There’s a whole lot of American pavement out there. How much? Over 164,000 miles of highways connect a 4-million-mile nervous system of roads. Now, you could explore the United States in a car. It does seem like the practical thing. That, or you could swing a leg over a big, comfy Harley-Davidson and cruise from sea to shining sea, taking in the sights and sounds like only two wheels can deliver. But that presents another issue: Where does your copilot go? If you prefer to travel with a companion, there are a few things you’ll need to consider before you pick out a bike and hit the open road.
Storage is important. It doesn’t matter if you two are heading out for a long ride or a trip to the outlet mall — you’ve got to have somewhere to put your stuff, and a backpack simply won’t cut it with your beloved sitting behind you. A large fairing, meaning the large structure on the front of a motorcycle designed to cut down on drag and lessen wind buffeting, is a must to fight fatigue.
More importantly, does your road-going partner have somewhere comfortable to sit? Somewhere sensible to put their feet? Simply put, some Harley-Davidson motorcycles are better suited to transport two sets of buns than others, while some should be left for a solo adventure.
The Motor Company debuted the Tour Glide back in 1979. The radical-looking Harley ran until 1996, and the Milwaukee motorcycle giant unveiled the Road Glide in 1998. What do these bikes have in common? A wind-cheating, frame-mounted fairing. And, at the “Limited” level, the Road Glide has plenty of space for a second rider.
Today, the 2026 FLTRX Road Glide is available as a dressed-up Limited model, adding many of the touches you’d want for two-up riding. Most notably, Road Glide Limited, or “FLTRXL” in Harley’s alphabet soup, features a Grand Tour-Pak that adds additional locking storage, a luggage rack, speaker pods, and, most importantly, a backrest for your travel partner. Better yet, the rider and passenger seats are heated, with independent controls for each toasted derriere.
Let’s say you want all the highway-conquering and cargo capacity chops of the Road Glide Limited, but you’re not keen on the frame-mounted “sharknose” fairing. That’s where the 2026 FLHXL Street Glide Limited comes in. Instead of running with the same frame-mounted fairing as the Road Glide-based touring bike, the Street Glide Limited uses a newly redesigned fork-mounted “batwing” fairing. Like its shark-nosed sibling, the Street Glide Limited features a comfortable spot for a passenger and a touring pack with added storage. With the pack in place, both bikes will swallow up 5.05 cubic feet of, well, whatever you want to stuff in there. That’s an additional 2.63 cubic feet over the standard, non-Limited Street Glide.
For 2026, the higher-tier, $51,999 CVO Street Glide Limited also gets the Grand Tour-Pak, complete with removable liners. Unlike the Street Glide Limited and Road Glide Limited, both priced at $32,999, the CVO gets fancy treatments like a unique two-tone paint scheme.
Sure, motorcycles like the Street Glide Limited and Road Glide Limited are some of the MoCo’s best-equipped rides for two-up touring. But an 893-pound touring bike is likely not the best Harley-Davidson for a new rider. So the American motorcycle brand has smaller, more solitary offerings. Of course, you’re not going to want to try to put a passenger on those bikes. Hell, some of them don’t have space for another butt at all.
Take the 2026 Sportster S, for example. The fat-tire, liquid-cooled motorcycle features a skinny solo seat on a short rear end. While it’s possible to fit a rear passenger seat, the Sportster S is hardly a two-rider rival for the brand’s larger touring bikes. Then there’s the Nightster, one of Harley-Davidson’s most affordable bikes. Unlike the previous XL1200N Nightster, the new bike is liquid-cooled and keeps displacement down to 59.5 cubic inches. But like the Evolution-powered Nightster of yesteryear, the newer version comes from the factory with seating for one.