Harley-Davidson Pan America Review (2021)

Take any and every preconception you have about Harley-Davidson and park them in the corner. Good or bad, you won’t need them for this. We’re looking at a company founded in 1903, recognisable the world over even to those who have no interest in motorcycling, with as much brand recognition as Coca-Cola (almost), and with this motorcycle it has dramatically changed its future. For a manufacturer known for its ‘chapters’, this is a whole new one.

Meet the long-awaited Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250. There are two of them, the standard model and the Special which has no additional power but plenty of extra goodies for the £1500 price difference. It’s a brave new foray into a hotly contested segment for a brand renowned for making big cruisers with excess chrome and rattly motors ever since Noah was counting animals in pairs. Like I said, park those historic notions because the Pan Am (I’m certain they won’t like that nickname over in Milwaukee) is an adventure-tourer designed from the ground-up to take on BMW’s stranglehold in this market with the GS and GSA range.

A new motorbike means new ideas, new chassis, new engine with variable valve timing in a 150hp Revolution Max V-Twin, new technology and new market focus. And the Milwaukee team have created somewhat of a talking point. Had unveil day been 1st April, you’d have been excused to think it was a wind-up. Thankfully for the forward-thinkers among us, they were serious, and they’ve served up an absolute treat. We head to Wales for some on-and-off road action.

Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 (2021) Price

How much is the 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250? Of the two models, the standard bike starts at £14,000 while the Harley-Davidson 1250 Special starts at £15,500.

Those prices are applicable if you chose the Vivid Black colour scheme. For the standard bike, the only other option is River Rock Grey and that’ll be an extra £250. On the Special model, Gauntlet Grey Metallic or Deadwood Green (the bike I’m riding in these photos) are an extra £250. Or the two-tone Baja Orange/Stone Washed White Pearl is £450 extra. They’ll be in UK dealerships from the beginning of June and 40% of the allocation has been sold. 90% of those are the Special edition.

For the extra £1500, the Special comes with some top-notch kit: semi-active front and rear suspension, two additional riding modes, centre stand, heated grips, steering damper, hand guards, adaptive forward lighting, skid plate, brush guard, tyre pressure monitoring system and a quick adjust brake pedal (if taking 258kg off-roading is your thing).

And the below PCP example shows the Deadwood Green Pan America 1250 Special at less than £150 per month: 

In short, the prices are bang-on when it comes to competing with the undisputed king of the adventure class, BMW’s R1250GS (which starts at £13,705), you could say the same about the other two main rivals; KTM’s 1290 Super Adventure S (£14,999) and the Ducati Multistrada V4 (£15,665), but how does Harley’s offering stack up in other respects?

Power and Torque

The new Revolution Max 1250cc 60-degree V-twin is a liquid-cooled 1252cc engine designed pretty much on a capacity par with the 1254cc BMW boxer in terms of capacity but punches harder, with 150hp at 8750rpm compared to the German bike’s 136hp at 7750rpm. The tables are turned when it comes to torque, with the Pan America peaking at 94lbft and 6750rpm, the BMW at 106lbft and 6250rpm.

That surge of low to mid-range as well as roll-on power depends on the selected rider mode, with one of the biggest differences between Road and Sport I’ve known on any bike. Road mode soaks chunks of entertainment away but suits those longer motorway stretches or the occasions where aggressive riding isn’t required (on the wet and pinecone-laden single-track roads south of the Snowdonia National Park, for example, which happened to be those used on our press ride). Sport is rather obviously the more energetic in terms of throttle connection while dampening technological intervention which demonstrates the performance versatility of the new motor.

You might expect an almighty heave from the mid-range and while it doesn’t hang about with a fistful of throttle, it’s silky smooth in its application with all sorts of balancer shafts calming the lumps, thumps, and bumps one associates with a Harley engine. One thing to note is the amount of throttle grip rotation required - from zero to full, you’d almost need two grabs at it.

