Touring Motorcycle Coloring Page: Free Printable PDF Sheet

Touring Motorcycle: History & Fun Facts

Milwaukee Builds a Bigger Motorcycle

William Harley and the Davidson brothers started building motorized bicycles in a Milwaukee backyard shed in 1903, and within a decade their small shop had grown into one of the largest motorcycle makers in the country. Early touring-style machines stayed close to their bicycle roots, with narrow frames and thin tires, but factories kept stretching wheelbases and adding bigger fuel tanks as riders wanted to travel farther between fill-ups.

By the 1930s, dealers were selling dedicated long-distance models built for cross-country trips rather than quick errands around town, setting the stage for the full dresser-style bikes that followed decades later.

The Batwing Fairing Takes Shape

The rounded front fairing traced on this page, often nicknamed a batwing shape for its curved wingtip edges, first appeared on the Electra Glide model in 1965. That fairing bolted straight to the frame instead of the handlebars, so it stayed steady in crosswinds and kept turning it into a chore.

A windshield mounted above the headlight cuts wind blast off a rider's chest during a long ride, letting touring bikes cruise comfortably at highway speed for hours without the fatigue a naked motorcycle causes.

Saddlebags Built for the Long Haul

The two rounded cases mounted low on either side of the rear wheel are called saddlebags, a name borrowed straight from horseback riding gear since both designs hang symmetrically over a mount's rear haunches. Hard-shell saddlebags replaced canvas roll bags through the mid-1900s because they kept rain and dust out of packed clothes and tools on multi-day trips.

Floorboards instead of narrow foot pegs let a rider shift boot position during a long ride, easing leg fatigue that narrow pegs cause after just an hour or two in the saddle.

The V-Twin Engine Between the Wheels

Most American touring bikes run a V-twin engine, two cylinders angled toward each other in a V shape rather than side by side, a layout that keeps the motor compact while still displacing a large volume of air and fuel. That deep, uneven exhaust beat riders recognize from blocks away comes directly from the V-twin's firing order.

Chrome-plated exhaust pipes running low along each side of the frame became a signature touring-bike look, both for the deep sound they carry and for how the polished metal catches sunlight on a highway.

Cross-country touring clubs and long-distance rallies grew directly out of these dresser-style bikes, with riders tracking thousands of miles across a single summer on a machine built to carry gear, a passenger, and enough fuel range for the open road.

A Fuel Tank Shaped for the Long Ride

The teardrop fuel tank sitting between the seat and the handlebars is deliberately larger than a sport bike's tank, since a touring rider needs enough range to skip a fuel stop for a hundred miles or more on a highway stretch between towns. Chrome trim and a hinged filler cap on top became a signature detail on that tank, giving painters and pinstripers a wide flat canvas for custom artwork.

Wide whitewall tires, still fitted to many touring cruisers today, echo a style that dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, when whitewall rubber signaled a well-kept, premium machine parked outside a diner or motel along a cross-country route.