Harley vs Indian vs Honda vs BMW: The 2023 Best Sellers Compared
Updated: Sep 28
Four motorcycles sat at the top of their respective corners of the American market in 2023. Line them up and the spec sheet reads like a joke: the heaviest weighs more than twice the lightest, and the most expensive costs more than four of the cheapest. That gap is not a flaw in the comparison. It is the comparison.
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Four Category Leaders, Not Four Rivals
Nobody walks into a dealership cross-shopping a Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special against a Honda Rebel 500. An 827-pound American bagger, a low-seat midsize cruiser, a 408-pound beginner twin and a German adventure bike with a 33.5-inch seat are four different answers to the question of what a motorcycle is for. Ranking them against each other on paper produces a result that is technically true and completely useless.
The useful exercise is fit. Each of these bikes owns its lane because it solves one specific problem very well, and the four problems barely overlap. So the question is not which of these is the best motorcycle. It is which of these four problems is yours.
One note on how these four were picked. Harley-Davidson publishes no model-level unit sales. Neither does Polaris for Indian, and neither does Honda for the United States. BMW Motorrad is the only one of the four that publishes model-level figures at all, and even BMW did not split individual models out until much later. So for Harley, Indian and Honda these are consensus picks, supported by family-level data and by each company's own marketing claims. Anyone printing exact unit counts for these three is making them up.
The 2023 Numbers, Side by Side
Spec | H-D Street Glide Special | Indian Scout Bobber | Honda Rebel 500 | BMW R 1250 GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Engine | Milwaukee-Eight 114, 1,868cc V-twin | 1,133cc liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin, 100 hp at 8,100 rpm | 471cc liquid-cooled DOHC parallel twin | 1,254cc ShiftCam boxer twin, 136 hp at 7,750 rpm |
Torque | 118 lb-ft at 3,250 rpm | 72 lb-ft at 6,000 rpm | 31.9 lb-ft at 6,000 rpm (see note) | 105 lb-ft at 6,250 rpm (see note) |
Seat height | 26.1 in laden, 27.2 in unladen | 25.6 in | 27.2 in | 33.5 in standard |
Weight | 827 lb | not published on a consistent basis | 408 lb, 414 lb with ABS | 549 lb |
MSRP | $27,999 | $12,249, base Scout $13,249 | $6,449, $6,749 ABS, $6,949 SE | $17,995, GS Adventure $20,345 |
Caveats on the table above, because they matter. Honda's US arm publishes no torque figure for the Rebel 500 in any year. The 31.9 lb-ft shown is Honda Europe's published number, and we are flagging it rather than presenting it as a US spec. Indian's published weight for the 1,133cc Scout Bobber conflicts across sources, one figure wet and another dry, and the two cannot be reconciled, so we have left the cell empty rather than pick the flattering one. BMW's global release gives peak torque at 6,250 rpm while BMW USA lists 6,500; we have used the global figure. Harley's MSRP is base Vivid Black and excludes freight. Through the 2023 model year the Street Glide and Street Glide Special were separate SKUs and the Special was the likelier individual seller, which is why the Special is the entry here. On the Indian side, the sourceable claim is that Scout is the top-selling platform, five to seven SKUs depending on the year, not that any single Scout variant led.
Who the Street Glide Special Is Actually For
This is a long-haul highway machine and nothing else. At 827 pounds it is by some distance the heaviest bike here, and that weight sits low but it is still 827 pounds when you put a foot down on an off-camber gas station apron. The 26.1-inch laden seat means a short inseam is not the problem. Confidence at walking pace and a solid footing are.
The engine tells you the intended use. Peak torque of 118 lb-ft arrives at 3,250 rpm, which means the bike pulls from just above idle and never asks you to work for it. That is exactly what you want for 400-mile interstate days two-up with hard bags loaded, and it is precisely the wrong character for a tight canyon road.
Buyer profile: an experienced rider who covers real distance, usually with a passenger, usually on pavement, and who has $27,999 before freight and accessories. This is not a first motorcycle, and treating it as one is how people drop expensive bikes in parking lots.
