like asthma. In any case, during the switch to gluten-free, she found a strong correlation between her migraines and various gluten-free products. Eliminating those with potato starch (which is a large number of the available products) has helped with the migraines.

Strange, she never had a migraine before we got married......

I feel sorry for anyone who's Celiac because gluten is in so many things.
I read a lot of labels when I grocery shop trying to avoid it as much as possible.
I cook simple meals for two reasons. I'm not a very good cook and it's easier to not have gluten if you keep the meals simple.

I'm not gluten free but eat very little of it because I'm too lazy to make two separate meals.

There must be a lot of gluten free people in Canada because they have figured out how to make good tasting gluten free bread and crust.
 
I feel sorry for anyone who's Celiac because gluten is in so many things.
I read a lot of labels when I grocery shop trying to avoid it as much as possible.
I cook simple meals for two reasons. I'm not a very good cook and it's easier to not have gluten if you keep the meals simple.

I'm not gluten free but eat very little of it because I'm too lazy to make two separate meals.

There must be a lot of gluten free people in Canada because they have figured out how to make good tasting gluten free bread and crust.

Gluten free food has become dramatically more mainstream in just the five years my wife and I have been eating that way. The gluten free section of the grocery store used to be about two feet of one shelf. Now, there are huge sections of the store devoted to gluten free products...and they're really good!

The product that has probably made the most progress in the past two years has been gluten free beer (which used to taste like $#%). There are some very good beers out there now, including those from a completely gluten free brewery in Seattle called Ghostfish...their grapefruit IPA is fantastic.
 
I feel sorry for anyone who's Celiac because gluten is in so many things.
I read a lot of labels when I grocery shop trying to avoid it as much as possible.
I cook simple meals for two reasons. I'm not a very good cook and it's easier to not have gluten if you keep the meals simple.

I'm not gluten free but eat very little of it because I'm too lazy to make two separate meals.

There must be a lot of gluten free people in Canada because they have figured out how to make good tasting gluten free bread and crust.

Interestingly, Celiac's is a digestive disorder ( the Mom-in-Law is celiac). My wife's allergy is a respiratory and heart rate reaction.

It's a change, but nothing that can't be overcome. Canyon Bakehouse bread works for us, but some of their products do have nightshades.
 
I thought it was hilarious, as I was coming back from Alaska pretty much all I saw were adventure bikes (although I did see 2 Harleys [and a scooter!] on the Top of the World Highway). Once I got to Dawson Creek BC (start/end of the Alaska Highway) it was like a switch had been thrown, it was all Harleys and sportbikes, ADV bikes evaporated.
 
Well, I'd have to believe that by the numbers, you'll be more likely to see more HD than any other simply because there are far more HD bikes sold that all others (probably) combined.
Now, getting down to numbers.....there are also more HD bikes for sale each year with less than 5000 miles on them than other bikes. With that info (that isn't proven fact, just guess work) I'd say that as far as true touring miles logged, there's no way that the average HD has more true touring miles than BMW bikes do.
I have owned a few HD's and in my travels, most guys I see do under 2000 miles a year on their bikes and very rarely leave home to ride. Sure, trailering to Daytona for a week to ride 400 miles is a big accomplishment but realistically, not many have a bunch of miles on them. Even full dress HD bikes never go far from home.

I feel compelled to disagree a little with you, but it is a minor point. I don't know what an average HD rider is. There are some who only ride on weekends and on sunny days but … most of the Harley riders I know ride the damned wheels off their bikes. I have been on plenty of cross-country trips and the predominant bike I see on the road is a Harley bagger. And when I check into a hotel somewhere, the most common bike in the parking lot is a Harley covered with mud and dust. I personally believe "real" Harley riders get a bum rap because of the few that we see around urban areas and in front of bars on weekends.
 
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