These 10 Metric Cruisers Are Great Alternatives To A Harley

Harley-Davidson is the last word on cruisers to a lot of people, but to others, its products don’t always tick all the boxes. Sure, they have the character and the reputation, but sometimes one also wants the performance and reliability of a Japanese brand, or the prestige and exclusivity of a European brand. These people who want something different are in luck because manufacturers from all over have looked at Harley-Davidson (and its profits) and decided to take it on at its own game, but with their own twist.

Look closely, and you’ll find a decent alternative to pretty much any H-D model that has been around, and no wonder; they were the yardstick! We’ve got together ten metric cruisers to show you what you can get as a Harley alternative. By definition, a metric cruiser cannot be American Iron, so we’ve left out other American brands like Indian Motorcycles and Victory, but we’ve wanted them to retain at least a whiff of the custom build, so the ability to customize or a “factory custom build” look was important to us while selecting our H-D alternatives. Without further ado, here are ten metric cruiser options for Harley-Davidson models.

To ensure accuracy, the information compiled in this article was sourced from the manufacturers, as well as other authoritative sources such as Visordown.com, Motorcycle.com, Motorcyclenews.com, Cycleworld.com, etc.

10 Royal Enfield Super Meteor

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster

Royal Enfield hasn’t been in the middleweight category for many decades now, but they came back with a bang at the affordable end with the INT650 and Continental GT 650. As is the case with any other platform, the third offering in the lineup is the Super Meteor 650, a cruiser-style motorcycle based on the same platform. It runs the same 650 cc engine in a similar state of tune as the other two motorcycles, and it has more in common with the 883 than appears at first glance.

Both models were spawned on a new platform to cater to a new target audience that would widen the appeal and reach of the brand globally. They both kept cues from their heritage yet looked to the future with tech while keeping things simple. The Sportster made Harleys accessible with a lower seat height and a smaller engine. The Super Meteor 650 eschews liquid cooling to keep costs down. Neither has a headlining power output, but the way the power is delivered is definitely fun, as are their chassis.

9 Triumph Bonneville Bobber

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson Sportster S

If you prefer your British motorcycle to come directly from the Queen’s motherland, then there’s this, the Triumph Bonneville Bobber. It is massively appealing to those of a certain age because it looks very similar to the motorcycle a certain Steve McQueen rode in a movie called The Great Escape.

The Bonneville is a motorcycle that has the hearts of many, including ours, and the Bonneville Bobber was one of the first to execute the neo-retro look flawlessly. The price is quite a lot steeper, however, although you do get a lot more engine for your money – to the tune of 1,200 cc. It is also liquid-cooled, even though it intentionally appears to be air-cooled. For a cool $14,500, you can have British charm rather than American iron.

8 Yamaha Bolt R-Spec

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster

If you don’t want your metric cruiser to be a parallel twin with British/Indian heritage, and you prefer the V-Twin format, Yamaha has got your back. The Bolt is a bobber with a 942 cc V-twin engine and torque that maxes out at a diesel-like 3,000 RPM. It doesn’t look like much, to be honest, and the price also reflects that – at around the $9000 mark, it is just slightly more expensive than the Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650.

What the Yamaha Bolt does offer is Japanese engineering and reliability, and it is a blank canvas for customization as well. Look at the Bolt R-Spec through this lens, and it suddenly becomes a viable alternative to the 883 Sportster and its plethora of factory customization options over the span of several decades and model years. If you’re a beginner and would love a cruiser, or just an intermediate-level rider who needs a city runabout, the Bolt R-Spec will do you nicely.

7 Kawasaki Vulcan S

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson Nightster

We take a small step up here from the Yamaha, with the Kawasaki Vulcan S and the Harley-Davidson Nightster. Both sport more tech in the form of liquid-cooled engines. The Vulcan S prefers to hide it with fake air-cooling fins, while the Harley ironically prefers to show off its liquid cooling tech. The Vulcan is based on the same platform that spawned the Ninja 650 and the Versys 650, both of which are really enjoyable.

The Nightster uses its engine as a stressed member of the chassis – bringing overall weight down and increasing chassis stiffness. The Vulcan appeals to a wider audience with its movable seat, handlebar, and footpeg positions, something we’ve usually seen in only the best supersport motorcycles. The Nightster might have a larger engine, but the Vulcan S has the more comfortable seating position and the security of a proven platform. Plus, you won’t find many names cooler than ‘Vulcan’!

6 Ducati XDiavel

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson V-Rod

The Diavel wowed everyone when it was shown to the world in 2010 (and continues to do so)– we know we were gobsmacked by the idea of a muscle cruiser. However, we’re sure that the folks in Milwaukee were laughing at themselves because they gave the world the V-Rod a decade before. The XDiavel took things even closer to the Harley with a final belt drive and feet-forward riding position.

