2 Great Motorcycles for Travel 2024

Ask any rider and they’ll tell you there’s nothing like a view of the countryside from the saddle of a motorcycle. But you could also argue that any motorcycle can be used to that end, so it often comes down to your own parameters; where you intend to go, how you ride, and what you’re bringing with you. Which means our list is just a small sampling of all the great travel bikes out there, serving instead as a kind of highlight reel for the wide variety options that are available. You can narrow down your choices by opting for those that include provisions for cargo (whether it comes with bags or can accept them later), decent fuel range, and at least a modicum of weather protection. Creature comforts and up-to-date electronics can make your ride even more enjoyable, with features like traction control, rider modes, navigation, adaptive cruise control, and more.

Long Hauler
Bikes that are made to devour long highway miles, with plush accommodations, room for a passenger, and gobs of cargo capacity. All come equipped with big engines that can easily move your loaded rig with authority.

Any compilation of touring bikes is bound to have a Honda Gold Wing near the top of its list. You can thank the Wing’s combination of refined comfort and silky smooth power.

2024 Honda Gold Wing Tour Automatic DCT
The Honda Gold Wing has been soldiering on for more than four decades and has won more Cycle World Ten Best awards than we can count along the way. For taming highways and chomping up huge miles, we said the Gold Wing and its nearly two-liter engine are “the gold standard of two-up touring.” Key attributes include a 1,833cc flat six-cylinder engine and an electronically adjustable double-wishbone fork, both of which contribute to an uncannily smooth power delivery and ultra-stable footing. On the Tour Automatic DCT, Honda’s Dual-Clutch Transmission will do the shifting for you, but all trims carry a color 7-inch TFT screen, four ride modes, dual disc brakes with ABS, a 5.5-gallon tank, lots of protection for rider and passenger, and plenty of storage space.

Fuel capacity: 5.5 gal.

Claimed fuel mileage: 42 mpg

Estimated range: 231 mi.

Standard luggage: Yes, 121L of storage (approx. 31.9 gal.)

Navigation: Yes, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible

Browse our inventory of the Honda Gold Wing

Go Fast, Go Long
Sometimes it’s about the ride and not the destination, and there’s nothing wrong with traveling light and ripping twisties. That’s where sport-touring machines come in, offering sporty rubber, upright seating positions, and yes, even the occasional side case.

Class-leading (and wallet-emptying) tech on the Ducati Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour includes front and rear radars, seat height lowering system, and that lovely Grandturismo engine.

2024 Ducati Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour
You could argue that the Ducati Multistrada set the tone (and the standard) for upright sporty touring machines when it debuted in 2003, and in V4 guise, it continues to stretch boundaries and raise the bar. New for 2024, the top-of-the-line Multistrada Grand Tour

boasts a pages-long spec sheet that includes things like adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, a seat-height lowering system, and (thankfully) 60-liter side cases as standard. Of course part of the deal is that power-packed 1,158cc engine good for 170 hp and 92 lb.-ft. of torque, comfortable ergonomics, and the other electronics we’ve come to expect, like semi-active suspension, multiple ride modes, and traction control, all easily accessed via the 6.5-inch TFT display. Is it the best Multi for long-distance touring? Quite possibly.

Fuel capacity: 5.8 gal.

Claimed fuel mileage: N/A

Estimated range: N/A

Standard luggage: Yes

Navigation: Yes

Browse our inventory of the Ducati Multistrada