A priori, Harley-Davidson is as relevant in the adventure motorcycle segment as a skateboard in the Dakar. After having shunned the ADV genre for decades, the Motor Company is finally tackling this segment with the Pan America 2021, an adventure motorcycle specially designed to fight against pillars like the BMW R 1250 GS / GS Adventure, the KTM 1290 Super Adventure and the Triumph Tiger 1200.
The “Pan Am” features familiar HD visuals, wrapped in impressive cutting-edge technology. A technology inspired by the best in this field and which has seen many improvements over the years.
First of all (and perhaps above all) in this category concerned with its image, it is its clean style which sets Pan America apart from its robust competitors. Harley says her style aligns with the brand’s stylistic language. At the same time, the bike moves away from what is known, with a brutal and uncompromising look: cubic shapes, menacing headlights with a secondary strip of tilt-sensitive adaptive headlights inspired by the Fat Bob and of the Road Glide’s fairing, keeping the bike’s LEDs positioned above, and an imposing size that gives it a certain stature.
Of course, the most important thing about this Pan America is not its appearance, but rather the all new Revolution Max engine. The liquid-cooled, 1252cc, 60-degree V-twin has the same bore and stroke as the large and late V-Rod, developed with Porsche, but has virtually nothing in common with existing Harley engines, if not its dimensions.
Equipped with dual overhead camshafts, variable valve timing and a high compression ratio of 13.1: 1, the fully counterbalanced engine produces 150 horsepower at 9,000 rpm and 128 Nm at 6750 rpm. That’s more power but less torque than the 136 hp / 143 Nm of the BMW R 1250 GS, but well below the 160 hp / 138 Nm of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure. The engine is connected to a six-speed gearbox.
The standard Pan America (€ 15,990) has fully adjustable front and rear suspension, while the Pan America Special (€ 18,290) adds semi-active front and rear suspension, an aluminum shoe adapted to the adventure, heated hand guards and grips, adaptive headlights, steering damper, tire pressure monitors and a center stand. A host of other electronic features, like torque slip control, are also standard.
On our two-day hike in Mojave, Calif., We only tried Pan America Specials with tubeless spoked wheels (€ 500) and Adaptive Ride Height, a high-tech system that uses speed and algorithms powered by gyroscopes to subtly lower the suspension a few inches when the rider leans or stops to aid balance.
Recognizing that seat height is a critical issue for trail buyers, Harley offers a variety of solutions beyond the adaptive ride height system. So how high is the saddle on the Harley Pan America? It already depends on the version chosen: the standard model is rather high, 89.4 cm in the high position, 86.9 cm at the lowest. Opt for the Special version and it goes to 87.5 and 85.0 cm respectively.
Once seated, the driver’s triangle is comfortable for most people, but a 6’8 ” driver, for example, will need a few adjustments before they feel comfortable.
Sitting on the Pan Am reveals a 6.8-inch TFT touchscreen, a large number of manual controls and an adjustable windshield. The TFT screen displays a large virtual tachometer with a discreet rpm indicator that surrounds customizable fields using a surprisingly small font. Hold down the display button, and the screen inverts its black-on-white display for slightly more contrasting readability.
Bluetooth connectivity can be connected to the Harley-Davidson app, much like LiveWire. On the other hand, we noted a certain awkwardness in the placement of certain controls: the start and stop button is curiously positioned at the top of the right handle, the turn signal switch requires a little effort and is deactivated if we touches it a second time, and the kickstand may feel too low to the ground with the auto-lowering suspension until the motorcycle is fully rested on its side.
The Revolution Max engine lights up with the signature Harley sound, the tone of which is accentuated by an optional Screamin ‘Eagle titanium exhaust, which slightly reduces weight.