Even the engines had their own unique spin to them: the V-Rod, for instance, had a liquid-cooled short-stroke V twin that was developed in a partnership with Porsche. The XDiavel offers Ducati’s traditional high-revving L-Twin with hydraulic valve actuation and more electronics than you can shake a stick at. The more modern XDiavel is sixteen whole years younger, so not only will it benefit from newer tech, but getting after-market support will also be easier. Not to mention the joining of an elite club of Ducatisti!

5 Moto Guzzi California

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson Road King Special

Moto Guzzi is the ‘other’ Italian motorcycle brand, often overlooked because of the mental space that Ducati occupies in enthusiasts’ heads. It remains a part of the Piaggio group, which is why in recent memory there have been a slew of quality models that have retained the Guzzi quirks. The California is a full-sized flagship cruiser that runs a 1,400 cc longitudinal V-twin engine. It was equipped with radially mounted Brembo front brakes, and ABS was standard across the range.

The Road King Special has Harley-Davidson’s 1,868 cc Milwaukee Eight 114 engine, and the options list is exceedingly long – there is ABS, cornering ABS, cornering traction control, and electronically linked brakes, just to name a few. The California also offered rider modes, traction control, and cruise control as standard, so no matter which one you pick up, you’ll get a LOT of motorcycle for your money. We just wish the engine sounded a little more evocative.

4 Suzuki Boulevard M109R B.O.S.S.

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

The V-Rod inspired a whole generation of power cruisers, and the Suzuki Boulevard M109R B.O.S.S. is one of them. However, Suzuki aimed squarely at the Fat Boy with this model – it wanted the presence of some of the biggest Harleys with ever better performance. So it opted for superlatives. The 1,783 cc engine has some of the largest pistons of an internal combustion engine in the industry; two wheels or four. It is liquid-cooled, fuel injected, and fires two spark plugs per cylinder and torque is formed down low, to the tune of 118 pounds-feet at 3,200 RPM.

All the power generated goes via shaft drive to a rear tire that was the widest in the two-wheeled world at the time of launch. Oh, and the front brakes have been lifted straight from the GSX-1000RR, so there is no dearth of stopping power. It might not have the cool factor of being a featured member of a movie that has grossed over $200 million, like the original Fat Boy, but there is no denying that its brooding style has a genuine appeal to it.

3 BMW R18

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic

If you want your cruiser to be of the full-fat, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink type, these are the models you’ll be looking at. The BMW R18 is the Bavarian interpretation of what a flagship cruiser should be like, just like the Boulevard is a Japanese one. It sticks to a cruiser layout but brings in all the BMW quirks like the largest boxer twin they’ve ever made, with a displacement of 1802 cc. It is air/oil-cooled, and BMW has chosen to leave the driveshaft open to the elements in a nod to retro design.

The performance is more than adequate, as it nearly matches the torque of the Boulevard at 116 pounds-feet at a lower 3,000 RPM. The BMW R18 might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if the goal is to turn heads, consider it achieved, especially in the tasty black/chrome color combination with the Akrapovic exhausts.

2 Honda Valkyrie

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic

The Gold Wing is very well known as a flagship cruiser, but its lesser-known sibling is the Valkyrie. It runs the same 100 horsepower 1832 cc flat-six engine but is significantly lighter than the Gold Wing. It uses a twin spar frame which is more a sportbike signature rather than a cruiser trademark – pretty much all the models on here sport a cradle frame. It has a single-sided swingarm, and a massive 316 mm rear disc brake with a three-piston caliper.

The Valkyrie’s relaunch in 2014 also gave it a whole new dark, brooding look much like the current Suzuki Boulevard coupled with a lot of styling cues from the limited-run Valkyrie Rune that was as much a design exercise as it was a motorcycle. The flat-six engine gives the Valkyrie a really low center of gravity and the smoothness, as expected from so many cylinders, is among the best in the industry.

1 Triumph Rocket lll

Alternative to: Harley-Davidson Fat Bob

The Rocket lll is a motorcycle of superlatives. It has the world’s largest production engine for a motorcycle at 2500 cc. Peak torque is an eye-widening 163 pounds-feet at a low 4,000 RPM. This gave it, despite its hefty curb weight, the acceleration record for motorcycles, achieving 60 mph from a standstill in 2.73 seconds in 2019. The Rocket lll isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it will also potter around town if you want it to thanks to electronic trickery that adjusts torque for each gear ratio.

It retains recognizable Triumph design cues like the twin headlamps, and it has added style now with elements like the single-sided swingarm. It has also added fully adjustable Showa suspension, and is capable of going around a corner in a hurry – the brakes are borrowed from the finest sportbikes that Triumph makes to haul it to a stop quickly. The Fat Bob is an excellent motorcycle, but when you want a superlative product, the Triumph is the answer.