Six reasons to get excited about the Harley-Davidson Pan America
Can Harley-Davidson's Pan America adventure bike save the struggling company?The 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America will finally be revealed in full next week, ending years of speculation and anticipation.
Harley’s entry into the adventure market may seem like an unusual step, but it is a genuine attempt to attract new customers to the 116-year-old brand. With sales figures taking a dive in recent years, the cruiser-orientated company is ready to branch out.
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Not a whole lot is known about the Pan America, except that it is powered by the new Revolution Max V-twin engine, and appears to feature premium standard equipment and electronics.
With the global (albeit virtual) launch set to take place on February 23, 3:00am (AEDT), we’ll finally get the details on this exciting new machine. Here are six reasons why we can't wait:
1. It’s been a long time coming
The new Harley-Davidson Pan America was first revealed at EICMA way back in November 2019, but much of the bike’s specification and equipment was kept secret. A full reveal and launch of the new model was expected in mid-late 2020, but that was delayed until February 2021 (presumably because of COVID). With Harley set to reveal the bike in a virtual launch next week, it will be interesting to see of there are any obvious tweaks to the version unveiled at EICMA.
2. It's Harley's first adventure bike (sort of)
Sorry for stating the obvious, but Harley’s entry into the adventure segment is kind of a big deal. The Motor Company has been struggling for a little while and it is desperate to attract potential new customers. For a company dedicated almost exclusively to cruisers, an adventure bike is the ultimate curve ball, but we think it might just work.
Interestingly, Harley isn’t a total stranger in the world of adventure bikes. Former H-D subsidiary Buell released an adventure bike in 2005 called the Ulysses XB12X. It had a Buell badge, but H-D’s fingerprints were all over it. That model failed to make an impact, but H-D is hoping the Pan America will be a different story.
3. Harley vs Beemer
We’re not entirely sure if it’s intentional, but there seems to be an arms race of sorts looming between Harley-Davidson and BMW. BMW has made no secret of the fact its new R 18 cruiser is designed to compete directly with H-D, while the Pan America falls right into the territory of Beemer’s barnstorming R 1250 GS.
Additionally, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman recently swapped BMWs for Harley-Davidsons in their Long Way Up series, and we’re betting that Munich wasn’t very happy about that.
Of course, this apparent battle might just fizzle out, but we’ll be waiting with anticipation to see if the Pan America can compete with the likes of the R 1250 GS. And how might BMW respond? These are two giants of the motorcycle industry, and we do love a bit of Trans-Atlantic competition. Grab some popcorn and kick back.
4. Will it be capable off-road?
Harley-Davidson knows how to make road-going motorcycles, so we’re no really worried about the Pan America’s tarmac ability. But what about he dirt? The most iconic and successful ‘adventure’ bikes have true dual-sport capability, and this is new ground (pun not intended) for Harley.
Much of the pre-reveal promotional footage shows the Pan America tackling some fairly rugged terrain, but we’re not reading too much into that. The specs sheet should give us a good insight, but we’ll reserve judgement until we swing a leg over it.
5. The new Revolution engine
We don’t know much about the Pan America, but we do know it will be powered by a new 1250cc 60-degree V-twin dubbed the Revolution Max. While details are still scarce, Harley reckons the donk is capable of 145hp and 122Nm of torque. Not too shabby, huh?
Originally, Harley planned to produce the Revolution Max engine in a range of different capacities, starting with the 975cc Bronx streetfighter. Sadly, the Bronx has since disappeared from Harley’s plans, so it’s unclear whether we will see the motor in other models. But one would assume that, if the Pan America is successful, we could see smaller-capacity versions of the adventure bike.
6. Jason Momoa
Harley-Davidson has secured Hollywood star Jason Momoa to help launch the Pan America, with the actor appearing in (and directing) a series of promotional videos for the brand. It’s one thing to have a genuine movie star promote your product, but when that person is literally one of the coolest people on the planet, you’ve struck gold.
Some might only know Momoa as Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, but a quick scan of his Instagram page reveals he is far more than a one-trick pony. The Hawaiian-born actor not only rides motorcycles, he also surfs, plays guitar, rock climbs, does Jiu-Jitsu and loves heavy metal. Judging from the promo video, Momoa is pretty handy on two-wheels, and we can’t wait to see more of his adventures on the Pan America.
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