Harley vs Indian vs Honda vs BMW: The 2021 Best Sellers Compared
Updated: Sep 28
The same four motorcycles led the same four corners of the American market in 2021: Harley-Davidson's Street Glide Special, Indian's Scout, Honda's Rebel 500 and BMW's R 1250 GS. Underneath, very little about them changed. The choice between them was never about which one had improved, and always about which one suits the person riding it.
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Four category leaders that do not compete
Set an 827 pound bagger, a cruiser with a 25.6 inch seat, a 408 pound parallel twin and a 549 pound adventure bike next to each other and you have not assembled a comparison test. You have assembled four separate definitions of what a motorcycle is for. Practically nobody walks into a showroom torn between a Street Glide Special and a Rebel 500.
So the numbers below are worth reading in a particular way. Comparing peak torque across a 1868cc American V-twin, a high revving 1133cc liquid cooled V-twin, a 471cc parallel twin and a 1254cc boxer tells you almost nothing you can act on. Seat height and weight tell you a great deal, because between them they decide which of these four you can physically operate.
Where these picks come from matters. Harley-Davidson publishes no model level unit sales, nor does Polaris for Indian or Honda for the US market. BMW Motorrad is the only one of the four that publishes model level figures, and only began splitting individual models in its 2025 report. Three of these four are consensus picks, not published rankings, and we will not invent a unit number.
Two clarifications on the entries themselves. The Harley is the Street Glide Special, at the time a separate model from the base Street Glide, which used a smaller Milwaukee-Eight engine and cost a good deal less. The Indian is the Scout platform rather than one motorcycle, and the Scout Bobber supplies the spec line because it was the platform's volume entry point at $10,999, with the standard Scout listed at $11,499.
The 2021 numbers, side by side
Bike | Engine | Torque | Seat height | Weight | MSRP |
Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special | Milwaukee-Eight 114, 1868cc | 118 lb-ft at 3,250 rpm | 26.1 in laden, 27.2 in unladen | 827 lb | $27,099 |
Indian Scout Bobber | 1133cc liquid cooled 60 degree V-twin, 100 hp | 72 lb-ft at 6,000 rpm | 25.6 in | Not published (see note) | $10,999, standard Scout $11,499 |
Honda Rebel 500 | 471cc liquid cooled parallel twin | Not published (see note) | 27.2 in | 408 lb, 414 lb with ABS | $6,299, $6,599 ABS, $6,799 ABS SE |
BMW R 1250 GS | 1254cc ShiftCam boxer twin, 136 hp | 105 lb-ft at 6,250 rpm | 33.5 in | 549 lb | $17,995, Adventure $20,345 |
A few caveats apply. Harley's published torque figure for this engine changed for the 2021 model year, from roughly 123 lb-ft at about 3,000 rpm to 118 lb-ft at 3,250 rpm. The engine did not change: the published measurement did. Published weights for this generation of Scout Bobber conflict on a wet versus dry basis and cannot be reconciled, so that cell stays empty. Honda US publishes no torque figure for the Rebel 500 in any model year, and the European figure that exists for later years was not published for 2021, so there is nothing honest to put there. BMW's global release puts peak torque at 6,250 rpm while the US listing says 6,500 rpm. We have used 6,250.
Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special: who it is actually for
The Street Glide Special buyer is not shopping on numbers. They are buying a fairing, hard bags, a 1868cc Milwaukee-Eight 114 and 827 pounds of motorcycle that settles down the faster it goes. On the highway the mass works for you. At walking pace, reversing out of a space or turning around on a narrow road, you are aware of every pound of it.
The seat is low at 26.1 inches laden, so leg length is rarely the obstacle. Holding 827 pounds upright at a stoplight is. That is why this is a poor first motorcycle for most people and a demanding one for a small rider at any experience level. If you are unsure, the honest test is not a test ride, it is walking the bike across a car park.
Buy it if your riding is long days on pavement, frequently two up or loaded, and you want weather protection and luggage built in rather than bolted on later. The $27,099 base price excludes freight, and base is not the specification most of these leave on.
Indian Scout Bobber: who it is actually for
The Scout's decisive number is the seat: 25.6 inches, the lowest here by a clear margin. For riders who have been told for years to try taller boots, that alone earns it a test ride.
