Harley Davidson, chrome, potatoes, tattoos and
an utter and total lack of horsepower claims, also in a bit of a slide.
And now to Pan America, no chrome, new kinds of potatoes, body armour and no lack of thrust,
here to arrest that flight. Confused?
So am I.
But I've actually spent time with this new adv motorcycle.
Where the heck does this fit in?
Does this even fit in?
Welcome to PowerDrift.
Welcome to this piece of the puzzle called the Harley Davidson Pan America 1250.
To kick things off, there are three things that I like about the motorcycle and by like,
I mean, I really, really like it. Performance, handling and ride quality.
But before we get into that, here are a few things that are a little out of place,
and there's a beautiful list.
There's a lot of plastic on the Pan Am .
The quality of this plastic makes me unhappy.
It's a little low rent for a rupees 20 lakh Harley, and then there's the switch gear,
could have been better
and then there's the logo on the tank.
Why is this corner of the design on this fairing?
The fairing is fixed.
Why is there a massive gap here at all?
Switch the visor to the highest setting and this huge black panel stares back at you.
These deflectors will help block wind, but this is not Europe,
this is India and with the general temperature being warm for almost half the year,
it is only going to make you perspire more.
Wait, there's more.
If you happen to deploy the side stand and the main stand together,
the sidestand refuses to go back.
Okay, okay, rant over.
Harley's got quite a few things to work on, but that's fair, right?
They might be 100 plus years old, but this is their first true blue adv.
But, the things that they have gotten right, they have really nailed those.
V-twin, low end torque,
yes? No.
While our text titles will tell you the power and torque figures, this engine is something else.
The torque kicks in early at 3000RPM
and keeps that punch going on till 6500RPM, and post that it's just balls out power.
I'm getting goosebumps as I talk about this because in the later half of the rage,
this is actually a V-twin but it behaves like an inline-four motor.
There's just no lack of performance anywhere.
This is a beautiful, hearty, healthy ass engine.
And it's not even low tech either, variable valve timing.
And it isn't long stroke, like Harley likes to make them, but it's not perfect.
There is vibration when you go whack with the throttle, the radiator fans vent more or less
straight onto your legs and rerouting that air would have really been welcomed.
Go slow and your legs will feel the burn. The ride quality,
settled, the electronic suspension from Showa does the job really well.
So good roads, bad roads, no roads, I love how computers are taking over.
This is in conjunction with the five riding modes, the Pan Am gets, so change the mode
and the computer changes the feel and the parameters of the suspension.
There are people who are scared of too much electronics for sure.
But in our anecdotal experience, many people including Shumar,
have not really enjoyed electronic suspension,
it's proved reliable as well. The base model on the Pan Am gets Showas too,
without the electronic gimmicks. Ensure you get it set up.
You'll need half an hour and an experienced mechanic,
but, it helps, it truly helps.
This is a big motorcycle, tall even for my height, long wheelbase and heavy,
not to forget the Michelin Scorcher tyres that gets all the grooves.
But despite all of this, the way the Pan Am turns around corners is surprising.
The centre of gravity is low, the weight is well distributed and such is the confidence
from the brand, that they decided to put the lean angle on their spec sheet.
It's not a lot, but this is not a super sport.
There's a nice connection between the rider, the engine and the chassis.
It's a good vibe.
To top it up, the Pan Am is comfortable, upright posture, cushy feet, but I just said it's
too tall even for my height, didn't I?
Yes, I did.
And here's the solution.
It might be expensive, but it comes from the accessories list in the form of the adaptive
ride height module, a system which when fixed lowers the seat height for you
to plant your feet on the floor and rises again when the bike starts moving.
It's interesting, might be expensive, but it's definitely an effective add-on.
The brakes are from Brembo, and they have enough bite to get all of this weight to a halt.
I personally would have preferred more, but for what the Pan Am represents,
this does the job for almost everyone.
And then there's the electronic story.
There's riding modes, plus a couple of custom modes as well, from the eager road,
to the wild sport, switchable ABS, traction control,
and then there's this giant display that's staring back at you, it gives you a boatload of information,
including news updates, and what the ISS is up to.
Well, not that of course, I'm just kidding.
But it does get Bluetooth connectivity, how could Harley Davidson forget it.
That's calls, music, navigation.
To access that, you need the Harley Davidson app, which is currently not available in our region.
Finally, let's move towards the off-road part of this review.
I have been unusually quiet about this where I really should be talking about this the most.
But here's a bit of reality.
Unless you really really love the dirt side of motorcycles, you will spend most of your
time on the highway, and very little time in the lap of nature, exactly as I did.
But when you get there, things start to look interesting.
You don't have to worry about breaking alloys because this gets to tubeless spokes.
The engine when switched on to off-road mode keeps rolling as the trees pass by. The seat
height might be a bit of a problem, only when you're about to take tight U-turns,
but this is a good motorcycle when the road gets bad.
Also, one more thing to remind you, that these giant adv's offered performance will be used
mostly for bench racing,
so get real. If you really want to push off-road, the Pan Am will,
but if you really really want to take it seriously,
get an Xpulse first and practice.
Okay, time to sum it up.
Now the Pan Am 1250 will primarily go up against the likes
of the BMW 1250 GS and the Ducati Multistrada V4.
I don't want to add the Tiger 900 to this line-up because of its displacement, and I
am going to exclude the Africa Twin as well, because the less power and torque that it makes
for this class, the GS and the Multi are big names that represent the do it all.
Stay calm and stick to the roads as well,
but burn them right up at the two ends of the adv spectrum.
Both are truly spectacular motorcycles in their own right.
Where is the Pan Am sitting? It's a difficult question, you know.
I'm still processing the idea that Harley made an adv!
They didn't put a chrome grab rail on it, yeah.
This is Harley's attempt at doing the unthinkable.
But I really, I honestly appreciate it. Recognising the fact that advs work, putting together a
product against some of the mightiest in the game, is truly commendable stuff.
And you know, I think Harley's biggest achievement here is not the fact that they built an adv,
the fact of the matter is, they built an adv that you cannot dismiss automatically in a
class full of excellent competitors.
Will they own the class in time?
Who knows, but this brand, seemingly, at a standstill for decades, as a way of making motorcycles
is finally on the move.
Exciting times lie ahead.
And on that note, thank you so much for watching this review of the Pan America 1250.
If you want the Pan Am to go up against competition, drop a comment and let us know.
Also, if you have any more questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them for you.
So drop those questions in the comments as well.
Once again, thank you,
stay tuned, stay subscribed, stay notified,
my name is Varun Painter and I will see you later.