It’s legit.

By Justin Dawes, cycleworld.com

Phone calls, emails, and text messages came flooding in when I posted a teaser photo after my first day on the 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special. Well? How is it? Is it a competitor? And the most important question: Did they pull it off?

Yes. Yes, they did.

Harley-Davidson has built a legitimate adventure-touring motorcycle. I’m going to get hate mail from both H-D loyalists and adventure fiends, but I’ll say it: The 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special is the best motorcycle The Motor Company has ever produced.

There. I said it. I stand by it. Come at me. Harley has succeeded, much to the dismay of the social media naysayers.

Powering the Pan America 1250 is H-D’s new Revolution Max 1250, a liquid-cooled 60-degree 1,252cc V-twin. It’s a completely new engine designed from the ground up as the centerpiece, and structural chassis member, of the Pan America. Dual overhead cams are independently variable via cam phasers, operated by hydraulic pressure controlled by a solenoid plunger. Cam timing can be adjusted through 40 degrees of rotation, and because every cam has a phaser, front and rear cylinder valve timing are independent as well. Harley-Davidson pointed out that the drive-side cam journal is part of the drive sprocket, making it possible to remove the camshafts without disassembling the camshaft drive, simplifying service or upgrades. Roller-finger valve actuation is maintenance-free thanks to hydraulic valve lash adjustment.

Crankshaft connecting-rod journals are offset 30 degrees, making for a 90-degree firing order, which Harley claims produces more on-power traction in the dirt. Forged aluminum pistons stroke through 72.3mm in a 105 mm bore and feature a low-friction coating on the skirts, low-tension piston rings (again, to reduce friction), an anodized top ring land for durability, and underside oil jets for heat dissipation. The large bore requires the use of a dual spark plug design for complete and rapid intake-charge combustion. The compression ratio is 13.0:1, meaning the Revolution Max requires 91-octane fuel for best performance; knock sensors will trigger less aggressive ignition timing and fueling ratios. This will reduce the power, and although H-D reps declined to give a minimum octane number, they claim the engine can be run safely in regions with “low quality” gasoline.

Wow. That’s the short of it when describing the Revolution Max, and the first word my furry mug blurted out as I grabbed my first handful of throttle in Sport mode. Power comes on strong at around 2,200 rpm and continues to build with more and more velocity as you cross the 8,500-rpm mark. After that it begins to taper off in aggression until you reach the rev limiter at 9,500 rpm. That’s 9,500 rpm from a Harley. And while the low-end and top-end performance are impressive, it’s the middle of the digital tach that is the sweetest. Third gear is a set-and-forget mark for winding backroads, as the Max pulls with simple tenacity at the 5K mark to spring you out of the corners. The lean-sensitive traction control, C-TCS in Harley-speak, is the least restrictive in this mode and will let the standard, specially developed Michelin Scorcher Adventure tires do much of the work. The future of this engine is very bright indeed.

While Sport mode is the most aggressive and impressive of your choices, H-D has equipped the Pan America with Road, Rain, Off-Road, and Off-Road Plus modes. These modes are not only tied to engine performance but to suspension settings, engine-braking, and ABS settings. Road mode reduces that midrange stonk, but there’s still plenty of power on tap for any road work that doesn’t demand making the time between the corners short as possible. Rain mode reduces power significantly, but as there wasn’t even a chance of precipitation during our two-day test, only a quick confirmation of reduced power and maximum C-TCS was performed. Off-Road and Off-Road Plus provide a power level suited for dirt duty with a tractable character and reduced top-end power.

There are also three user-customizable modes: Custom A, Custom B, and Custom Off-Road Plus. These allow the rider to set power level, throttle response, engine-braking, and C-TCS settings, along with the Showa electronically adjustable semi-active suspension fitted to the Pan America 1250 Special; the standard model comes with manually adjustable Showa suspension. A button on the right side of the bars allows the C-TCS to shut off completely with a long push while stopped. I played with the custom modes for the street, but Sport mode was where I lived for most of my time on asphalt.

The Revolution Max is a unitized powertrain, meaning the transmission is integrated in the same case as the engine, unlike H-D traditional Big Twins. It’s a six-speed unit with roller bearings on the shift drum and Teflon-coated shift-shaft bushings. The cable-actuated clutch is a slipper/assist unit. And here we discover the first of a few misses on the Pan America: There’s no quickshifter. Clutchless upshifting and downshifting has become a common feature in big-bore adventure motorcycles and Harley’s omission is a big oversight, especially because the Revolution Max 1250 is so rev-happy. Clicking through the gears is solid, with quick and effortless engagement, and the clutch pull is light thanks to the assist design. But I still want the snappiness and convenience of a quickshifter.