Instead of the familiar “potato potato” tune of its Milwaukee 8 cousins, the Revolution Max’s sound is a bit more stable and refined, delivering a bass note that is present without being too loud. With a dry weight of 229 kg (or 242 kg in the Special version), the Pan America is not light when lifted from its side stand. But by turning the throttle grip, it gets up and kicks in quite nicely, with the V-twin spinning smoothly and getting into gear as soon as it exceeds 2,500 rpm.
While the Harley’s engine lacks the low-end thrust of the BMW’s 1250 boxer, it does have a healthy midrange and even stronger traction towards maximum rpm. Power at high revs is surprising, especially from a brand known for its air-cooled engines that run slowly and at low revs. The clutch lever is light and the six-speed shifter shifts gears with precision, although the nervousness of the engine makes us wish that an option of quickshift is available for smoother acceleration.
Riding modes include Road, Sport and Rain, as well as Offroad and Offroad + modes. This last setting is the least restrictive. Independently customizable modes also allow individual calibration of throttle mapping, engine brake, ABS, traction control, and suspension damping settings. This offers a fairly wide range of variables to manipulate and allows riders to tailor the behavior of the motorcycle to their riding style. On the asphalt, the Pan Am is self-confident, smooth and easy to drive quickly and with confidence.
Throttle response is sharper in Sport mode, and the more refined manners of Road mode make it easier to ride smoothly. Our kilometers on the highway have allowed us to test the good protection against the wind and much less fatigue than on other Harleys, such as with the vibration of the handles or the exhaust which hurts the head.
The bike absorbs bumps well, even with the spoked wheels slightly heavier than their cast aluminum counterparts. The linked, lean angle-sensitive brakes operate with good leverage, and the power of the four-piston front brakes is sufficient for serious braking. The single-piston rear brake is powerful enough to be individually applied when desired, or to slide the rear at will when off-road.
Riding modes can be changed on the fly, although the Offroad + mode requires the bike to be stationary, as it frees up most of the electronic assistance and allows the Pan America to move more freely through the dirt. During a few brief off-road trips, my Pan Am reacted as well as one would expect for a 250 kilo motorcycle. Fitted with Michelin Scorcher tires on the first day of road riding and Michelin Anakee Wilds tires on the more off-road oriented day two, the Harley felt ready for both riding styles as well.
According to HD officials, the bike was developed over a million test kilometers spread evenly between the asphalt and the trails. Some of the miles of off-road suspension development were racked up on the LiveWire prototypes straddled by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in the 2020 documentary Long Way Up. That said, I didn’t spend the entire second day testing. Pan America off-roading because, well, an unplanned fall upset my plans.
My memories of the event are fuzzy – concussions tend to erase direct memories at the time of impact – but I later learned that our leader and several other riders had also laid the Pan Am on some. sandier trails, which I admit made me feel a little less unhappy about my mishap.
I was lucky to be equipped with equipment that allowed me to avoid much more serious injuries: an Arai XD4 helmet, an Alpinestars Revenant armored jacket, a Dainese D-Air vest that deployed an airbag which probably saved me from a cracked rib cage or worse, and Alpinestars armored boots.
In the end, the Harley-Davidson Pan America does its job remarkably well in a field of motorcycles that have benefited from years of continuous evolution and refinement. Of course, there are small details here and there – the windshield adjustment mechanism can be tricky, the kickstand positioning is less than ideal, the graphics on the screen can be difficult to read, and some switches are difficult to access – but the basics are solid and clearly well developed. From the refinement of the powertrain to the variability of the suspension, to the availability of accessories adapted to the ADV and piloting equipment developed by Rev’It, the Pan America is very well designed.
Harley’s new Pan America offers a quintessentially American adventure motorcycle alternative that looks like no compromise. Distinct, well executed and perhaps most of all soulful, she nods to the brand’s flat track roots while ultimately elevating them beyond the realm of heavy cruisers and well into the 21st century.
While it’s impossible to say how long the trend for adventure motorcycles will stay on, Harley-Davidson’s development of the Pan America into a versatile motorcycle on and off the road speaks volumes. on what we hope will be a bright future for the brand.
