10 Used Cruisers Perfect For Relaxed Weekend Road Trips

The prices of new cruisers are most certainly on the rise. While new bikes offer all sorts of desirable features, it quite obviously costs more to produce a bike with these features. You can choose a new bike which offers a more back-to-basics approach to cruising, but the problem with that is most of these entry-level bikes do not offer much in the way of comfort.

The obvious solution here is to turn to the used market. For the same price as one of those so-called entry-level cruisers, you can have one of the bikes on this list, all vastly more comfortable, and in most cases a fair bit more powerful, too. A relaxed weekend road trip shouldn’t include an unscheduled stop on the side of the highway, either, so we only included bikes with a solid reliability record.

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1996 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

Price Range: $4,000 – $6,000

Technically, you can go a bit newer, but that isn’t expressly necessary. The Evo motor doing duty here in these 90s Fat Boys comes from the factory in a pretty mild state of tune, and if you can find one that hasn’t been modified, that would be ideal. While 66 horsepower may seem a little weak for a bike that weighs over 700 pounds, it makes more than enough torque to get up to highway speed and keep up with traffic.

Specifications

1999 Yamaha Road Star

Price Range: $2,000 – $4,000

Yamaha

If the 70-odd pound feet of torque that the Fat Boy makes isn’t enough for your relaxed ride, then 100 pound feet should suffice. The Road Star from the 90s had a massive air-cooled V-twin, and while it never got the same iconic status of the Harley, to the right buyer, this metric cruiser will be the better buy. While these V-twins were reliable, at this very low end of the market neglect can become a big factor, so it will be important to take the bike for a decent test ride.

Specifications

2005 Triumph Rocket III

Price Range: $3,000 – $5,000

Triumph

This overpowered ugly duckling might seem like an odd pick, but it is actually extremely comfortable. If you were planning on getting a bike that you can occasionally use during the week, this wouldn’t be a great option, because it is just too heavy for that sort of thing. These engines simply don’t need to work very hard thanks to all that torque, and remain pretty reliable as long as the previous owner rode it regularly, and kept up with maintenance.

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2007 Kawasaki Vulcan 2000

Price Range: $3,000 – $5,000

Kawasaki

The market for chromed out monsters like this was starting to die down by the time the Vulcan 2000 came out in the mid-00s. It is not a particularly desirable motorcycle these days and, as a direct result, prices remain low. As long as you are willing to live with a little wind blast, it is very comfortable, and will never leave you in want of more power while bombing down the highway.

Specifications

2009 Harley-Davidson XR1200

Price Range: $5,000 – $7,000

Harley-Davidson

The XR1200 falls somewhere between a cruiser and a naked bike. The old air-cooled Sportster engine offers punchy performance, but its overall weight and lack of top-end power will leave those more accustomed to high-performance naked bikes in want of more power. What it is, is a genuinely comfortable bike that also happens to be pretty fun to ride, and easy to maintain. Pricing for this bike is all over the place, with some bikes selling for under $5k, and other low-mileage garage queens selling for as much as $13k. The price indicated is for a bike that saw regular use, and is in good running order.

Specifications

2011 Triumph Thunderbird Storm

Price Range: $4,000 – $6,000

Triumph Motorcycles

Big parallel-twins like this tend to vibrate at higher revs. But, as long as you are willing to keep it away from that part of the tachometer, this is a very comfortable bike for laid-back highway rides. By the time this came out, Triumph was getting into a pretty good rhythm in terms of overall build quality, but its chrome would have some corrosion by now if it lived outside.

Specifications

2012 Yamaha VMax

Price Range: $7,000 – $9,000

Yamaha

While the newer second generation VMax is still fairly expensive, the bang for the buck you get is still quite incredible. Since Yamaha introduced fuel injection, these V4s have proven to be reliable, even in this state of tune that is anything but mild. Even though you have 200 horsepower at your disposal, this is still a very comfortable motorcycle.

Specifications

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2013 Moto Guzzi California 1400 Custom

Price Range: $4,000 – $6,000

Moto Guzzi

Underneath its “borrowed” design, the California Custom 1400 has a pretty decent chassis. Testers praised this Italian stallion for its neutral handling, not something many of the other cruisers on this list actually offer. Its great big transverse V-twin is a simple air-cooled lump, so mechanical reliability won’t be much of an issue, but wiring might be. Italian wiring of this ilk wasn’t particularly good, so you absolutely need to make sure everything electrical functions as it should.

Specifications

2014 Honda Valkyrie

Price Range: $7,000 – $9,000

Honda

The Valkyrie is not a pretty motorcycle. But it doesn’t need to be, because it offers something none of the other bikes on this list can. A buttery smooth flat six engine. Essentially, what you get here is a Gold Wing – arguably the best touring bike ever made – with all the touring toppings removed. While this will leave you up in the wind, it is still a very comfortable cruiser and well and truly worth the money. As long as you don’t mind looking at it.

Specifications

2021 BMW R 18

Price Range: $9,000 – $11,000

BMW

If you are a fan of BMW’s air-cooled boxer-twins, this represents an incredible bargain on the used market right now. In this very mild state of tune these bikes will remain reliable for years to come. Just don’t expect the resale value to ever improve. BMW has dropped the new price a fair bit since it came out, and as a result the used value took a big hit.

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