The Pan America’s engine is impressive; the chassis is noteworthy. The Revolution Max engine is the main chassis structural component, with three frame assemblies attached. The package is light and rigid: A front frame for the steering head, a mid-frame that attaches the rear suspension, and a steel subframe for rider, passenger, and luggage. Attached to the front and mid-frame is the 1250 Special-specific semi-active electronic suspension. Other Pan America 1250 Special bits include tire pressure monitoring, a centerstand, brush guards, an aluminum skid plate, hand guards, heated grips, an Öhlins steering damper, a multiposition brake pedal, and a Daymaker Signature adaptive headlight for illuminating corners.

The Special test units we rode also included two factory-installed options: $500 tubeless cross-spoke wheels and $1,000 Adaptive Ride Height (ARH). The former is good to have, and the latter is an adventure-touring game changer. The electronically controlled suspension’s preload is automatically set at an optimal 30-percent preload sag no matter rider weight, passenger weight, or luggage load. But that’s not the important bit.

That would be how Adaptive Ride Height lowers the suspension when coming to a stop, effectively dropping seat height 1 to 2 inches depending on rear weight load. This makes the reach to the ground much easier for all riders, not just those with shorter inseams. Standard seat height on the non-ARH bike is 31.1 inches in low position and 32.1 in high. With ARH, the seat drops to just above 30 inches when stopped. Combined with the accessory low seat in its lowest of two positions, the seat can be as low as 28.1 inches, depending on your weight. How’s that for approachable?

The best part is you don’t even feel it working on the automatic setting. You just arrive at a stop and you can touch the ground much easier than expected. In fact, for the first half hour I didn’t even think about it as I was paying attention to engine feel and chassis stability. Then I noticed how easy it was to maneuver on the gravelly turnouts for photo passes. The system begins to lower when the bike’s speed reduces to 15.5 mph and will vary lowering speed depending on braking rate, lever force, and chassis attitude. For those worried about losing ground clearance while off-road at slower speeds, there are options for a short (0.5 second) and long (2 seconds) delay in deployment of ARH after stopping, or the system can be locked out completely. Harley-Davidson has found a solution, so simple now that you see it, to make big-bore adventure-touring more accessible for those not comfortable with either standard ADV ride heights or the compromises that come with lowered suspension systems from other manufacturers.

The semi-active suspension is well damped in each of its five suspension settings. Sport is just firm enough to be well composed under hard braking and acceleration, with just enough squat and dive to efficiently transfer weight for excellent traction feel at both ends. Balance, used in Road mode, mellows out the ride with softer compression damping to smooth out imperfections in the road surface. Comfort, to be honest, felt similar to Road for the limited time I spent with it, though it did feel a little softer in all directions of suspension movement.

Off-Road Soft is ideal for washboard roads and rocky or bumpy terrain at slower speeds. Once you get the considerable weight of a fully fueled Pan America 1250 Special moving at rally speeds—or what feels like rally speeds—the Off-Road Soft bangs and bottoms out quickly. Off-Road Firm, then, is the only way to fly when off-road, so you don’t have to constantly make changes to match your speed and terrain. It’s stiff enough to stand up to bigger square-edged bumps and moderately sized obstacles. Even when it does bottom out, dragging bits of the centerstand and the right side of the skid plate, the path is predictable and stable. It’s perfectly capable of tackling the same terrain as other big bores at the same pace. A couple instances of headshake under neutral throttle over a rocky section made me wonder if the Öhlins steering damper really did anything.

Slowing the Pan America are radial-mount four-piston Monoblock Brembo calipers matched to 320mm rotors in the front and a floating single-piston Brembo caliper with a 280mm disc in the rear. The front and rear are linked in all modes except for Off-Road Plus, with the linking function proportional to your braking force input at the lever or pedal. More force links the brakes more strongly; light braking barely triggers the linked function. The Cornering Enhanced Electronic Linked Braking system works well, and ABS is not intrusive in any mode. Off-Road Plus braking mode disables rear-brake ABS and linking to allow for slides in the dirt; this is not an option in the street custom modes.

Some fiddling with the Custom Off-Road Plus mode allowed me to find the perfect setup for my aggressive off-road riding style. Adjusting power, engine-braking, ABS, and suspension setting is easy and quick once you learn your way around the full-color TFT screen, menu system, and buttons, or just forgo the buttons and use the touchscreen function, which works great with gloves. My personal Pan America 1250 Special recipe for dirt blasting: Power in Sport, for the hardest hit and a lively and light feel; Throttle Response at +1 for quick responses to throttle inputs in the dirt; Engine Braking at max, which keeps rear tire traction more consistent on deceleration; Suspension in Off-Road Firm to hold up to higher-speed impacts and jumps; ABS in Off-Road to allow rear wheel lockup to tighten up sharp turns; Traction Control set to off, to allow for steering with the rear at speed, though at slow speeds you have to be more precise with your throttle inputs. And make sure you’ve got the accessory Michelin Anakee Wild tires equipped. Ready to rip!

