NATIONWIDE — Think Harley-Davidson, and a loud bike ridden by a burly, leather-clad dude comes to mind. But the iconic American motorcycle maker is pushing beyond that image into new territory. On Monday, it introduced its first adventure touring model in the company’s 118 years.
Designed to be equally capable of tearing across the asphalt or plowing through dirt, sand, or snow, the Pan America is a distinctly American take on a form of motorcycling that has long been dominated by BMW.
“People will say Harley is a little late to the game, but this is our game,” said Bill Rodencal, collections lead for the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wis., during the bike’s highly anticipated virtual introduction. “This is the game we’ve always played since our earliest inception of our motorcycles and how the founders used it to prove its mettle.”
Like every model Harley-Davidson brings into the world, the Pan America draws upon the company’s legacy as the country’s oldest, continuously operating motorcycle maker — specifically its earliest days, when motorcycles competed with horses for buyership and roads were mostly ruts carved into the earthen landscape. But it pushes that basic premise into the future with performance-oriented high tech, a Mad Max profile, and a celebrity boost from brand ambassador Jason Momoa.
The Pan America will be available in two versions when it comes to market this spring: the Pan America 1250 ($17,319) and a Pan America 1250 Special ($19,999), which weigh 534 and 559 pounds respectively. Both are powered with a new liquid-cooled, 1250 cc V-twin that makes 150 horsepower and pushes the bike to a top on-road speed of 135 mph, even when carrying luggage, the company says.
Like any adventure touring bike worth that designation, the Pan America has four pre-set ride modes, including road, off road, sport, and rain, and at least one customizable option, depending on the model. It also comes with a suite of cornering safety technologies that help match the motorcycle’s performance to whatever traction is available when the bike is accelerating, decelerating, and braking.
While the base Pan America uses a fully adjustable but passive front and rear suspension, the Special version gets an electronically adjustable semi-active suspension. The Special also comes with the factory-installed option of an industry-first adaptive ride height suspension that automatically lowers the bike when it’s coming to a stop and lifts it back up when the motorcycle is moving. The lowest the seat can go with the system is 32.7 inches when stopped.
Adjustability and customization have long been a part of Harley-Davidson’s DNA, and the Pan America is no exception. Recognizing that motorcyclists come in all shapes and sizes, the saddle can be adjusted without tools from a range of 34.2 to 35.2 inches, as can the windscreen, which has 1.8 inches of play up or down. Three types of luggage are available, including soft bags and hard cases.
Riders looking to lose as much weight as possible when off-roading can also swap out the cast wheels for a tubeless laced variety that comes with the additional advantage of spokes that can be repaired without having to remove the wheel or tire from the bike.
Enhancing the off-road experience are various pieces of well-located hardware: a multi-position rear brake pedal, the height of which can also be changed without tools; a brush guard to protect the bike’s radiator if it falls over; and an aluminum skid plate.
And there are more advanced technologies: an adaptive LED headlamp that can determine the bike’s lean angle and provide additional light when cornering; a tilting 6.8-inch touchscreen coated in non-reflective glass so it’s easier to see in bright sunlight; a tire pressure monitoring system.
Harley-Davidson has started to incorporate some of these advanced technologies into its on-road touring bikes – a segment it has dominated for decades. But the market is now shifting from the baby boomers who have long bought into its more-is-more mentality to a younger, more physically nimble and tech-savvy buyer who may want to venture onto roads less traveled. And Harley is following them.
Developing an adventure touring bike, “It had to be the Harley way,” said the company’s vice president of styling and design, Brad Richards. “Heavy, loud, flames on it. That’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about individuality and something people hadn’t done before. You have to find that space between evolution and revolution and we had more freedom with Pan America because nothing came before it.”
There will, however, be Pan Americas that come after it. The company says Pan America is a new platform that will be built upon in the future.