[FIRE UP]

Hey gang,
There may be other or previous threads on this but, my son and son-in-law just sent me this video. It's a Harley ADV bike intro. If this is new, I was wondering if and when Harley was gonna venture into the ADV market.
Scott

Pan America | Harley-Davidson USA

The all-new Harley-Davidson Pan America. A rugged and powerful adventure touring motorcycle designed to explore and built to endure.

www.harley-davidson.com

 

[Cuchulainn]

I believe it already debuted in the 1982 movie "Megaforce."

 

[InedibleRider]

Hey gang,
There may be other or previous threads on this but, my son and son-in-law just sent me this video. It's a Harley ADV bike intro. If this is new, I was wondering if and when Harley was gonna venture into the ADV market.
Scott

Pan America | Harley-Davidson USA

The all-new Harley-Davidson Pan America. A rugged and powerful adventure touring motorcycle designed to explore and built to endure.

www.harley-davidson.com

I have no feelings at all towards HD one way or another. They have never been much a part of my motorcycle world. That being said, I am very curious to see what a VTwin is all about in an off road setting. The narrow profile could give it a real dual sport feel, but the overall length seems like it would really change the dynamics on jumps and other front/back obstacles. I'm curious about reliability as well. That engine is pretty, but not proven off road.

 

[Amphib]

They're gonna sell a lot of these I think. Spec wise it looks good if you were shopping these against other premium big adventure bikes. Shocked it's under 600 lbs. I see this as a direct real competitor for the gs here in the US. I know a lot of guys will love having an American choice. Couple this with a great dealer network. I won't be buying one, but looking forward to the reviews.

 

[Cuchulainn]

Sorry about the Megaforce joke. But every time I see the front end of the Pan America I think about that movie bike or Bender from Futurama

Anything else is just speculation. My thinking is that they will try to go after the premium ADV bike market pricing themselves in at or above the BMW R1250GS and KTM 1290 Adventure. But they don't have the pedigree or experience of either. That said, it will probably do better than the Motoguzzi Stelvio in sales, simply because of the HD nameplate on it.

 

[Amphib]

2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 First Look

Cycle World’s technical editor, Kevin Cameron, gets the details of Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 in an exclusive interview with the new model’s engineers.

www.cycleworld.com

 

[DoubleThumper]

I remember that announcement last year. They had non-working prototypes on tour and in glass boxes.

HD'ers on adventure: Should be an interesting sight.

 

[JB882]

I have no feelings at all towards HD one way or another. They have never been much a part of my motorcycle world. That being said, I am very curious to see what a VTwin is all about in an off road setting. The narrow profile could give it a real dual sport feel, but the overall length seems like it would really change the dynamics on jumps and other front/back obstacles. I'm curious about reliability as well. That engine is pretty, but not proven off road.

A V twin ADV bike is nothing new, KTM and Ducati have been doing it for quite a long time with Ducati recently shifting to a V4 for some Multistrada models. Look at the KTM 1290 and Ducati Multistrada 1260 enduro and 950 for examples of V twin adv bikes. The KTM 1290 super adventure r in particular is a proven and solid dirt machine....

This harley looks no slimmer than our Africa Twins are, if anything it looks bigger and heavier. Im curious to see what they come up with when they hit the dealer floors

 

[Amphib]

2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250	2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special
MSRP:	$17,319	$19,999
Engine:	1,252 DOHC V-Twin; four valves per cylinder	1,252 DOHC V-Twin; four valves per cylinder
Bore x Stroke:	105 X 72mm	105 X 72mm
Transmission/Final Drive:	6-Speed / Chain	6-Speed / Chain
Claimed Horsepower:	150 hp @ 9,000 rpm	150 hp @ 9,000 rpm
Claimed Torque:	94 lb.-ft. @ 6,750 rpm	94 lb.-ft. @ 6,750 rpm
Fuel System:	Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection	Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection
Clutch:	Mechanical; 8-plate wet; assist & slip	Mechanical; 8-plate wet; assist & slip
Frame:	Stressed-member alloy steel trellis; forged aluminum mid-structure	Stressed-member alloy steel trellis; forged aluminum mid-structure
Front Suspension:	47mm Inverted fork; compression, rebound, and preload adjustable, 7.5 in. travel	47mm Inverted fork; electronically adjustable semi-active damping control; optional Adjustable Ride Height; 7.5 in. travel
Rear Suspension:	Piggyback monshock; compression, rebound, an hydraulic preload adjustable; 7.5 in. travel	Piggyback monshock; electronically adjustable semi-active compression and rebound damping control; automatic electronic preload control; optional Adjustable Ride Height; 7.5 in. travel
Front Brake:	320mm Dual rotors; 4-piston monoblock calipers; ABS	320mm Dual rotors; 4-piston monoblock calipers; ABS
Rear Brake:	280mm Single rotor; single piston caliper; ABS	280mm Single rotor; single piston caliper; ABS
Wheels, Front/Rear:	19x3 in. / 17x4.5 in. Cast Aluminum	19x3 in. / 17x4.5 in. cast aluminum standard; anodized aluminum laced tubeless optional
Tires, Front/Rear:	120/70R19 / 170/60R17 ; Michelin Scorcher Adventure Radial	120/70R19 / 170/60R17 ; Michelin Scorcher
Rake/Trail:	25 Degrees / 6.2 in.	25 Degrees / 6.2 in.
Wheelbase:	62.2 in.	62.2 in.
Ground Clearance:	8.3 in.	8.3 in.
Seat Height:	34.2 in.	34.2 in.
Fuel Capacity:	5.6 gal.	5.6 gal.
Claimed Wet Weight:	534 lbs.	559 lbs.
Availability:	May, 2021	May, 2021
Contact:	Harley-Davidson	Harley-Davidson

