[Water Warrior 2]

There are a couple good reasons to ride a H-D. They are a far better bike than they used to be a few years ago and there is great dealer support with shops all over the place. A Sportster will need a lot of cash infused into it to make a touring bike. Go bigger with a larger tank, better seating and more options for bags, windshields and other creature comforts.
Or look at the Japanese cruisers with an equivalent price tag just for fun and knowledge. There are many choices from 750 and up that will fill the bill very well. Many have drive shafts or belts so there is no chain maintenance involved. Most are liquid cooled and fuel injected.
Yamaha's old standard 1100 is a rock of a bike. Air cooled I think, has carbs but is a very popular cruiser with a good reputation.
Don't know what kind of budget you may be operating with so here are a couple ideas. Go to the various websites for Japanese bikes and look for new old stock. Noncurrent bikes can be a saving and if a dealer has one on hand he may want to get it out the door with a good price or a bunch of farkles to make traveling a lot better. Or maybe riding gear for that long trip.
Take your time and look a lot, there is something out there for everyone. Craigs list has a lot of well maintained bikes that may do the deed too. Looking is free and you may also learn what not to buy.
A good way to learn about bikes that interst you is to lurk on various forums. Look for bikes that are being ridden and not worked on. You may find some bikes that are ridden and not wrenched on every nice weekend. Forums will give a general theme about the bikes and their good and bad points in short order.