Travel

Indian Motorcycle adds the Roadmaster Limited to the lineup ahead of MY2021 as an alternative to the vanilla Roadmaster at the bottom of the fully dressed tour-bike price range. The standard electronic suite and Ride Command infotainment system supports long trips as is, but new equipment really adds comfort through the ClimaCommand Rogue saddle that can heat or cool your nethers underway. Front fairing protection and a trio of hard bags round out the touring package to make it ready for the highway right off the showroom floor.

Indian Motorcycle brings classic and contemporary together for its limited-edition Roadmaster Elite. Powered by the new, 116 cubic-inch Thunder Stroke plant and enhanced with top-shelf infotainment features as well as safety equipment, the Roadmaster Elite serves as Indian’s Flagship entry in the tourbike bracket and looks like it’s set to take on its domestic competition.

Remember the 2019 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide, the special edition that had the stunning red and silver two-tone paint job with the “Number One” logo in red and blue on the fuel tank? The Milwaukee-Based company is repeating this glorious accent on its 2020 Road Glide Special model. The factory-installed paint will be limited to 750 models.

Harley-Davidson goes to the top shelf for the goodies on its 2020 Road Glide Special. The Milwaukee-Eight 114 powerplant carries over from the previous year, as does the well-rounded infotainment system and ABS protection. Harley’s Reflex™ Defensive Rider System (RDRS) is available as optional equipment, but if you like your paint to be a little on the wild side, the Special Edition model carries it as part of the standard equipment.

It’s a nostalgic yet sumptuous take on the already blummin’ good Roadmaster dresser. The Elite has been the best money can buy, and has pulled it off with all bells and whistles ever since it was launched a couple of years ago.

For 2020, the Elite gets a brand-new custom-inspired two-tone candy paint, requiring nearly 30 hours and hand finishing to complete, an upgraded Ride Command system with a 600-watt PowerBand Audio Plus set up, 19-inch precision-machined wheel. Powering this is Indian Motorcycle’s most powerful air-cooled engine - the Thunder Stroke 116.

Bright, brash and power are what is oozing out when you have a look at this Roadmaster Elite. It has been the best money can buy, and it has pulled it off with all bells and whistles ever since it was launched a couple of years ago. It’s a nostalgic yet sumptuous take on the already blummin’ good Roadmaster dresser.

For 2020, the Elite gets a brand-new custom-inspired two-tone candy paint, requiring nearly 30 hours and hand finishing to complete, an upgraded Ride Command system with a 600-watt PowerBand Audio Plus set up, 19-inch precision-machined wheel. Powering this is Indian Motorcycle’s most powerful air-cooled engine - the Thunder Stroke 116.

The venerable Road Glide Special has been one of HD’s iconic tourers ever since it was launched back in 2017. The bike takes the touring must-haves and wraps them in a no-apologies style, making it the motorcycle of choice for the high-mileage road warrior. It is sophisticated and technologically packed while keeping the core values of its predecessors intact.

For 2020, the Bar & Shield Company continues rolling with the Road Glide Special, now with a new Eagle Eye Special Edition Paint Option giving the customers “an attainable custom paint option that eliminates the need to either re-paint the original components or install an accessory paint set that leaves take-off painted parts on the shop floor.”

Also running under the hood this time is the brilliant Milwaukee-Eight 114, an upgrade from the 107 that ran point all this while, delivering power and reliability unlike any time before. Harley will also let you enjoy the optional Reflex Defensive Rider Systems that help give you confidence and control in less-than-ideal situations.

There’s nothing quite like a special-edition to spruce up a model family, and Triumph takes that to the bank with its new top-shelf Tiger 1200 Desert Edition. The “Desert” builds on the mid-grade, off-road-centric Tiger 1200 XCx with titanium and carbon-fiber touches and a model-specific “Sandstorm” paint package with Desert Edition graphics to set it apart visually from the pack. Of course, the factory maintains its premium electronics suite and active suspension system, and it drives it all with its proven 1,215 cc triple.