 

[Cuchulainn]

This harley looks no slimmer than our Africa Twins are, if anything it looks bigger and heavier. Im curious to see what they come up with when they hit the dealer floors

Supposedly 534lbs running weight, 150hp.

V-Strom 1000 is another in the V-Twin catagory.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[SrogATAS]

I do ride a Harley but I can't see this bike being much competition to established adventure bikes. I would imagine it's going to be pricey too.

 

[JB882]

I do ride a Harley but I can't see this bike being much competition to established adventure bikes. I would imagine it's going to be pricey too. View attachment 60444

According to what Amphib just posted the price seems pretty good. The top end one sits between what an ATAS costs new and the Euro bikes. 20k for the top tier model is cheaper than most of the offerings from KTM, Ducati, Triumph and the like and waaaaay cheaper than a fully kitted BMW GSA......

I'm pretty surprised with the weight, ~530 to 550lbs wet puts it right in the ballpark with other bikes in this class. On paper it looks like HD did a pretty good job here. Lets see how that translates into sales.

For me visually i'm not that into it, it looks like a Tonka toy from the 70's, not a modern ADV bike. I will reserve judgement until i see one live tho....

 

[Cuchulainn]

I am waiting to see what the reaction will be among the Harley crowd. My wife and I and some friends have ridden our ADV bikes to Sturgis several times and we always get some taunts and jeers about our bikes along the lines of "What the hell are those things? Those aren't motorcycles. Those are the ugliest damned things I have ever seen. "

Now that Harley has hands down the ugliest ADV on the market, there will probably be folks riding them around Sturgis and raving about how beautiful they are

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[Amphib]

I think Harley nailed it. I'm at work so not a lot of time, but quickly scanned some forums, like I did with the klr release to get the pulse of the reception, and looks like it's mostly a hit with a lot of people happily surprised. Mentions of I can now sell my gs, glad I waited to buy a new bike, etc.

BTW. After my trip up the mabdr, I ran into this bunch. They were a big group of guys who were on their yearly trip.... All from Milwaukee and all worked for Harley Davidson. You can bet your bottom there was experienced adventure riders input putting this together. It was really interesting talking with these guys about motorcycling in general, and adventure riding specifically. Of course they all had big baggers at home also.

Im excited about this bike. I'm happy that this could really help out Harley and hoping they can get the Bronx released as well.

 

[JB882]

I think Harley nailed it. I'm at work so not a lot of time, but quickly scanned some forums, like I did with the klr release to get the pulse of the reception, and looks like it's mostly a hit with a lot of people happily surprised. Mentions of I can now sell my gs, glad I waited to buy a new bike, etc.

BTW. After my trip up the mabdr, I ran into this bunch. They were a big group of guys who were on their yearly trip.... All from Milwaukee and all worked for Harley Davidson. You can bet your bottom there was experienced adventure riders input putting this together. It was really interesting talking with these guys about motorcycling in general, and adventure riding specifically. Of course they all had big baggers at home also.

View attachment 60445



Im excited about this bike. I'm happy that this could really help out Harley and hoping they can get the Bronx released as well.

I hope they do well with it too and sell lots of them. For me it probably would not be my cup of tea so to speak as i mentioned above but if i were in the market today i would give it a look for sure. I'm curious to see the reception of placed alike ADV rider where HD gets ragged on a lot and this bike has had plenty of negative response despite not really knowing the specs.

Unfortunately i think HD killed off the Bronx model entirely. They removed it from the "future vehicles" section of the site a while back. Its too bad, that was one i was really looking forward too. Had this bike come into production i probably would be putting one in my garage alongside my other bikes.