Who the Indian Scout Is Actually For
The Scout's headline number is the 25.6-inch seat, the lowest of the four by a wide margin. That single dimension does more work for more riders than anything else in Indian's brochure, because it puts a genuine 100-horsepower cruiser within reach of riders who cannot comfortably straddle anything taller.
The engine is not a traditional cruiser engine. Peak power at 8,100 rpm and peak torque at 6,000 rpm means this is a liquid-cooled twin that wants revs, closer in character to a standard than to a lazy air-cooled V-twin. Riders who expect Harley-style low-end shove are sometimes surprised. Riders who like winding an engine out tend to be delighted.
Buyer profile: a confident newer rider or a returning rider who wants a real cruiser rather than a starter bike, at $12,249, and who rides day trips and weekend loops rather than cross-country runs. There is no fairing and no standard luggage, so distance is possible but not the design intent. Because the published weight for this generation is inconsistent, go sit on one and pick it up off the sidestand before you commit.
Who the Honda Rebel 500 Is Actually For
At 408 pounds and 27.2 inches of seat height, the Rebel 500 is the most physically accessible motorcycle in this comparison and one of the most accessible in the industry. The 471cc parallel twin makes modest torque and delivers it in a way that forgives clumsy inputs. Honda's own language for 2023 called the Rebel 300 and 500 the best-selling entry-level cruiser models in the powersports industry, and Honda claims them as a pair rather than singling out the 500.
At $6,449 it is also the cheapest by a factor of four against the Harley. That price is the point. It lowers the cost of discovering whether you actually like motorcycling.
Buyer profile: a first-time rider, a commuter, or an experienced rider who wants something light and cheap for city use. Trips under 100 miles are pleasant. There is no wind protection and no luggage as standard, so 300-mile days are work rather than fun.
Who the BMW R 1250 GS Is Actually For
Start with the seat height, because for many riders it is the only number in the table that matters. At 33.5 inches standard, the GS excludes a meaningful share of the riding population before any other consideration comes into play. Riders who fit it tend to love it. Riders who do not fit it should not be talked into it.
For those it fits, the GS covers more ground than anything else here. The 1,254cc ShiftCam boxer makes 136 horsepower and 105 lb-ft, at 549 pounds, with genuine luggage capacity and suspension travel that tolerates surfaces the other three would rather avoid. It will do a 500-mile day on the interstate and then continue up a fire road, which no other bike in this table will do.
Buyer profile: a taller, experienced rider covering long distances on mixed surfaces, with $17,995 for the base bike or $20,345 for the Adventure with its larger tank. Complexity and running costs are higher than the Japanese option by a wide margin, which is the trade for the capability.
How to Actually Choose
Work the decision in this order and it resolves quickly.
First, seat height and weight. These are hard physical constraints and no amount of enthusiasm overcomes them. If 33.5 inches leaves you on tiptoes, the GS is out unless you are prepared to spend on a low seat or suspension changes. If the idea of holding 827 pounds upright at a stop light makes you tense, the Street Glide Special is out. That leaves the Rebel at 27.2 inches and the Scout at 25.6 inches as the two that fit the widest range of bodies.
Second, how far you actually ride. Be honest about the real number, not the aspirational one. Days under 100 miles: Rebel or Scout, and the Rebel if budget is tight. Regular 300-mile-plus days on pavement, often two-up: the Street Glide Special, which is built for exactly that. Regular long days that include gravel, poor surfaces, or roads that stop being roads: the GS.
Third, budget. The spread in this table runs from $6,449 to $27,999. What the extra money buys is touring capability, not build quality. A Rebel 500 is not a worse motorcycle than a Street Glide Special. It is a smaller answer to a smaller question, and if that is your question, spending four times as much buys you nothing you will use.
The four bikes that led their categories in 2023 have almost nothing in common, and that is the honest finding. Pick the one whose compromises you can live with, sit on all of them before you sign anything, and ignore any comparison that declares an overall winner.
Budgeting for the Gear
A useful rule when comparing bikes this far apart on price: the gear bill barely moves. A rider on the $6,449 Honda and a rider on the $27,999 Harley need much the same gloves, and the gear is a far larger share of the first rider's total spend. Legendary USA's first-jacket guide sets out the three realistic price tiers, which is the honest way to plan that part of the budget.
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.