Above: The cockpit: easier than it looks to understand

Engine, Gearbox and Exhaust

Although the angle between the cylinders is 60 degrees to keep it compact, the firing interval is a more traditional 90 degrees thanks to crank pins that are offset by 30 degrees. That means you won’t be hearing the traditional Harley noise from this twin, although the company says it’s put efforts into making the engine sound distinctive nonetheless. The V-Twin is of course core to Harley’s identity.

The Variable Valve Timing is something of a surprise. Although not as sophisticated as BMW’s ShiftCam system, which alters the valve lift as well as its timing, the setup is on a par with the variable valve timing used on Ducati’s DVT twins. Like the Italian engines, the Revolution Max features a cam phaser on for each of its four camshafts, allowing the shafts to be rotated in relation to their sprockets to advance or retard the timing. The cams are chain-driven, so there aren’t any belts to be replaced, and servicing worries are also likely to be lightened by the inclusion of hydraulic tappets to make valve clearance adjustments a thing of the past.

Twin spark plugs per cylinder promise a better burn across the wide 105mm bore of each cylinder, and the engine’s balance is improved by a main balancer shaft in the crankcase and a secondary balancer in the front cylinder head, between the camshafts. Drive goes through a slipper clutch to a six-speed manual box which then uses a chain-drive which, for some, will be a disadvantage away from the relatively maintenance-free but far heavier shaft drive. It was considered, said the engineers.

A small push button ignition on top of the right-hand switchgear brings the motor into life with little shake, rattle or roll but more of an impressive, 21st century rumble. It’s modern, neat, bare and clever too. Chief Engineer, Alex ‘Boz’ Bozmoski took 18 minutes of scripted video to explain the engine’s components from concept, purpose, material and location. It really is a new era for the Harley twin all in a neat package considering is size, but also the proximity to an EV age. Perhaps a LiveWire and Pan America offspring will emerge one day soon. Back to engine, and the Revolution Max provides its noise via a side-slung R1-esque silencer. Optional Screamin’ Eagle versions are available, though the standard pipe is hearty enough.

When in off-road mode and trekking through the single track, shale-covered forest stage, the gearbox was torquey enough, but I needed first gear and its accompanying mid-range revs to get anywhere as opposed to the momentum and low-down grunt in second. On the road and only when cruising will 6th be in contention for your attention. The long, tall gearing makes for minimal gear changes which are light enough with a slipper clutch in place although an up/down quickshifter would have been another contemporary (and pleasing) addition. “It’s being considered (for future models),” said one of the engineers. I half expected a full-on clunk between shifts, but this is no old-school Harley, instead you’re respectfully tapped on the shoulder and asked politely to observe the quaint rocking motion of a gear change – all in about a quarter of second.

Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 (2021) Comfort and Economy

The peg to seat gap is actually quite short for a bike pitched at being an ‘adventure tourer’, a distance:comfort ratio accentuated when you arrive back on the tarmac having ridden off-road and therefore been stood up on the pegs. You fit snugly back into the seat, and it seems a little cosy, my knee was higher than my hip, just. On the press ride we only ever spent a maximum of around 40-minutes in the saddle at a time so comfort over a great distance is still tbc. The stretch to the ‘bars is nothing too outrageous given the length of the bike and its overall stance, and for potential big miles the width of those handlebars, accessibility to the plethora of buttons, inc. standard fit cruise control, are spot on for comfort levels. An additional 2” can be found with the accessory bar riser. Levers are span adjustable as is the four-position screen via your left-hand lever operation, and it’s sturdy too even in the highest setting which, at 6ft tall, I found pleasingly protective as the rain lashed down.

