Harley Davidson's first adventure bike has finally launched. Finally, as it was teased at EICMA in Milan two and a half years ago.
We at 2ManyBikes like what Harley have done with the concept, as for them, this is a totally new bike in a booming market.
The Pan America comes in two flavors, the base 1250 model which is more aimed at road-use, and the 1250 Special, which is more off-road oriented.
Basically the same bike, but the Special has a few additions along with spoke tiers and clever suspension.
At the heart of the Pan America lies the 1250 revolution max engine, no, it is not made by Rotex and no it's not from a Buell.
There is quate a lot of clever kit dropped in this engine and this shows that Harley Davidson is moving into uncharted territory.
This is a high revving V-twin which puts out 152 hp at around 9000 rpm and manages an 127Nm of torque, more than enough to climb hills and tackle the dirt.
Harley has got a ace up their sleeve to give you more torque at lower speeds, exactly what you want from an off-road bike, with their implementation of map-controlled continuously variable cam timing.
This means you get more torque at lower revs without leaving something at the table at the higher end of the rpm scale.
Another novelty is this engine doesn't need valve clearing service intervalves, the cams are chain driven with automatic hydraulic clearance adjusters. Normal service intervals are at the low side, every 8000kms.
Breaking is taken care of by Brembo calipers with dual 320mm discs at the front and a single 280mm disc at the rear. Harley-Davidson has put linked braking on the Pan America, this means any time you pull the brake lever the rear brake will also engage.
Suspension is handled by 47mm Showa forks with a mono-shock at the rear, all adjustable for reload compression and rebound. The Pan America Special also gets electronic semi-active suspension, automatically adjusting the suspension depending on the road conditions.
HD has also come up with an adaptive ride high system (ARH), which is exclusively for the Special version. In this case the suspension lowers by around 5 cm when you come to a hold, and raises it back to normal height when riding off. It's intended to give shorter riders more confidence on this off-roader.
The fuel tank is 22 liters big and with that you should be able to cover around 400kms between refills. The fuel cap of the Pan America is located to the side of the tank, cleaver, as you don't need to take your tank-bag off during refilling.
Electronics and rider aids have never been a strong point on Harleys, until now that is. The Pan America is loaded with electronic trickery, in the front you get a 6.8 inch, tilt-able, color TFT, with touch control, only activated when stationary.
It comes both with Android Auto and Apple Carplay, it has a full map with turn-by-turn navigation, all on a customizable layout.
Everything from cornering-ABS to traction control, tire-pressure systems, hill-hold control, five different riding modes are coming standard on the Pan Am.
Now we come to the pain of all full bodied adventure bikes, weight. The Pan America comes in around 242kg for the standard version and 253kg for the Special, placing it at the middle of the competition.
But don't make any mistakes, this is a fat bike, and needs to be threated as one, not that the Harley is obese.
There's a lot to like about this bike, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Like the absence of a center stand, in this category of bike, life-saving. It's easier to pair your bluetooth intercom system with 4 other, equally bride friends than to perform road-side maintenance without a center stand.
Also Harley opted to release this bike with a chain instead of a shaft drive, no-body to time to grease and maintain a chain these days.
All and all, a great and brave move by Harley-Davidson to add this bike to their line-up, we can't wait to ride this bike in the flesh.