 

[InedibleRider]

A V twin ADV bike is nothing new, KTM and Ducati have been doing it for quite a long time with Ducati recently shifting to a V4 for some Multistrada models. Look at the KTM 1290 and Ducati Multistrada 1260 enduro and 950 for examples of V twin adv bikes. The KTM 1290 super adventure r in particular is a proven and solid dirt machine....

This harley looks no slimmer than our Africa Twins are, if anything it looks bigger and heavier. Im curious to see what they come up with when they hit the dealer floors

I don't mean all Vs. I am talking about this HD V. I don't have the dimensions, but it looks long. The dimensions seem to me to be designed to accentuate the Harley engine more than build the perfect adventure vtwin.

 

[Amphib]

I hope they do well with it too and sell lots of them. For me it probably would not be my cup of tea so to speak as i mentioned above but if i were in the market today i would give it a look for sure. I'm curious to see the reception of placed alike ADV rider where HD gets ragged on a lot and this bike has had plenty of negative response despite not really knowing the specs.

Unfortunately i think HD killed off the Bronx model entirely. They removed it from the "future vehicles" section of the site a while back. Its too bad, that was one i was really looking forward too. Had this bike come into production i probably would be putting one in my garage alongside my other bikes.

Yeah with my age, interests, the timing is off for me with this. My next adventure bike will be in the sub 450lb category. I'll most likely have bigger street bikes, but my AT is perfect and by the time it's worn out, it'll probably be too heavy for me off road.

And looks? It's grown on me. Hella better looking then the aphid Super Ténéré.... Tho it looks better with aux lighting under the headlights. After market lights, smartly placed might help the pan am.

 

[JB882]

I don't mean all Vs. I am talking about this HD V. I don't have the dimensions, but it looks long. The dimensions seem to me to be designed to accentuate the Harley engine more than build the perfect adventure vtwin.

Length wise its not quite as long as an Africa Twin. 89" for the HD and 91 for the AT.... Wheelbase on both bikes is 62"

 

[InedibleRider]

Length wise its not quite as long as an Africa Twin. 89" for the HD and 91 for the AT.... Wheelbase on both bikes is 62"

Sorry, meant the powerplant itself within the bike, hence my curiosity about its weight distribution. The marketing photo of the rider mid air really seems to highlight it.

I think Harley nailed it. I'm at work so not a lot of time, but quickly scanned some forums, like I did with the klr release to get the pulse of the reception, and looks like it's mostly a hit with a lot of people happily surprised. Mentions of I can now sell my gs, glad I waited to buy a new bike, etc.

BTW. After my trip up the mabdr, I ran into this bunch. They were a big group of guys who were on their yearly trip.... All from Milwaukee and all worked for Harley Davidson. You can bet your bottom there was experienced adventure riders input putting this together. It was really interesting talking with these guys about motorcycling in general, and adventure riding specifically. Of course they all had big baggers at home also.

View attachment 60445



Im excited about this bike. I'm happy that this could really help out Harley and hoping they can get the Bronx released as well.

The age old battle between corporate/marketing priorities and engineers dreams is likely pretty heated at HD over this bike. Harley is definitely a lifestyle brand, so I'm sure the engineering team had to make some pretty challenging compromises to satisfy the marketing and branding teams goals. And given HDs target market, I'm willing to wager that baking in true on/off road adventure chops was not the biggest concern.

 

[JB882]

Sorry, meant the powerplant itself within the bike, hence my curiosity about its weight distribution. The marketing photo of the rider mid air really seems to highlight it.

View attachment 60446


The age old battle between corporate/marketing priorities and engineers dreams is likely pretty heated at HD over this bike. Harley is definitely a lifestyle brand, so I'm sure the engineering team had to make some pretty challenging compromises to satisfy the marketing and branding teams goals. And given HDs target market, I'm willing to wager that baking in true on/off road adventure chops was not the biggest concern.

Other pictures i have seen it does not look much bigger than say a KTM motor. Its just not buried by the frame and a bunch of body work which definelty would give the illusion that its massive. It is definitely showcased which given that HD makes it that is not a surprise at all. In some of the pics i have seen the motor looks more compact than the one in my old Multi 1200. Time will tell on how well they balanced the bike out. Harley only has one chance to get this right, they know it and by looking at the specs it looks like they did their homework. This is not the underpowered, overweight pig that everyone thought it would be by any stretch. Time will tell the story on whether or not they can steal some sales away from BMW, KTM, Honda etc.

In these pics it seems pretty compact or at least not wildly out of proportion compared to others in its class.

Compared to say this engine which is from the Multistrada 1260

Or this one from the KTM 1290