It's a pretty loaded question, but what about the Kona Sutra, the Fuji Touring, the Trek 520, and a lot of European brands, like the Genesis Tour De Fer or the Ridgeback Expedition? Some, like the Fuji and the Trek, you may like to put fenders on, but with a lot of them, you could throw a couple of bags on them and cycle away within an hour or two of your purchase.

While they may not have the highest rated components, that is more often a strength than a weakness in a touring bike. Components that are widely available, relatively cheap and moderately tough are better on a bike that you are going to ride into the unknown. Often parts that are a generation or two old, widely understood by mechanics and stocked in their shops are going to serve you better while off the beaten path than newer stuff that may need to be ordered specially, sometimes from a foreign country.