Struggling motorcycle sales may have dealers showrooms emptier than manufacturers would like, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying to tempt would be-buyers.

A stream of new models from a variety of motorcycle manufacturers have made their way to showroom floors and some prototypes are making an appearance in the two-wheeled press.

Japanese motorcycle manufacturer is beefing up its cruiser line with three new models and a clever tag line ‘Gawk Responsibly’, all seen in a recent television advertisement. A few years ago Honda impressed the riding world with its street-wise chopper-style Fury that brought the custom look straight from the factory at an affordable price. The Fury has company with three new models bringing their own custom-cruiser look echoing the industry trend of less chrome and more muscle.

Falling under the line of ‘Custom 1300’ The Sabre, Stateline and Interstate all come with Honda’s 1312cc liquid-cooled 52° V-twin engine with a single-pin crankshaft promising heaps of torque with a V-twin sound and feel. But the different models dance with their own takes on the cruiser taste. The Sabre (below) takes its styling cues from Honda’s Fury chopper with an enthusiastic dose of pro-street dragster.

Looking to long fenders to give a more retro feel, the Stateside offers a tamer version of its Sabre brother while the Interstate is the cousin that heads out for the open road. Sharing the blacked out frame and raked forks with the Sabre and Stateside, Honda’s Interstate adds floorboards, leather-covered hard saddlebags and a weather-cheating windscreen to its features for the ironbutt riders out there.

Stateside

Interstate

All three are shaft driven motorcycles, considered a standard with Honda and allow 4.4 gallons of fuel in the tank for that time on the road.

While Honda may have their new rides to tempt bikers in the here and now, it’s what could come tomorrow that has stirred the touring world. A recent photograph of BMW’s new K1600LT prototype surfaced in the German magazine Tourenfahrer, which oddly enough was taken in the United States.

It’s been over a year since BMW first started talking in detail about an inline six cylinder production bike, ‘The new BMW straight-six will further expand the K-Series in the foreseeable future,’ they said at last year’s EICMA show, ‘The first model to be introduced will be an innovative and luxurious BMW touring machine. Reflecting the tradition of the BMW K-Series, this will of course be a genuine top-of-the-line product.’

‘Output of the new six-cylinder will be in approximately the same range as on BMW's 1.3-litre straight-four power units. Torque, on the other hand, will be right at the top of the range, even in comparison with the largest motorcycle engines, such superior power and muscle coming inter alia from engine capacity of no less than 1.6 liters,’ BMW officials explained.

The German motorcycle magazine Tourinfuhrer notes the secretly seen motorcycle appeared to have an electrically adjustable screen, LED lights, lower seats and front suspension similar to that seen currently on the K1300 S.

While many are piecing together what was actually seen and may be riding our way, a new touring model would be riding into a crowded and hard-fought marketplace with many manufacturers making a bid for not only the wallet of the long-distance rider, but their loyalty as well.