If you do opt for the full luggage, you can be safe in the knowledge that even when full, plus a pillion, the bike is still homologated to 135mph! The standard seat has two height settings: 868mm / 894mm on the standard 1250 or 850mm / 875mm on the Special. It’s interchangeable by removing the pillion seat and moving the rider’s seat up or down into the relevant lugs. For which you need a key. On a keyless bike. Oh, why do we have this key/keyless battle with so many modern bikes? If it’s going to be keyless then scrap the key altogether, don’t make it partially keyless. On the Harley you still a key for the seat removal, fuel tank access and for any luggage. Anyway, we digress. With the Special there’s the pièce de resistance – Adaptive Ride Height. Sensors work out when you’re stopping and lower the front and rear pre-load hydraulically to make getting off the bike easier. Equally, it recognises as you pull away to increase that height again, though the system disengages when in Off-Road mode for obvious reasons. Clever stuff that’s almost unnoticeable. It takes the bike’s seat height down to 825mm / 856mm. And here’s a tip to know which setting the seat is in – there’s an inch tall bump on the end of the fuel tank in front of the seat that resemble a gentleman’s parts right in front of where the gentleman’s parts would be if sat on the bike. If you can’t see them then the seat is in its higher position.

The tank is said to hold 21.2 litres and with a claimed economy of 43mpg that would return a range of 225 miles.

Handling, Suspension and Weight

The Pan America is a whole lot of bike, weighing in at a mighty 258kg (wet), yet even with an Öhlins steering damper fitted to the Special there’s an vagueness to the front end at the initial tip-in. Understandable, considering the bike’s size and purpose, you might say. Electronic suspension and quite a stiff front brake feel battle with the weight transfer as you change from braking to steering and even though the Harley-developed Michelin Scorcher Adventure tubeless tyres are ace, there’s a limit to how much you can trust initial turn on your first ride. The Pan Am is long too at 2265mm (GS: 2207mm) with a 1580mm wheelbase (GS: 1500mm) and even though the centre of gravity is well-engineered, and the bike doesn’t feel as top heavy as the German counterpart (despite a v-twin having taller cylinder movement than a boxer), the consequence is the aforementioned confidence in the front end having to be earned rather than immediate. That said, look at what it’s been built to do. Hustling around b-roads ‘aint its forte. 

The engine is mounted low, so low in fact I started to compare ground clearance as soon as I saw the bike in the flesh thinking it’s going to get a proper bashing off-road. However, while it’s only 10mm shy of the BMW, it’s 45mm off the Ducati. On the Special you get an aluminium skid plate to protect the crankcase and throughout our romp around Mick Extance's Welsh forest-based motorcycle assault course its humps and hollows, I didn’t feel the bike bottom-out once. Our bikes were fitted with the optional extended skid plate. Considering the amount of engine, chassis, and electronics on the Pan America, as well as the murky and mucky conditions on the Welsh roads, after my initial concerns, I began to feel comfortable trying to boss the bike a little. Pushing on at each corner exit to see if anything untoward would happen, yet it stayed composed courtesy mainly of the excellent Showa 47mm BFF forks. The Special’s semi-active setup automatically adjusts the damping depending on conditions and riding style, governed by five profiles incorporated into the riding modes and even altering the rear preload automatically to account for the weight of the rider, passenger, and luggage. Ironing out the (very few) blemishes on the Welsh valley roads seemed a simple task.

Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 (2021) Brakes

A linked set of Brembos are controlled not only by you squeezing the lever or pedal but also via the brains of the bike, the 6-axis IMU, which has responsibilities for ABS, cornering ABS and hill hold control. On a heavier bike such as the Pan Am, I tend to use the rear brake to prevent too much weight diving forwards, though I needn’t given the linked nature of the brake set-up and the excellent suspension settings controlling such potential distortions. Though I trusted their ability to do the one thing they’re supposed to do, the feeling through the brake lever was a little too stiff. With minimal travel of the lever and barely any squeeze required, I felt the front would lock with any more pressure. Perhaps I should be applauding the harmonious work of the engine braking, electronics, and suspension combination for slowing me in comfort.

