Top 6 Best Motorcycle Brands | 2017 Ranking | Top, Good, & Most Popular American Motorcycle Brands (Reviews)

Table: Top 6 Best Motorcycle Brands | Above list is sorted alphabetically

How New Riders Can Choose the Best Motorcycle

Experienced riders will usually have a pretty good idea of the top motorcycle brands, and also what they want when they begin searching for another bike.

Image Source: Pexels

New riders, on the other hand, might feel overwhelmed by the available options and unsure of the best motorcycle and best motorcycle brands for them. The following are some tips for new riders to keep in mind as they choose the best motorcycle for them.

• One of the most important things to keep in mind when choosing any new motorcycle is the weight. If you’re going to be riding in an area with a lot of traffic or stops, like an urban area, you generally want something more lightweight.

• How long will you be riding? When you’re choosing from top motorcycle brands, whether it’s American motorcycle brands or other popular motorcycle brands, you should think about how long the distances will be that you usually travel. If you’re just going to be taking short trips, a sport bike can work well, but if you’re going to be going for longer distances, you might want something that gives you a more upright riding position.

• Seat height is also relevant, particularly for new or less experienced riders. You want to be able to reach the ground with your feet at a stoplight easily and comfortably, and doing so while feeling like you’re just grazing it with your tip toes could be stressful and arduous.

These certainly aren’t all the considerations to keep in mind when you’re selecting from American motorcycle brands and popular motorcycle brands, but they do give you a starting point.

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Detailed Review – Top Ranking Best Motorcycle Brands

Below, please find the detailed review of each of the top American-made motorcycle brands and other popular motorcycle brands. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these top motorcycle brands to score so well in our selection ranking.

Harley-Davidson Review

Harley-Davidson is one of the most popular motorcycle brands and is one of the most well-known and respected American-made motorcycle brands.

Key Features of This College That Led to Its Ranking as One of the Top American-Made Motorcycle Brands

Reasons Harley-Davidson is included in this list of leading American motorcycle brands are below.

Image Source: Harley-Davidson

Long History

Harley-Davidson has a history of being one of the leaders among American-made motorcycle brands for more than 100 years, beginning at the start of the 1900s with the Serial Number One design, which was the first production Harley-Davidson motorcycle available to the public.

Since that time the company has been a leader among motorcycle brands, delivering innovation and new ways of doing things in the industry, while still staying true to elements of classic design and business operations.

The long history of Harley-Davidson ensures that having one of these motorcycles brings a certain sense of prestige not available with many other options.

Top-Selling Motorcycles

Some of the top-selling motorcycles from this leader among American motorcycle brands throughout their long history have included:

• 1915 11F
• 2006 VRSCSE2
• 2012 CVO Softail Convertible
• 2010 Dyna Wide Glide
• 1983 XR-1000
• 2012 FLHR Road King

Long-Distance Riding

Harley-Davidson, along with being one of the top motorcycle brands in the USA, is especially well-regarded for long distance riders. These motorcycles tend to be heavy, which isn’t necessarily perfect for urban riding but is ideal for long-distance traveling.

Lighter bikes tend to be rough on the rider when taken on long distances or are difficult to control on open highways, which is why so many people prefer Harley-Davidson if this type of travel is a priority.

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Honda Review

Honda isn’t one of the American motorcycle brands on this ranking of good motorcycle brands, but it is a favorite company of many riders, particularly for people who want lightweight options.

Key Features of This Selection for One of the Best Motorcycle Brands

Reasons Honda is included on this list of top motorcycle brands and popular motorcycle brands are detailed below.

Innovation

As one of the world’s leading motorcycle brands, and also an option for people looking for cheap motorcycle brands, Honda excels in areas of innovation and development. Starting with the 1959 Super Club, which was Honda’s entrance into the U.S. market, the company has been known for innovation, starting with more quiet, convenient designs.

Honda has also been one of the top motorcycle brands for racing, which is where a lot of the innovation has stemmed from, and then those advancements that are used on the racetrack become available to the public.

The Honda company is always looking for ways to optimize fuel efficiency, reduce emissions, increase power, and improve handling.

Safety

Along with general innovation, another specific area of focus for the Honda company is on safety. Honda is one of the best motorcycle brands with regard to making improvements in safety and many rider safety breakthroughs over time.

For example, Honda has what they describe as a revolutionary airbag system which is an industry-first for a production motorcycle. They also have features such as the Honda Anti-Locking Braking, Combined Braking, and Linked Braking Systems.

Environmentally-Friendly

Honda is also unique among motorcycle brands because of the emphasis put on the environment and sustainability. Many of the models available from this best motorcycle brand have exceeded the California Air Resources Board emissions requirements, and the company also created the Honda OHV and Environmental Learning Centers.

These are the only U.S. educational facilities that provide both rider safety and training with environmental education in the same facility.

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Indian Motorcycle Review

Indian Motorcycle is one of the leading American motorcycle brands, which originally started production in 1901.

Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Best American Motorcycle Brands

Below are some of the unique features of Indian that led to its ranking on this review of popular motorcycle brands and top American-made motorcycle brands.

Relaunched Brand

Indian is the oldest of the American-made motorcycle brands, but the company actually closed down decades ago, and in 2011, Polaris brought it back to life.

Since relaunching the brand, total revenues for Polaris have increased 47%, and motorcycles account for 15% of that total. Polaris, as a result of relaunching the Indian brand, has become the number two motorcycle manufacturer.

Polaris is also on track to beat Harley-Davidson regarding motorcycle sales.

Indian Chief Classic

One of the biggest goals of Polaris, when they relaunched Indian, was to bring back the classic styling and design features of the iconic brand. They reintroduced the Indian Chief Classic and used it as the base model to build the other models they introduced in 2013.

