10 Cruisers That Will Run Forever With Basic Care

Cruisers have an image – lots of chrome, a large V-twin engine with loads of torque, and a laid-back attitude. They also have a reputation for being less than reliable if you get them from certain brands, but the Japanese manufacturers recognized early on that they could compete with the established cruiser brands, but only if they stuck to their strengths like reliability and value for money.

This helped change the perception of the reliability of a cruiser – and forced everyone to build them like any other segment of motorcycle. There is definitely something to be said for a cruiser that not only gives you happiness when you ride it, but also when you take it for service, or gives you the knowledge that it will start with the first crank after a long period of sitting in the garage. Here are ten cruisers that will run forever with just basic care.

To give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from authoritative sources, such as Honda Powersports, Kawasaki Motorcycles, and Suzuki Cycles. We’ve arranged the list in order of increasing price to give it some order.

Kawasaki Vulcan S

Price: $7,649

The Vulcan S is a modern-type cruiser with a trellis frame and a driveline that has a lot in common with the Ninja 650 and Z650. As such, the 180-degree engine loves to rev, and the Vulcan S loves to go around a corner. It makes a relatively unstressed 61 horsepower, and you can reduce the electronic complexity (if you don’t want ABS, it is a $500 option). The ‘Ergo Fit’ tech is a mechanical thing as well, and it doesn’t even have a TFT color display yet, which only means more reliability.

Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650

Price: $7,899

Royal Enfield hasn’t exactly been a poster boy for reliability over the time it has been around, but it has certainly stepped up its game over the last few years. The 650 cc parallel twin engine that it launched has now been around for seven years, and it is a very uncomplicated, unstressed and yet characterful engine. It has air cooling, an SOHC valvetrain, and makes 47 horsepower from a similar displacement to the Vulcan S. The Super Meteor 650 doesn’t just have retro looks; the cradle frame, twin rear shock absorbers all echo old-school tech, but with modern reliability.

Honda Shadow Aero ABS

Price: $8,249

The Shadow is a cult bike at this point when it comes to reliability. Honda decided many decades ago to make its version of a middleweight Harley-Davidson, and gave it fuel injection, liquid cooling, and shaft drive just to make sure it got everything right at the very beginning. And what do you know, it did! The Shadow has hung around in various displacements since then, with the current 745 cc engine debuting in 1997 and the final shaft drive in 2004. The instrumentation is an all-analog setup, the rear brake is now a disc, and ABS is an optional extra.

Yamaha Bolt R-Spec

Price: $8,999

The Bolt R-Spec takes a different tack to the other three Japanese midsize cruisers that have been around for a while. They are all the laid-back kind, while the Bolt is an unashamed tribute to the last-generation Harley Sportster. It gives you an air-cooled V-twin engine, a downtube frame, twin rear shocks, and disc brakes at both ends. There are no electronics to speak of, other than the fuel injection and ignition – which, given how long it has been on sale, mean that it should last a very long time.

Suzuki Boulevard C50

Price: $9,299

The Boulevard C50 was born on the same logic as the Shadow and Vulcan 900, as an option to the Harley Sportsters of the time. It uses a shaft final drive and, unlike the other two Japanese bikes, apes the Harley 45 degree bank angle. It is liquid cooled and fuel injected, and it has Suzuki’s Dual Throttle Valve technology that puts a second set of electronically controlled throttle butterfly valves in line with the first one to smoothen out power delivery and act as an automatic choke for cold starts. You also get an SOHC four valve head, a rear drum brake, no ABS, and an underseat hidden monoshock like the Kawasaki.

Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic

Price: $9,599

The Vulcan 900 is the Vulcan S’s older sibling, and is around the same age as the Shadow. It is no surprise, then, that it follows a similar script as the Honda as well. Liquid-cooled, fuel-injected V-twin engine with a wide-ratio five-speed gearbox, but it chooses a final belt drive. Another way it is different is that it chooses a hidden single rear shock, giving it a hardtail look. It has a rear disc brake, but ABS isn’t available even as an option. It has the quintessential retro cruiser look, complete with spoke rims and whitewall tires, while if you prefer something a little more modern, you can have the Vulcan 900 Custom with its drag-bike look. It offers alloy wheels, and the front rim is a large 21-inch unit, and drag bike ‘bars as well.

Honda Rebel 1100

Price: $9,599

If you’d like your cruiser a little modern but just as reliable as the three above, then you need to look at the Rebel 1100. It has some old-school choices, like the twin rear shock suspension and the single front brake disc. In other areas, it is as modern as anything else – it runs a parallel twin engine with a 270 degree firing order, has a trellis frame, and the 2025 version now sports a 5-inch TFT color display with Bluetooth and navigation as standard. You can also have it with a six-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox for $10,299. The driveline is the same one that powers the Africa Twin, but is in a much lower state of tune for the Rebel 1100, guaranteeing that it will last forever and a day.

Honda Fury

Price: $11,499

The Fury remains the only chopper-style cruiser on sale today that comes that way right from the factory. The custom bike look usually means a lot of compromises, usually to reliability, since it is a ‘custom’ motorcycle. However, it is a factory bike, so it has all the reliability you’d expect from a Honda. Of course, you won’t get much rear suspension travel from the hidden rear single shock, and the lack of a fuel gauge and that small tank mean that you’ll be visiting the gas station more often than you’d like. You can’t deny the great price, though.

Harley-Davidson Street Bob

Price: $15,999

It might be a little surprising to see a product with a Bar And Shield on the tank, but Harley-Davidson has stepped up its game in recent years, just like Royal Enfield has. The Street Bob is a prime example of this: not only is it affordable at the new price, it offers reliability as well. The big Milwaukee Eight 117 Classic powering it is entirely air-cooled and offers the lowest power output of the engine series. This powers a bobber-style motorcycle with a cradle frame. The electronics are what would be considered essential to a premium cruiser today: a by-wire throttle, cruise control, and a six-axis IMU that enables cornering functions for the traction control, ABS, and drag-torque slip control.

Indian Chief

Price: $14,999

The Chief is the Indian equivalent of the Harley-Davidson Street Bob. This also has an air-cooled engine, called the Thunderstroke 111, that feeds the rear wheel by way of a six-speed gearbox. You get 108 pound-feet of torque at a low 3,200 RPM. This engine is capable of more, and it is evidenced by the upgrade kits that Indian is happy to sell to you for it! There are quite a few features as well, like a by-wire throttle, keyless ignition, cruise control, and ABS. However, this engine has now been around for over a decade, so its reliability is proven.