Harley-Davidson Pan America Thread

Sooooo hard watching peeps get their PA's yesterday and today!

My dealer doesn't even know what tier they are.

I probably missed it somewhere in this thread.. Anyone know if a traditional ignition key is used or electronic key fob?

Visited the local HD dealer today, they won't have any bikes for 2-3 weeks and they already have 6 deposits! This is a small market so those are pretty good numbers. This bike is going to be a big winner for Harley.

Just got home. Thoughts later....I've got some riding to do.

You're an asshole and we all hate you

Fob for the special. Believe key for the standard, bit could be wrong. HD also allows you to set a PIN to enter in case your battery dies or lose the key

That's okay...a year from now we will all be gathering somewhere to have a burger and beer to talk about our experiences on the PA and we will all have long forgotten the 3 years we waited for this thing to materialize. We will not even care that we rode 1000 miles just for a lunch because it will just be a damn great excuse to go on an adventure. All the he said, she said in the forums, and the arduous discomfort of watching others ride home first while our dealers seemed to know nothing at the time will all be long forgotten because throughout the process we all made friends....or something like that.

Don't let @Eatmore Mudd speak for all of us. We would have called you much worse.

Looks a lot better than the brickwork behind it clean that shit up! Congrats and happy riding.

I too made it home today with my PA. I managed to get my bags and mounts installed too. Side racks are easy to install. The top case mount was a little more involved but it all went well.



The green road glide in the back ground is the bike I traded.

Very cool a few of you guys are actually riding these now. Can’t wait to hear your real-world owners’ reviews.

My thoughts after a quick test ride...

For reference, I am not a big guy. 5'8" ~160lbs.

Physical size and weight: Pleasantly surprised. I thought it looked a little big in photos, but it feels more compact than a BMW 1200GS. I own a Tiger 800 XRt, and the PA seems about half way in between it and a 1200GS. Weight feels much lighter than I was expecting! Feels lighter than a 1200GS, and really not much different than my Tiger 800. That must mean that they have the weight quite low, because my Tiger is definitely lighter. I really like the overall compactness. I like that the front end isn't too high. Front end (windshield, faring etc) is lower than a 1200GS and only slightly higher than the front end of my Tiger. Easy to get up on the centerstand. Perfect.

Engine: Revs very freely, feels like a smaller displacement engine in that regard. Huge midrange and top end power. Easy to spin up the rear even in 3rd gear. I was like the 3rd test ride, so the tires might have still been a little slick. The off-idle low end power is adequate, but not quite as good as a 1200GS I think. It doesn't much like under 3000 rpm. Its OK down to 2500, but below that it starts to complain a little. Nothing as bad as my old DL1000 with the famous clutch judder. The engine really doesnt feel like it is reving as high as it does. 4K rpms feels very relaxed. Speaking of...70mph=4,000rpms. It does have huge power, but I swear I felt a little weird throttle lag just after letting the clutch out and really whacking the throttle. It could be something to do with TC and the fat that you cant really put down that much power in 1st gear whacking the throttle open. Its really a non issue when you aren't acting a fool with the throttle. The only downside to the engine is that is a bit raspy/tinny in the engine note. Its fairly quiet too. I wouldn't call the engine note super pleasing. Also a non-issue for me, as a loud raucous engine note can get old for long distance touring. Overall, the engine is awesome...but I figured I'd offer those nit-picks. Oh, and the engine heat was a non-issue as well. I could not feel any heat on the right side as I was expecting from the exhaust and cat. In slower traffic and long stop lights, I believe I felt some heat off the left side of the radiator...probably from the fan. Average for a modern bike...nothing like the Indian FTR I test rode.

Brakes: Phenomenal....both front and rear. HD usually have shitty feeling, super chunky and awkward levers. These feel great and are span adjustable. Brakes are easy to modulate and have endless power.

Suspension: The ARH is cool, but I am not terribly sure I would need it. It works perfectly as designed, but the seat height without is (in the low notch for me) combines with the light weight feel of the bike means I think I could do with the standard suspension. The semi-active suspension was great. I like to ride pretty sporty. I often drag pegs on my Tiger 800 and use all of the rear tire. The suspension in sport mode is nice and taught but still takes small sharp hits with a good amount of plushness. Taught but not harsh. Brake dive is minimal, which is amazing considering the power of the brakes and that it has 7.5" travel. It feels like you could ride very sporty. This is no land barge. I also put the suspension in comfort mode, and my goodness...it was plush and comfy. One of the worries I have with fancy electronic suspension is that if they dont get the settings right, its probably that much more expensive to alter to work as it should. The stock semi-active suspension feels near perfect for me. Finally, when the original specs were posted on the HD website, they called out 6.5" trail!! I really thought this bike would steer like a truck with all that trail, and a long wheelbase. Later, HD updated the trail to be in the mid 4" range. I can say that I am no longer worried about it steering like a truck. It isn't as nimble as my Tiger 800 (that is raised near an inch in the rear) but I feel very confident that you will be able to flick this bike pretty easily in the tight twisties. Higher speed sweepers will likely take a bit more force on the bar, but you will probably get some nice mid corner stability with that too. I am eager to ride the standard to see if it is as good. Especially with the much lighter cast wheels.

