Sea-to-shining sea. Coast-to-coast. There’s a lot of verbiage out there that stokes the desire to throw a leg over your favorite two-wheeled companion and crush a cross-country trip. But let’s face it, not every motorcycle is up to the task. I mean, you certainly wouldn’t want to hop on a Honda Grom and chart a course from Los Angeles to New York and back again.
The point is, you could compromise on your choice of motorcycle for your cross-country adventure. That, or you could pick something with long-haul riding in its DNA. Something with a big, comfortable platform, plenty of storage, more than enough power for easy highway overtaking, and space to spare for a passenger. Needless to say, this tourer ticks all those boxes and more.
A Tourer To Conquer A Cross-Country Journey
So, you’re planning a trip across the country. Well, there’s a tool for every job, and the same goes for motorcycles. If you’re planning on dipping off the pavement, going camping, or doing some adventurous off-roading, an ADV bike is the ticket. However, if you have your sights set on spending weeks away from home soaking up highway mileage, you’ll need a big, spacious, comfortable bagger or touring bike. Of course, you’ll also need plenty of storage for everything you need to survive and thrive away from your neck of the woods. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of interstate-voyaging motorcycles with enough comfort to crush 500-mile days.
Space And Comfort Are Key
The recipe is simple. Take a large motorcycle with a relaxed, comfortable rider triangle and add a wind-cheating fairing. A full fairing fights fatigue by cutting down on wind buffeting, something you’re going to want when you’re trying to cover hundreds of miles per day at highway speeds. Throw in a set of locking, weather-resistant saddlebags and, preferably, a touring pack with accommodations for two-up riding. For added flavor, add some tech, interstate-friendly touches like cruise control, and an engine with enough power and torque to blast around slow-moving traffic. A few new motorcycles are up to the task, but one full-size Indian touring motorcycle promises to crush a cross-country trip without giving up its batwing-equipped bagger charm.
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If I had deep pockets, this would be way up on my list of motorcycles I want in my garage.
2026 Indian Roadmaster PowerPlus Limited: An Appetite For American Highways
Prices Start At $32,499
Take an Indian Chieftain PowerPlus, an already adept highway hauler, and add a few things. Like a remote locking, quick-release tour pack, leg-shielding lower fairings, standard heated seats, and heated grips. What do you get? You get the 2026 Indian Roadmaster PowerPlus Limited, the brand’s fully dressed touring bike with the iconic fork-mounted fairing. At the mention of the fairing, the Roadmaster gets an electrically adjustable windscreen, something you won’t find on a comparable tourer from the Bar & Shield. The windscreen is adjustable via the handlebar controls, as is standard cruise control. The 7-inch infotainment screen functions are also accessible through the hand controls.
For 2026, the Roadmaster PowerPlus is also available as a sinister Dark Horse trim (in addition to the standard Chrome version). But opting for the blacked-out tourer will add a $1,500 to the Limited’s starting price. In either spec, the $1,750 PowerBand audio package bumps up the volume and the power from 200 watts to 600 watts.
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Arguably one of the very best heritage tourers, packing gorgeous retro style and modern tech
Smooth PowerPlus Grunt
Traditionally, big American cruisers, baggers, and tourers are powered by large-displacement, air-cooled V-Twins. Not in the case of the Roadmaster PowerPlus. Instead of the lazy, air-cooled formula, the PowerPlus is a 60-degree, liquid-cooled package displacing either 108 cubic inches or 112 cubic inches. That’s already a departure from the air-cooled, OHV Thunderstroke V-Twin engine still found in some of the brand’s other offerings. For a $3,000 upcharge, the PowerPlus 112 adds four cubes of additional displacement, shaking out to 4.0 extra ponies and 5.0 additional pound-feet of twist over the PowerPlus 108.
I was able to put well over a thousand miles on a Chieftain PowerPlus with the same 112-cubic-inch heart in 2025, and, frankly, I never wanted for thrust. Twist the throttle at nearly any rev range, and the heavy tourer shoves off without fuss. Push the liquid-cooled twin above its peak-torque RPM of 3,600, and the PowerPlus 112 will effortlessly overtake meandering semi-trucks as it climbs American hills. Just try not to hit felony speeds.
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Engine Type |
Naturally Aspirated, Liquid-Cooled, SOHC 60-Degree V-Twin |
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Displacement |
112 Cubic Inches (1,834CC) |
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Transmission |
Six-Speed Manual Transmission |
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Horsepower |
126 HP At 5,500 RPM |
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Torque |
133 LB-FT At 3,600 RPM |
All The Storage, Space For Two
If you’re going to be on the road for a while, you’re going to need some storage capacity. Serious storage capacity. Fortunately, this is where the Roadmaster PowerPlus shines compared to the stripped-back Chieftain. Instead of sticking with the Chieftain’s remote locking hard-sided saddlebags, the Roadmaster gets a quick-detachable tour pack trunk. The addition of the trunk brings the total available weatherproof storage to over 36 gallons (more than 136 liters).
Not enough for your long trip away from home? The trunk assembly includes a chromed luggage rack for extra baggage. In addition to storage, the detachable trunk functions as the upright portion of the passenger seat, complete with side bolstering. Don’t need the extra storage provided by the trunk? Disconnect the entire assembly to slim things down and lose the extra bulk.
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Storage Capacity |
36+ Gallons (136.3+ Liters) |
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Passenger Accommodations |
Heated Two-Up Seat With Adjustable Floorboards |
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Curb Weight |
933 LBS |
American Muscle Makes The 2025 Indian Chieftain The Biggest And Baddest Bagger On The Planet
We rode the newest Indian Chieftain Powerplus and it blew us away.
Safety First
For 2026, the Indian PowerPlus 112 touring lineup is available with a Bosch-sourced blind spot warning and tailgate warning system. If the rear-mounted Bosch unit detects a vehicle in the rider’s blind spot or too close to the rear of the motorcycle, an orange indicator bar will light up on the 7-inch touchscreen. The boundary of the mirrors will also illuminate, warning a rider before changing lanes. Some might find it too intrusive, but I found it to be a useful bit of safety kit. That said, like blind spot monitoring in a car, it’s no replacement for situational awareness. In addition to the blind spot and tailgate warnings, the Roadmaster PowerPlus is available with bike hold control for starting on a hill, lean-sensitive ABS, rear collision warning, and standard traction control.
How It Stacks Up
There’s no escaping the Indian-versus-Harley-Davidson comparo. In this case, the 2026 Indian Roadmaster PowerPlus squares off with the Harley-Davidson Street Glide Limited. Both bikes get heated. Both motorcycles wear fork-mounted fairings. Both use a locking tour pack trunk system with a luggage rack and around 36 to 37 gallons of storage. Hell, both American highway hogs have heated grips and seats. The Street Glide Limited gets a larger, 12.3-inch touchscreen compared to the Indian’s 7-inch unit. Only the Roadmaster gets an electrically-adjustable windscreen, though. Most notably, the Roadmaster’s PowerPlus is a much more muscular affair than the Street Glide Limited and its lovable Milwaukee-Eight, despite its larger 117-cubic-inch displacement.
Sources: Indian Motorcycles, Harley-Davidson