Ergonomics are, for the most part, wonderful. The reach to the bars is an easy one for my 5-foot-10-inch frame, but I opted for the 2-inch-taller risers for a better position while standing. This made the bars a bit tall for seated riding; a 1-inch rise would be darn near perfect, so hopefully H-D offers more options in the future. The seat is soft and cushy, to a fault; after 45 minutes, my rear end began to become sore, as the seat lacks support for long stints in the saddle. The adjustable windshield provides excellent air management without buffeting in any of its four positions, which by the way span 1.8 inches.

After two full days on the Pan America 1250 Special, not all was rosy. During the second day, I encountered a check-engine light and a warning light regarding modes while hard on the gas in the dirt. A key-on-and-off cycle fixed the issue; Harley techs say the units we were riding are preproduction, and that some parameters are still being finalized before units are expected to arrive in dealerships in May. My windshield adjustment lever became nonfunctional after a full day of dirt duty and wouldn’t move from the low position; this system should be more robust for the rigors of off-roading. As the temperature rose in the Mojave Desert so did the heat radiated to my right boot from the Pan America’s catalytic converter. When the ambient temp gauge reached 94 degrees Fahrenheit, the heat became nearly unbearable at speeds below 45 mph.

My two days ripping around in the desert on roads and trails yielded significantly higher fuel consumption than Harley’s EPA estimated 46 mpg. The first day I hit zero miles remaining (just two dashes showing on the gauges rather than a number) at 155 miles. Day 2 saw slightly better range; the bike hit the double dashes at 176 miles. One rider in our group ran dry at 181 miles; calculating for 5.6 gallons gives us 32.3 mpg. Granted, photography and testing at a launch require an unusually heavy right hand, and we look forward to testing the Pan America in a wider variety of conditions.

Throwing the Pan America around on the street and dirt gives no clue to its overall weight. The $17,319 standard unit has a claimed wet weight of 539 pounds; the Special is a claimed 559 pounds in standard trim ($19,999), but the optional spoked wheels will add 14 pounds. Harley claimed the units we rode were at 574 pounds with a full tank of gas, spoked wheels, and ARH. Despite that impressively large final number, the bike feels light and flickable thanks to a slim seat and tank area and a lack of weight high up.

Harley-Davidson has entered the adventure-touring market with a real competitor for the icons of the segment. It’s powerful, it’s capable, and it’s innovative, all without losing Harley-Davidson identity. As much as the internet wanted a train wreck, H-D has delivered a locomotive. The Pan America will change the face of Harley in the eyes of many motorcyclists. For now, I’m setting my auto replies to “Yes, Harley-Davidson has built an adventure bike. And yes, it’s good.”

2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special Specifications

MSRP:	$19,999
Engine:	DOHC, liquid-cooled, 60-degree V-twin; 4 valves/cyl.
Displacement:	1,252cc
Bore x Stroke:	105 x 72.3mm
Compression Ratio:	13.0:1
Transmission/Final Drive:	6-speed/chain
Claimed Horsepower:	150 hp @ 9,000 rpm
Claimed Torque:	94 lb.-ft. @ 6,750 rpm
Fuel System:	Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI)
Clutch:	Wet, multiplate slipper/assist; cable actuation
Frame:	Stressed-member alloy steel trellis; forged aluminum mid-structure
Front Suspension:	47mm inverted fork, electronically adjustable semi-active damping, optional Adjustable Ride Height; 7.5 in. travel
Rear Suspension:	Piggyback monoshock; electronically adjustable semi-active compression and rebound damping, automatic electronic preload, optional Adjustable Ride Height; 7.5 in. travel
Front Brake:	4-piston Brembo monoblock calipers, 320mm disc w/ ABS
Rear Brake:	1-piston Brembo caliper, 280mm disc w/ ABS
Wheels, Front/Rear:	Cast aluminum, optional anodized aluminum laced tubeless; 19 x 3 in. / 17 x 4.5 in.
Tires, Front/Rear:	Michelin Scorcher Adventure Radial; 120/70R-19 / 170/60R-17
Rake/Trail:	25.0°/4.3 in.
Wheelbase:	62.2 in.
Ground Clearance:	8.3 in.
Seat Height:	31.1 in./32.1 im.
Fuel Capacity:	5.6 gal.
Claimed /Wet Weight:	559 lb.
Availability:	May 2021
Contact:	harley-davidson