Riding position: Excellent. The bike fits me perfectly. The bars are a little narrower than a 1200 GS. I don't like high bars like many seem to. These seem pretty good and the width is perfect. Plenty of leverage to flick the bike back and forth, but not so wide that you feel like you are just trying to catch all the wind. I was also a little worried that the pegs might be too far forward, just based on Harleys reputation for putting shitty forward controls on every damn thing they build. I often like to rear set my pegs an inch or so on some bikes (like my R nineT and my DR650). These pegs feel well positioned for me. I would do nothing to adjust the standard ergos at first. I would maaaaybe look to see if there were some bars with an inch less pullback, just to get a little forward lean. That would only be if I didn't feel like the position was aggressive enough in the tight twisties.

Insturments/electronics: Decent screen. A little hard to read in the direct sun, but to be fair, I did not try to adjust the brightness. Better than many, not as good as the newer BMW TFT graphic design maybe. Matte screen finish, which is nice. Its a rather dark theme, with most of the screen being black.....but maybe that is customizable. Fonts for the ancillary reading (trip, distance to empty etc) were quite small. It does not seem to have a fuel economy reading, just a distance to empty. Otherwise is a full compliment of info that you would expect. The riding modes are very easy to change and to customize. No needing to stop and pull in the clutch...just push a button on the right hand switch gear.

Biggest negatives: The switchgear is vague and mushy feeling. The front fender, radiator, and R/R design and packaging are fucking ignorant. No two ways about it...the front fender has an abbreviated rear coverage, and will allow stones to shoot right at the radiator. Idiots. The regulator/rectifier is ignorantly placed, but if feels very heavy duty. The positioning will not be an issue for just gravel hitting it, but if you ever went over a large embedded boulder...it might be destroyed. I personally would not go for the larger bash plate, because I would never take it on more than forest service roads. The front fender and low set radiator needs to be addressed though. The fender needs 3X the rear coverage that it has. A radiator guard would be a must....along with a large fender extender.

Windshield adjustment was a non-issue....it works fine.

My Tiger is a damn good bike, and it has ~$2K in aftermarket suspension on it. I have it dialed in well. I really don't neeeed the extra power. I don't really need a new bike. So I am not sure if I will do anything more than test ride. HOWEVER, if I didn't already have the Tiger, I would have put a deposit down. Its an excellent bike.

...Almost forgot. The transmission! It was excellent. Well spaced gears. As I said, top gear 70mph cruise is a very leisurely 4K rpm. Most impressive was the clutchless upshifting. It really doesnt need a quick shifter. With less than 100 miles on the bike, I could smoothly coordinate clutchless upshifts. I never go clutchless until above 2nd gear, and usually not until the 3-4 change. Just a little flick of the wrist with a preloaded shifter and it shifted very smoothly. May be the best clutchless transmission experience I have ever had.

In that case it’s gotta be in the double digits.

What can I say that hasn't all ready been said. This is a great bike. I put 75 miles on it before I came home and started installing my bags and mounts. I didn't get the ARH. With the seat in the tall position, I'm on my tiptoes. On the low setting, on the balls of my feet. Works for me. First thing I noticed leaving the dealership was how stable it was at low speed. Got off on a road with some switchbacks and this thing was like it was on rails. Loved that. Couple of concerns I had, since I hadn't ridden one, was engine heat. It was 80 degrees here today and in some of the stop and go traffic after I got off the interstate, there was some heat. Nothing major, we will see when it gets warmer. The vents in the lower fairings (?) I guess you would call them, work to keep any heat knee level and below when moving. That was good. Another concern was wind buffet. I actually had twice as much on my Electraglide as I rode it down to trade in. After I got home home I put on a 3/4 helmet for a ride, and it was great. Had no issues adjusting the windshield. The suspension soaked up the crappy roads and the railroad tracks I had to cross a couple of times. I left it in sport mode and it's a rocket. Failed to get my owners manual...crap. The screen and all the buttons are what I would call "busy". Maybe a little too much so for a guy my age (64). Looking forward to tomorrow.....

It's like that with all these new bikes when you first get them. Before you know it ,it will be second nature and you'll be glad of all the choices and ability to fine tune it for your exact preferences.

Doggone it, guess that means having to put another 75 miles on to get back to the dealer to retrieve it!

Friend of mine has an appointment with dealer to look at his and allowing a test ride. If I get lucky and he extends to me as well then I’ll choke my 2 cents (from a KTM rider that’s an ex-GSA owner) perspective.

bag-wise: I think this thing would do well with soft bags like Mosko moto back countries. But that’s just me.

Does the new 1250 incorporate the rear cylinder drop off of the other HDs?

Yes.

The bike wasn't hot at all. I was expecting my right leg to get toasty but that really didn't happen. I expected a woosh of heat when stopping, that never happened. Wasn't particularly hot out yesterday, so we'll see how it does when the heat comes.