2017 Iron Butt SaddleSore 1000: Luxury tourer comparison

The warm weather is here, Christmas is just a couple of weeks away and here at Bikesales we thought it was high time we went for a good ride – a really good ride. And so, one evening somewhere between beers three and five, we hit upon the idea of putting the current crop of luxury tourers through an acid test befitting their talents, with a route that would truly reveal their strengths and weaknesses: an Iron Butt Association SaddleSore 1000…

The Iron Butt Association is a worldwide collection of distance touring disciples – folk who, beyond all else, love putting as many miles under their bikes' wheels as possible. It's not a traditional club, as such – there's no physical clubhouse for monthly meets and there's none of the bureaucracy that can sometimes overshadow other clubs.

Membership is gained simply by completed an Iron Butt Association ride, and a quick look through the IBA website (www.ironbutt.com) reveals plenty to choose from. We thought the IBA's 'beginner' ride would suffice for our luxury tourer comparison, so we opted for a SaddleSore 1000. That's 1000 miles, or 1600 kilometres, in 24 hours – easy peasy, right?

Every step of the journey has to be documented with dated and timed fuel receipts, and bookended by signatures of witness at the start and end of your feat of endurance. There's plenty more to it so click here <<link to colour piece>> for more details, and a fly-on-the-wall account of a serious endurance road ride…

Despite all sitting within the luxury-tourer niche, our three contenders are actually a fairly eclectic bunch, with each coming at the mile-eating equation from different angles. Honda's Goldwing, our test bike resplendent in 40th anniversary paintwork, is the veritable armchair on wheels, and has a loyal following around the globe for good reason. Harley-Davidson's Ultra Limited was updated last year with the stonking Milwaukee-Eight 107 V-twin and new suspension, while Indian's Roadmaster is another American V-twin, with stunning period details that hark back to the Springfield machines of the 1940s and '50s. Each offers sublime levels of comfort for rider and pillion, a decent fuel range and excellent luggage capacity, but dig a little deeper and plenty of differences emerge…

But before we saddle up, let us make a couple of important footnotes. Honda announced details of its next-generation Goldwing last October, which we'll see here in Australia sometime next year. As such, the Goldwing on test is the last of the current breed.

Also, we had intended to include BMW's K 1600 GTL on this test, but sadly BMW Motorrad had an issue with the press bike just as we were due to collect it which couldn't be rectified in time for the review. We'll put the K 1600 GTL and the new Goldwing head to head next year, once the new 'Wing has become available Down Under.

So, with those caveats in mind, how do these three bikes handle extended all-day touring, and what one does it best? Click the links below to find out…

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