5 Used Cruiser Motorcycles You Should Get Rid Of, According To Owners

Cruiser motorcycles are like the muscle cars of the motorcycle world. They promise passengers comfortable, reliable long-distance transportation, often with that distinctive V-twin bubble we all know and love. However, not all cruiser motorcycles are created equal, and some have (rightly) earned a reputation for disastrous and expensive nightmares.

The problem here is that, unlike the owners of sports bikes, who accept high maintenance as a cost of operation, or adventure bikes, which exchange mechanical complexity and off-road performance, pedestrians should be carefree and reliable. In particular, we’d dare say that cruisers are the most trusted category of motorcycle, making up the bulk of any “most trusted” bike list on the internet. Therefore, if the cruiser is unreliable, it is a complete betrayal of the main promise of the part. And the bikes on this list are probably the worst, because they include expensive repairs and basic design flaws.

We’re talking everything from electrical box failures that leave passengers stranded to cracked subframes and engine failures that cost thousands of dollars. Furthermore, every motorcycle on this list comes from a “legacy” manufacturer, so it should have been a safe bet for most buyers based on the brand’s reputation. Instead, they’ve become cautionary tales peppered with owner complaints, NHTSA investigations, and massive recalls.

When we say “Harley Tourers,” we’re specifically talking about the Electra, Road, and Street models. Now, all of these models fall into that Goldilocks realm of not being too old, with great features, and attractive prices on the secondary market – but riders should do their homework before considering one of these. Fast netting in the fields gives us gear failures, clutch failures, electrical faults, mounting faults, deadlocks, and many more. There have been major recalls of these models, with the main two being the clutch and the saddle bags.

One clutch is particularly odd, as it has affected bikes with black master cylinders, where the paint can react by binding the clutch and causing it to fail. The clutch recall was one of the largest Harley-Davidson recalls in recent history, affecting more than 45,000 bikes. Overheating is another problem.

For experienced buyers who think they can handle the issues, these models are a boon. The 2015 Electra Glide will run around $8,500, the Road Glide from the same year starts around $9,000, and the Street Glide (also from 2015) starts at $8,000 on the used market. For those wondering, the “CVO” on Harley bikes stands for “Custom Automotive Operations,” and is basically Harley’s special program workshop.

The Vulcan has had many different engines over the years, and by all accounts, is one of Kawasaki’s most popular motorcycles. Now, Kawasaki is not a brand that makes unreliable bikes. If anything, they usually stay at or near the reliability levels by any metric. However, while their large cruiser range is the best package in the area, there are some major caveats to be aware of. The biggest one is the transmission, which overdrives itself from time to time, due to the output shaft failing too much. The problem often goes under the radar, as the price-to-value argument often dominates discussions about Vulcan.

There hasn’t been a noticeable fix or improvement to this – and it’s too rare to be recalled – so while it may not happen to everyone, it can happen to anyone. Other gripes are electrical gremlins, stator failure, and strong engine braking (although users say strong engine braking is common on these models).

Without extensive research, we have not been able to find reliable data to narrow down which Vulcan models these problems affect, but it is probably best to monitor and carefully inspect the drivetrain in any Vulcan you are considering. At the time of writing in early 2026, Kawasaki Vulcan 1700s from 2015 sell for around $5,000 on the used market. Some examples are cheap, making them a tempting purchase.

The Honda Gold Wing is one of the most striking motorcycles of all time, and it’s definitely a model that gave us a run for our money. The Gold Wing showed homegrown, legacy builders like Indian and Harley-Davidson that the Japanese could make a cruiser motorcycle, and that the part was still safe. Although the Gold Wing has a reputation for comfort and reliability, certain generations and model years should be avoided. Specifically, we recommend that buyers avoid GL1500 Gold Wings and early years of GL1800 Gold Wings.

GL1500 Gold Wings from 1988 to 2000 had problems with the shifter, timing belts, and gearboxes, which were playing in 4th gear. Big problems came with the GL1800 generation, however, in production from 2001. The formative years of this generation had a small frame that tends to break itself. For obvious reasons, this was a big problem, and after an investigation Honda had to recall the models involved.

There was also a major recall of arr-gen GL1800s because the rear brake could lock up at highway speeds, and this initial recall was extended to other years. That said, there was a Gold-gen GL1800 Gold Wings recall as well, related to fuel pumps (post-2020), and loose engine bits, on post-2018 models.

The K1200 series of bikes from BMW comes in different guises, such as the K1200 R, K1200 RS, K1200 GT, and K1200 LT, which we are talking about today. Now, not all bikes in the BMW K1200 series are lemons, and the brand makes some pretty good bikes. However, the K1200LT, which is the touring version, has a long list of recalls and a very long list of NHTSA complaints. More than 100 drivetrain failures and repeated owner complaints led to an NHTSA investigation into the bike’s safety early last decade, after mounting pressure.

However, in the end, the NHTSA did not find any safety issues with the last failure of the drive (common as it was), leaving the owners footing the bill, which is very sad. Shocks were also a problem – but this was to be expected, as the suspension, brakes, and tires on a large, heavy boat would require frequent maintenance and replacement. Still, owners say the K1200 LT is a pain to maintain, with broken brake lines, troublesome ABS systems, fuel system problems, and having to open the entire bike to get to an undesirable part.

These complaints are a shame, as the K1200 LT was (on paper) an excellent touring cruiser, with a 1,171 cc inline four-cylinder engine making 100 hp and 85 lb-ft of torque. Too bad it should be avoided at all costs, unless you’re a die-hard BMW fan.

Here, we specifically mean Harley-Davidson models with the Twin Cam 88 engine from the early 2000s. Most of the problems we list here are specific to the engine itself, not the models as a whole. The list of problems with this engine is very long, which is why the Twin Cam 88 is considered one of the worst Harley engines.

The 88 was supposed to be the next step up from the Evolution engine, but it fell flat on its face (at least in the first few years of its life). Cam chain tensioners were a problem, as this was new technology, especially for Harley. They would shave plastic bits and bobs (because metal chains and plastic fabrics don’t really mix well) that would end up in the fuel pump and cause trouble in the engine, often leading to total failure.

Other issues include crankshaft coming out and cam bearing units breaking, not just the tensioners that are the problem. Also, tappet blocks are not replaceable, meaning any repair requires the entire assembly to be removed, replaced, and reassembled. This should be avoided, especially since it is entering the most eye-catching price points on the used market at the moment. Not surprisingly, many of the TC88 models have some of Harley-Davidson’s worst sales figures.

For each bike listed, we looked at NHTSA recalls, and looked at owner complaints that were ignored by the recall. We’ve considered the popularity of these models when they were new, as well as their current price which might make them attractive to the uninitiated. Each bike on this list is a legend in its own right, but should be left as a project or weekend bike, not a mainstay in the stable. We’ve looked at dedicated platforms for each bike – you’d be surprised how many models/model lines have their own platforms – and we’ve looked at models from several years in all cases.

We’ve also looked at editorial reviews from when these bikes were sold new. After compiling all this data, we analyzed it to find the same failure points across multiple updates to ensure that the points we make are not final. Finally, price data for all bicycles was obtained directly from the manufacturer or from trusted third-party news and/or editorial sources.