It's one of the bikes we've been quite interested in seeing in the flesh since it was first announced, and finally, we now know when we'll get all the details on Harley-Davidson's new Pan America.
With Harley-Davidson billing the Pan America as "a two-wheel multi-tool built to endure, designed to explore, and engineered for adventure" it definitely sounds like the American manufacturer is keen to break into the most popular genre in motorcycling with a bang.
A survivor of the recent cull of new products we were expecting to see launched from Harley-Davidson due to new CEO Jochen Zeitz's "Rewire" business strategy in the face of plummeting sales and heavy financial losses for the Motor Co, the Pan America is now officially set to be revealed in March 2021 in a global launch event – another first for Harley-Davidson – with a local New Zealand press intro expected to follow soon after.
First announced at the EICMA show in 2019, the Pan America is set to take Harley-Davidson into new territory, not only because it is an adventure bike but also because it is the firms first big-bore V-twin to use water-cooling since the V-Rod of the early 2000s.
Pan America was initially set to arrive this year (2020) alongside a new Harley-Davidson Streetfighter dubbed the Bronx, with Covid-19 and Rewire axing any 2020 plans for both. The future of the Bronx is still unknown, with Harley-Davidson potentially waiting to see how well received the Pan America is against the entrenched ADV competition before dipping its toes and doing the same in the Streetfighter market.
What we do know
Admittedly we don't know much concrete info on the new Pan America at this stage. So far we know the Pan America will debut Harley-Davidson's new 1250cc Revolution Max engine which makes a claimed 145hp+ of peak power wrapped in a chassis developed to take it further off the highway than any Harley-Davidson product before it.
Wheels are spoked units wrapped in tubeless Michelin Anakee tyres with sizing unclear, however, we expect at a minimum a 19-inch front wheel while some photos appear to have the front wheel at a 21-inch sizing.
Other than that it isn't clear what the specs of the Pan America are going to be, however, with Harley-Davidson targetting the BMW R 1250 GS and KTM 1290 Adventure we expect it will also be backed by a full suite of electronic aids including rider modes, lean-sensitive traction control and ABS as touring amenities such as cruise control.
Full details will be released on February 23rd NZ time.