The engine behaves unlike most cruiser engines. The 1133cc liquid cooled 60 degree V-twin makes 100 hp and 72 lb-ft at 6,000 rpm, which are high engine speeds for the class. In practice the Scout does not shove from just above idle; it wants revs. Riders coming off a large air cooled twin often find that unfamiliar, and riders coming off almost anything Japanese find it entirely normal.
At $10,999 for the Bobber and $11,499 for the standard Scout, it was also the least expensive route into a full size V-twin here. The difference between the two is styling and riding position rather than mechanicals, and the riding position is the part owners most often reconsider, so sit on both. It suits shorter riders, shorter rides and anyone who wants cruiser character without cruiser bulk.
Honda Rebel 500: who it is actually for
408 pounds, 414 with ABS, a 27.2 inch seat and prices from $6,299, with ABS at $6,599 and an ABS SE trim at $6,799. The Rebel 500 is the lightest and cheapest bike here by a wide margin, and it is the default sensible answer for a first season.
It is not only a beginner bike. The 471cc parallel twin will hold highway speed without sounding desperate, and it is easy to ride slowly, which is most of what makes a motorcycle pleasant in town. What it does not have is wind protection or standard luggage, so long interstate days are possible rather than comfortable.
One thing worth knowing before you commit: 2021 is the year Honda added the Rebel 1100 above it, using the 1084cc parallel twin from the Africa Twin, at $9,299 with a manual gearbox and $9,999 with DCT, on a 27.5 inch seat and 509 pounds in DCT form with three ride modes. It is the first genuine automatic in a mainstream US cruiser. If you ride the 500 and immediately want more, the step up now sits in the same family and the same showroom.
BMW R 1250 GS: who it is actually for
The GS is the most adaptable machine here. A 1254cc ShiftCam boxer making 136 hp and 105 lb-ft, with the range, the luggage provision and the suspension to treat a gravel road as simply another road.
Then there is the seat height, which for a large number of riders decides the whole question before anything else gets a hearing. 33.5 inches. That is genuinely tall, and it rules out riders who would be entirely comfortable on the much heavier Street Glide Special, because on the Harley you sit down into the motorcycle and on the GS you sit up on top of it. Sit on one first. Everything else about the bike is academic until you have.
If you fit, this is the bike for distance in any weather, for two up touring with real luggage, and for riders who dislike being told where they can go. It asks for experience: 549 pounds, a tall seat and that much power is a lot to learn on. At $17,995, with the Adventure at $20,345, it sits far closer to the Harley than to the Honda on price.
How to actually choose
Work through it in this order and the answer usually presents itself.
Seat height and weight first, because they are the only hard filters. Sit on all four. The Scout Bobber at 25.6 inches, the Street Glide Special at 26.1 laden and the Rebel 500 at 27.2 are all low. The GS at 33.5 is a different conversation. Then take each one off its stand and walk it. If you cannot control it at a standstill, nothing further down the spec sheet will help.
Then the riding you actually do. Short trips and commuting: Rebel 500 or Scout Bobber. Long days on pavement, often loaded or two up: Street Glide Special. Long days regardless of weather or surface: R 1250 GS.
Budget last, and count the whole cost. Prices here start at $6,299 and reach $27,099 before freight. Wherever you land, set the number to include gear, training, insurance and the first service, and buy the motorcycle with what remains.
Experience runs across all of it. For a first season the Rebel is the sensible answer and the Scout is defensible. The Street Glide Special and the GS are both a lot of motorcycle to learn on.
On paper these four hardly belong in the same article. On fit they separate cleanly: the Rebel for starting out, the Scout for riders who need a low seat and still want a V-twin, the Street Glide Special for covering distance on pavement in comfort, the GS for riders who fit it and refuse to be limited by weather or surface. Work out what you are going to do with the motorcycle, then pick the badge.
Sizing Gear Is the Same Problem as Sizing a Bike
The advice above is to start with seat height and weight rather than brand, and gear works the same way. Most people buy leather gloves a size too large because a loose glove feels comfortable standing in a shop and only reveals itself at the levers. Legendary USA's guide to glove stretch and break-in explains why deerskin molds to your hand but never gains a size.
Cover photo: "Harley-Davidson Street Glide parked at Hogs for Hospice, Leamington, Ontario, 2025-08-02 04" by Chris Woodrich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