Triumph Motorcycles has long been on the cutting edge of adventure-bike design with its venerable Tiger line, and the British giant expands it top-displacement, mid-range technology bracket with the addition of the Tiger 1200 Alpine for MY2020. Special paint and graphics set the Alpine apart visually from the rest of the family, and under the “hood”, Triumph’s premium electronics suite works to keep it dirty-side down. The in-line triple delivers well over 100 ponies with almost 100 pounds o’ grunt to drive the Alpine over the hills and dales it was designed to conquer.

Harley-Davidson updated its sharknosed Road Glide in 2017 and replaced the little-loved Twin Cam engine with its new Milwaukee-Eight powerplant, a combination that persists into model-year 2020. There were a handful of aesthetic adjustments made over that span, but the model remains pretty much as it was when it hit the showroom floors in MY17. On the current-year model, top-shelf infotainment capabilities join with a plush suspension system and a half-dozen paint packages to deliver the comfort and style H-D riders expect, and the Mil-8 107 engine turns out the torque that we demand.

Harley-Davidson makes progress on its 100-new-bikes promise with the mid-year release of the updated CVO Road Glide. Built with a bagger-tastic bent, the revamped custom Road Glide carries the largest production Big Twin the MoCo has built to date. Under the hood you’ll find H-D’s new safety and ride-quality electronics along with the usual top-shelf infotainment goodies, and it all comes wrapped in bodywork that makes a solid connection to the current popular custom culture.

What saw as Honda’s grand comeback to the ADV world back in 2016, the CRF 1000L Africa Twin was one of the perfectly balanced machines from the Honda stable, and a lot of bike for your buck. The CRF”1000L” Africa Twin became the CRF “1100L” Africa Twin, courtesy a larger 1,084cc engine for more power and a lighter structure.

Being a Honda, it also comes along with a 6.5-inch color TFT “Multi-Information Display” that interfaces with the rider and the multitude of pertinent metrics and electronics. For some, this could turn out intimidating, and so, Honda Powersports America has a new interactive simulator on its consumer website for me and you to play along and get accustomed to.

The D-Type “Dream” of 1949 may have put Honda on the map, but it was the U.S. release of the Gold Wing in 1975 that eventually made the marque a power in the American touring market. Originally built as a power-cruiser, the domestic consumers had a different purpose in mind — long-distance touring — and with that a legend was born. The basic parameters had been established that would go on to create a family of bikes that, to this day, serve as a staunch competitor to American manufacturers Indian and Harley-Davidson, and enjoy a reputation for speed and agility as well as comfort.

All around the globe, asphalt or no asphalt, the adventure series of machines give riders the swiss knife to carve up terrains and tread through almost anything with versatility and style. With the looks and utility of a capable off-roader and the balance and handling of a sport-standard, adventure motorcycles are a bipartisan look at how to tackle paved roads and dirt. Big and powerful engines, long travel suspensions, and a higher riding position with multiple rider aids adorn these machines.

With having a lot to carry around to fight a multitude of terrains, they are usually an expensive affair (easily 14 grand or more for the latest top-spec models). Luckily, manufacturers have been recognizing this and have been tweaking things around to offer more affordable options to give not so fortunate riders like us to experience the thrill of finding our way through the unknown on two-wheels.

Here are our top six picks of ADV machines falling under the $ 10,000 price tag that you can buy in 2020:

When the Brits’ launched the Tiger 900 recently with more power, aggressive modern styling, brilliant standard specs, and new state-of-the-art riding enhancements, it was the big brother 1200’s stars to shine next.

But Triumph decided to have a swansong attempt instead and has added some fancy trinkets to make their mid-range 1200 XCx and XRx posher and special. It’ll include new paint jobs inspired by the world’s more arid climates and locations, and some fancy equipment that takes the functionality quotient of the already capable machines to new levels.