In Off-Road Plus mode the ABS on the rear is disabled and the linked brakes are disabled.

Above: Source of much social media jibes – the ‘Daymaker’ headlight

Rider aids/Accessories

Should you happen to have a list of rider aids frequenting the most premium level rivals in this class then ticking off that also appear on the Harley will be quite the task. It’s laden with the good stuff to help the usual performance and comfort-related customisation to you riding. The setting controlled by the six-axis IMU via seven rider modes all adjusted through the 6.8” tiltable and touch screen (touch only when stationary) and array of buttons across the handlebars which at first glance appear almost at Africa Twin levels of baffling but are actually far more intuitive. Except the indicator switch which hides away under the left bar.

The riding modes on most bikes are almost unrecognisably different. Not here. Rain mode is not worth checking out, it saps power and any form of engagement with the bike. Road is pleasant, almost V-Strom-esque. The bike performs competently without getting too eager, but Sport… that’s a different story. The throttle connection is on point while the suspension firms up and tilts the bike ever so slightly on its nose for a more athletic (!) position. Even though the name of the mode could be off-putting, it’s where the bike belongs and even eradicates some of those early cornering concerns.

A Bluetooth-enabled app allows connectivity from bike to phone, and if you have an accompanying headset then a whole host of music, phone and navigation widgets can be accessed. There’s even a USB-c socket to the side of the screen. While the enormity and design of the headlight may cause consternation among the armchair experts, the ‘Daymaker’ adaptive headlight (on the Special only) contains three LED’s each side to illuminate more of the road while you lean. The name is said to equate to the array of light on offer even while riding at night – something we didn’t have a chance to do yet.

Arriving at the entrance to Mick Extance’s gaff offered us the chance to simply remove the rubber bungs in the footpegs, click the ‘mode’ button enough times to engage Off Road, and away we went up the gravel roads and shale-covered single tracks. The Pan Am swept it all up in such a polished manner. TC can be switched off at the rear via another under-bar button allowing for a little more slidey-slidey but I was so impressed with these dual-purpose Michelins (Anakees are also available as standard fit) going from motorway cruiser to forest-hustler with a flick of a button. Oh, I also lowered the screen. Puddles, loose-surface corners and the minimal incline and declines were easily dealt with. It’s not a MX master machine so we didn’t get too crazy, but it was good to know the electronics, balance and controllable power in first gear were all spot on.

Rivals

What a class to dip your toes into. The most popular and fastest growing of the last twenty years with some superb machines with years of development under their belts already swan around with an air of grace. From the BMW R1250GS and its Adventure-spec sibling to the KTM 1290 Super Adventure pairing, Ducati’s incredible Multistrada V4 range and the existing (and soon-to-be-updated) Triumph Tiger 1200. There are many more that don’t quite match up in terms of performance or spec yet are still accomplished touring adventure types from the Japanese four of Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda. Though for this chart, we settled with the European motorcycles that offer the best rivalry to the new Harley:

1,000 miles in 3 days: Germany & Back

By Andy Shewbridge, BikeSocial’s Partnerships Manager

The BikeSocial crew were looking for a volunteer, they needed someone to put big miles on a Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special over a few days, and I happily stepped forward because I had the perfect trip in the diary. It was an annual European riding trip with some good pals. Our route would take us down into France, across Belgium and into Germany to the Nürburgring offering the ideal opportunity to test the Harley over a long weekend. I’d ridden the route a couple of times in the past, it’s epic with some fantastic roads and amazing scenery.

The HD PanAm (£20,395 inc. wire wheel option) is the premium version of the ‘standard’ Pan America. This ‘Special’ bike comes equipped with the optional, factory-installed Adaptive Ride Height system, along with (deep breath) aux lights, rad guard, aluminium top box, aluminium panniers, back pad, mounting carriers, muffler guard, tank knee pads, quickshifter, extreme flow air filter, taller screen 18”, headlight guard, extended aluminium belly pan. Collectively it’s known as the Ultimate Style Tracker Package with an RRP of £26,359.