The Classic now includes today’s modern technology, such as anti-lock brakes and cruise control and a powerful engine, but also features that are styled like the original version, so many motorcycle experts and aficionados feel it’s the best of old and new.

Indian Springfield

Another premier design from Indian, one of the top American motorcycle brands, is the Indian Springfield.

It’s similar in many ways to the Harley-Davison Road King, but it’s a design that easily competes with the favorite among Harley-Davidson bikes.

This touring bike features quick-detach windshields and removable saddlebags, as well as a powerful engine and other unique features this relaunched best motorcycle brand is becoming known for.

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Orange County Choppers Review

Orange County Choppers is a motorcycle manufacturer that received a lot of attention among good motorcycle brands and American-made motorcycle brands because it was featured on the American Chopper Reality Show. It’s important to note that a lot of the bikes Orange County Choppers sells are actually other brands such as Harley-Davidsons, but the company has customized them. However, this isn’t always the case.

Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of Best Motorcycle Brands

Among top motorcycle brands and particularly American motorcycle brands, the following are specifics of why Orange County Choppers is included in this ranking of the most popular motorcycle brands.

Design and Engineering

Orange County Choppers is one of the top motorcycle brands and a leader among motorcycle brands that USA consumers prefer because they offer highly customized services. The team of this leader among good motorcycle brands can help customers design a personalized bike from the ground up using state-of-the-art CAD/CAM and design software.

They can help customers create prototypes and also find the best finishes.

Customization

The primary focus area among this pick for one of the most popular motorcycle brands is in the creation of customized bikes. They design and manufacture custom designs domestically and internationally, and they have built hundreds of styles and designs including motorcycles as well as trikes and sidecars.

They work on private and corporate bike builds, and they always strive to make sure customer are engaged throughout the entire process from concept to completion.

Female Riders

An area of specialty not offered by many good motorcycle brands are services for female riders. Orange County Choppers designs and builds bikes that are specifically for female riders. Their bikes have features and designs that are well-suited to the unique needs of women, and they also build custom lowering kits to improve control for female riders.

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Triumph Motorcycles Review

Triumph Motorcycles is a British-based leader among motorcycle brands that introduced their first motorcycle in 1902. The current Triumph motorcycle company was actually established in 1984 by John Bloor to revive the former Triumph Engineering Company.

Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Leading Best Motorcycle Brands

Among the many good motorcycle brands including cheap motorcycle brands and high-end motorcycle brands, Triumph excels in many ways, some of the details of which are below.

Modern Classics

Triumph has a long history of being one of the world’s most popular motorcycle brands and one of the oldest, and they build on that advantage with their line of bikes called “Modern Classics.” These bikes have elements of some of the British classic bikes, and they’re all a Bonneville design.

At the same time, they also feature new and innovative features that modernize them while riders get all of the best features of the original bikes Triumph was known for.

Customization Options

As a leader among motorcycle brands, Triumph offers customers not just existing bikes but also allows them to customize their own. The Triumph brand, one of the most popular motorcycle brands in the world, offers more than 400 high-quality custom accessories, including exhausts from Vance & Hines.

This pick for one of the top motorcycle brands also offers tail tidies, bench seats and more, and inspiration kits that customers can use as their starting point to build their custom Triumph bike.

Roadsters and Supersports

Triumph is a leader among motorcycle brands, and they have a wide variety of options available including not just the Bonneville modern classics, but also roadsters and supersports. These bikes are designed to look aggressive, and they’re optimized as street sport bikes.

Specific roadsters and supersports available from Triumph, one of the best motorcycle brands, include the MY16 Daytona 675 Family, the MY16 Speed Triple Family, and the My16 Street Triple Family.

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Victory Motorcycles Review

Victory is a leader among American-made motorcycle brands and is popular throughout the world.

Image Source: Victory Motorcycles

Key Factors That Led to Our Ranking of This as One of the Best American Motorcycle Brands

Among popular motorcycle brands, including motorcycle brands USA consumers prefer, the following are specific ways Victory excels.

Based in America

As mentioned, Victory Motorcycles is one of the top American-made motorcycle brands. This leader among motorcycle brands USA consumers rank well is a subsidiary of the parent company Polaris. The motorcycles are built in the American family style of brands like Harley-Davidson, and the assembly facility for Victory is in Spirit Lake, which is in northwestern Iowa.

First Bike

Victory is relatively new among the most popular motorcycle brands featured on this ranking, but they have been leading in innovation and performance since their launch in 1998. Victory introduced their first bike on July 4^th, 1998. It was the rebirth of the American V-Twin, and since that time the company says it has given new life to “American muscle” with things that have changed the industry, including cruisers and touring bikes.

Combustion

One of the key focus areas of Victory, one of the top American-made motorcycle brands, is combustion, and with that, they introduced a new engine that is meant to be a leader in the 1200cc musclebike class.

The Combustion features include a quarter fairing, semi-matte paint, sculpted side covers, a trim fender, and the raised spine which is characteristic of all Victory motorcycles.

Conclusion — Top 6 Best Motorcycle Brands

Above are six of the world’s best motorcycle brands, with a particular focus on American motorcycle brands. There is a combination of not just good motorcycle brands from the U.S., but also cheap motorcycle brands. Each of the motorcycle brands on this ranking of top motorcycle brands offers a broad range of bikes suited to unique needs, and they also have a strong reputation in the industry.

This ranking also includes popular motorcycle brands that are very large the world over, such as Harley-Davidson, and smaller customized motorcycle brands USA consumers appreciate, such as Orange County Choppers.

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