This year, the 4th of July falls on a Friday, so it’s a long weekend. There are few better ways to celebrate than a weekend ride out on American Iron. The throb of a torquey V-twin beneath you, the wind in your hair, and acres of chrome shining with the red, white and blue… that is a picture-perfect Independence Day weekend. With the mood set, the question is: if you had to pick a cruiser to have the weekend ride on, which one would you choose?

That’s a tough question, which requires quite a lot of research. So we’ve done the donkey work for you and listed 10 American cruisers that not only have the pulse of America in their engines, but also a sense of patriotism in them, whether it is because of the history of the model, or how well it helps not just the rider, but the economy move forward with purpose. Here are ten perfect cruisers for a fourth of July road trip.

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 Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle.

10

Indian Super Scout

Price: $16,499

The Super Scout sits somewhere between the regular Scout Sixty models and the 101 Scout, which is a performance-oriented Scout. It gets luggage as standard, and a quick-release windshield that can be added or removed in a few seconds. Indian also provides the Super Scout with the larger SpeedPlus 1250 engine, and you get 105 horsepower to play with. Additionally, you get the 4-inch TFT display with customizable screens, Bluetooth connectivity, and a one-year free subscription to the service that gives you live weather and traffic updates, bike health and locator, and intuitive destination search.

9

Harley-Davidson Low Rider S

Price: $20,499

This is the quintessential Harley-Davidson, and by extension, it is the quintessential American cruiser. Maybe it even defines the American motorcycle as a whole. After all, you get a large V-twin engine finished in chrome with cooling fins on the cylinders, a low seat, hardtail look, and twin front brake discs mounted on inverted forks. The Low Rider S is a great mix of old and new, too. The engine’s heads are liquid-cooled for better and more reliable performance, and the front brake calipers are four-piston fixed units. If only it didn’t have the quintessential analog instrument cluster, it would be complete!

8

Indian Super Chief Limited

Price: $21,999

The Super Chief Limited is the traditional American cruiser, with a cradle chassis, an air-cooled V-twin with simply massive displacement and tree-uprooting torque, but has modern conveniences as well. The 2024 Super Chief had a smaller, more powerful engine, but the Thunderstroke 116 focuses itself entirely on torque delivery. It also gets an identical 4-inch round TFT display as the Sport Scout with the same features as well. Another nod to modernity is the six-speed gearbox. You get identical 300 mm brake rotors at both ends, but with a 4-piston caliper at the front and only half as many pistons at the rear.

7

Indian Sport Chief RT

Price: $22,499

The Sport Chief is a full-size sporty cruiser powered by the Thunderstroke 116 engine that also powers the Super Chief Limited above, and it gets rear cylinder deactivation. However, it gets a more modern esthetic, with hard luggage to the Super Chief’s leather saddlebags, and a quarter fairing as opposed to the large, vertical transparent retro windshield on the Super Chief. The RT also has a comfortable seat for long rides, handlebars that are higher, and a 90-Watt audio system with Bluetooth. It retains the twin 320 mm Brembo front brake discs with 4 piston calipers.

6

Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

Price: $22,599

There can’t possibly be many cruisers that represent America better than the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. This is what pops into most people’s heads when they imagine an American cruiser, complete with disc-type wheels. Today’s Fat Boy has the go to match the show, with a 104 horsepower/126 pound-foot Milwaukee Eight 117 Custom engine. It also gets a full safety suite, with cornering-enabled ABS, traction control and drag torque slip control, and a tire pressure monitoring system.

5

Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic

Price: $22,999

The Heritage Classic does pretty much what the Fat Boy does, but does it with a retro flair. It’s got a base variant with black paint and black alloy wheels, but one must spring for the $850 whiskey fire and black dual-tone paint job, and the $800 laced rims for the full retro effect. A touring windscreen and hard luggage allow you highway comfort. The Milwaukee Eight 117 Classic isn’t as big on power as its displacement might suggest, but its humongous 120-pound-feet of torque at 2,500 revs means that downshifting is pretty much optional. Among the safety features are cornering-enabled ABS, traction control, and drag-torque slip control, and tire pressure monitoring.

4

Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST

Price: $24,199

The Low Rider ST is mechanically identical to the Low Rider S, so what do you get for your extra $3,700? Touring additions. There’s a frame-mounted quarter fairing, which means highway stability is really good. Then you get hard luggage that is color-coordinated and matches the lines of the bike. The Low Rider S does have the option of a quarter fairing and hard saddlebags, but the fairing is fork-mounted, and the saddlebags are quite generic items that don’t flow with the lines of the motorcycle like the ones on the ST do. Unfortunately, the Low Rider ST also carries over the S’s analog instrument cluster, so you’ll have to depend on another device for your navigation despite this being a light tourer.

3

Harley-Davidson Road King Special

Price: $24,999

The Road King Special sits in a strange place between the cruisers and the tourers in Harley-Davidson’s range. It gets hard luggage as standard, but wind protection is not standard. Also, not standard is Harley’s full safety suite. Only ABS and linked braking are standard. Cornering enhanced regulars, tire pressure monitoring, and hill hold assist are all on the options list. This is also a motorcycle you can configure to take pillion along in supreme comfort on that 4th of July weekend ride, with the top box and backrest both on the options list.

2

Harley-Davidson Hydra Glide Revival

Price: $24,999

The Hydra Glide Revival is one of Harley’s ‘Icons’ collection vehicles, and that means it is the only Revival on sale right now. It went on sale in 2024 and limited numbers have been released, so it should be running near the end of its production run by now. That also explains why despite an engine identical to the Road King Special, it has different power and torque outputs. Its safety systems consist of just ABS, but cruise control is standard. The way it looks, and the limited numbers will ensure you feel special!

1

Indian Springfield Dark Horse

Price: $24,999

We were expecting the Springfield to be eventually powered by the Thunderstroke 116, and Indian launched it with that engine eventually. The Springfield Dark Horse is the equivalent of the Road King Special, with similar looks, reach to the handlebars, and luggage. The Road King might have cruise control and ABS, but the Indian has quite a few more features like keyless ignition, remote locking luggage, tire pressure monitoring, and ride modes. It has a similar analog instrument cluster like the Road King. With the extra features and an identical price, it edges out the Harley in value, but either will make your 4th of July ride equally special.