First impressions: the bike certainly looks striking in the Industrial yellow / white sand colours. The build quality was immediately apparent, the bike appears well built, solid, with quality components, Brembo brakes and Screamin’ Eagle Exhaust. I particularly liked the subtle Harley-Davidson branding touches, on the rim of the wheels, fuel tank, luggage boxes, and engine casing. The wire wheels are perfect to complete the adventure bike look. I’m 6ft 2” tall (34” inside leg) and a tad over fifteen and a half stone on a good day which is relevant when experiencing the adaptive ride height system, which is an impressive piece of technology. It worked seamlessly throughout the trip by predicting when you’re stopping by lowering the suspension before you come to a standstill. Resulting in a seat height of just under 800 millimetres in the lower of the two seating positions. It then rises back to full ride height as soon as you pull away. It’s not intrusive, in fact, it’s so good you barely notice it working. Despite being a tall chap, I found confidence in using it, allowing me to have both feet firmly planted on the ground and providing total control when stationary, regardless of which of the two seat height positions it was in.

Packing the bike: the aluminium luggage boxes are great; each box can be locked independently making them perfect for touring by allowing you to stop for a break without worrying about your luggage. All boxes are easily removable by unlocking the holding clamp, which gives complete flexibility of set up with minimal fuss. The weight distribution was good when fully loaded, I had ample room for my weekend kit and security to keep the bike safe overnight. I can vouch for the cases being waterproof, we experienced a couple of biblical downpours on route home, but my luggage remained completely dry. 

Handling when manoeuvring - when fully loaded with luggage and fuel the Pan America is a heavy beast to manoeuvre when off the bike. That said, once you are riding it doesn’t feel that way at all, even at slow speed in traffic. The side stand takes some getting used to, to extend fully you need to lean the bike away from you. Slightly disconcerting and initially I was never 100% confident that the bike was on the stand properly. Once up to speed the handling is a joy, stable, predictable, and surprisingly manageable for a big bike.

The rider’s perspective: admittedly there are enough buttons on the handlebars to give the Starship Enterprise a run for its money, however they are well laid out with the main menu and machine controls on the left and the comms/media controls on the right. It didn’t take long at all to work out, and the large touchscreen (6.8 inch) TFT dash display made it easy to see and very user friendly.

View: this special had the taller 18” screen fitted which is easily adjustable on the move. The screen offers great wind blast protection and makes touring very comfortable. Even at high speeds on the autobahn everything felt very civilised. The screen lacks rigidity when in the highest position allowing some movement, but nothing drastic and certainly nothing that bothered me.

Engine: the Pan America has a great engine that soaks up the revs. It feels impressively smooth from low revs all the way to high-end cruising speeds. Perfromace figures are competitive with the other big adventure bikes in the market and there is plenty of poke from all gears (mid-range torque), no need to drop a gear when passing traffic. I particularly enjoyed riding the fast-sweeping roads in France, with the v-twin rumbling away, urging me to push on, it’s great fun to ride. The ‘Special’ has nine rider modes: Rain, Road, Sport, Off-Road, Off-road Plus, Custom Off-Road & Off Road Plus, Custom A & B. For the majority of the trip, I rode in Sport mode, ideal for the type of riding. I experimented with the other modes and found the Rain mode very beneficial on a super greasy wet section of road in France. The rear was spinning up in Sport and Rain mode softened the throttle delivery, reduced the engine power to make it less scary. I did use Road mode when cruising home on the motorways, again it just softens the throttle response, ideal for a more relaxed ride which I found more comfortable for long stints on the motorway.

Gearbox: the quickshifter is a welcome addition to the bike and something that Michael felt it was missing at the launch of the bike in 2021. The quickshifter worked well, slick through hard acceleration up through gears and when decelerating, popping back down with no issue. In my book it’s a must for this sort of touring.

Economy (21.2 litre tank): the tank range was around 240 miles making the manufacturer claim for fuel economy accurate, even when pushing on during the first day. The fuel economy increased on the return journey as most of it was spent on motorways using cruise control. Except for a blast down the autobahn! We left Adenau in Germany around 10am, five countries and eight hours later I was home, back in Hertfordshire. Considering how long I was in the saddle for, I found the seat and overall riding position very comfortable. My legs didn’t feel cramped, the riding position is upright, with no need to stretch for the bars. The seat is super comfortable, with room to move backwards or forwards. Amazingly no numb bum was experienced during the entire trip! The one issue with the seat was movement. When in the higher position the rear of the seat has nowhere to lock into, it floats above the fixture for the lower seat position, and I felt some movement in the seat when getting on and off the bike or when riding spiritedly and changing body position on the bike.

Twisty roads on the way: on the way out to Germany we covered pretty much every type of road possible, from motorways to mountain roads. The Harley handled everything in its stride, the fast-flowing sweeping bends to the hairpins. The big V-twin was harder work in the slower more technical roads, but that is a combination of the bike’s natural characteristics and my lack of riding ability! Overall, the steering was accurate, nimble and the bike always felt stable and predictable. Even when fully loaded with fuel and luggage.

Spotlights / Daymaker: the Daymaker spotlights are brilliant, I can see why they get their name. They transform night riding and massively improve visibility.  I’m not sure how other road users would feel about them because they are so bright, but they would definitely see you coming!

Sat nav via the HD app was a tad temperamental, it took me a few attempts to get it working and to be honest I needed more time to play with it before trusting it to plot our route into Europe.

Overall looks: I admit that I wasn’t a big fan of the look of the bike before seeing it in the flesh, and it really grew on me. I loved the striking colour scheme and the subtle branding touches, more importantly the quality and character of the bike shines through. Yes, there are still things to improve, but for Harley’s first attempt at an adventure bike, which was only launched a couple of years ago it’s an impressive package. I like the fact that it has character and is different. I wasn’t the only one to think that - the French border control staff pulled me aside for a closer look at the bike. After we boarded the train, a group of GS owners inspected the bike and ask questions about it. I told them how impressed I’d been, they loved the fact it was different and an alternative to the GS.  Ironic as probably 80% of the bikes in our carriage were GSs!

Above: Green and Grey Special models plus the Black normal version

Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 (2021) Verdict

As complex, and useful as a swiss army knife, Harley-Davidson’s new Pan America deserves accolades - it's well-balanced, sturdy, loaded with technology and engaging to ride particularly in sport mode. It’s a shame the weight and relevance will preclude at least 90% of owners to never take it off-road and experience what a gravel amateur such as I got to feel. A swift flick of a button and removal of those peg rubbers is all you need to take it from motorway cruiser to forest conqueror. The choice of tyre and exquisite engineering combine beautifully.

It’s not the prettiest nor most dynamic handler and the likes of a quickshifter would have been neat but even the base Special provides great value and riding reward. Add a few trinkets like the must-have Adaptive Ride Height and perhaps a smoky screen and some luggage, hook it up to your Bluetooth and you’ll be standing out from the BMW crowd with one very fine and highly capable motorcycle. It’s a long-distance hauler, it’s an off-roader, it’s a pop-to-the-shopper, a commuter, a two-up tourer. It’s the new GS.

Much more subtle in its application of power which aligns it more with a GS mixed with a bit of V-Strom than the even more tech laden and sophisticated Multistrada or raucous, racy KTM. Harley has to be heartily applauded for making such a significant step away from what the brand is regarded for and doing it so well. The Pan America is right up there and deservedly has a place at the big boys table.

Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 (2021) Technical Specification

Photos by Gareth Harford