Harley Pan American coming 2/21/2021

Checkswrecks

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There's a lot to like in that and a few things that turn me off such as the dustbuster nose and price, even though the price is good by Harley standards. I remember when I switched from the FJR to the Tenere and was at a FJR group a woman come up to tell me the Tenere was the F-Ugliest thing she'd ever seen and ask why I ever wanted to own one. Oh well. The biggest thing on this Harley that might turn me off is the seating position so I'm looking forward to seeing one at the local dealer when they come in.

Unfortunately, MCN has a poll that asks if this could be a Harley that people will buy and the response is 91.1% negative.
 

jrusell

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I am not a big Harley fan, but I did own a sportster years ago. Could not get over how heavy a sportster was for it's small size. I certainly hope this comes in at the advertised weight. It's almost hard to believe when a sportster foot peg bracket probably weighted as much as my Tenere swingarm.

The specs would make me think there has been a huge philosophy change at Harley and maybe this is a sign they want to survive. Lets hope so.
Personally I am curious how this will be handled at the dealer level. Harley had a chance with the Buell line to expand into a completely different market and produce a bike aimed at younger riders they would have had for life. An American sport bike would have been great, but dealers didn't buy in and they were never looked at favourably by dealers.

Buell were put in corners and people who looked at them were not considered real customers. The only exception was the Buell blast which sold pretty good I think, and only because they knew that rider would be back for a big twin after a month or two, because they looked out of place on group rides with all they other big twins.
If you didn't want a big twin you were ignored. If they do this with this model and the other models they are bringing out this will be a short experiment.

Looks wise yeah it looks different. But remember when the S10 came out a t bike shows in 2009/2010. It was pretty weird looking. Vents up front not symmetrical and ugly was a common comment.
We don't need everything to look the same and even though this looks like a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica I kinda like that the front is so different. It is a hell of a lot better looking than all the S10 owners who put those Stupid beaks on them trying to make a s10 look like a GS.

Specs look good, an original look for sure, hopefully it is reliable and maybe this will push Indian to maybe venture into the ADV bike market. More is always better, even if I don't see me ever buying one.
 

Cycledude

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Read about the new Harley Pan America today on ADV rider, yes it looks interesting and I wish them good luck with it but I’m really surprised they didn’t attempt to get into the side by side market instead. I believe if Harley came out with a decent side by side it would outsell the Pan America by about 100-1 .
 

tntmo

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It seems that half the people online want to hate this bike just because it's made by Harley Davidson, saying that it leaks oil, it's an unreliable big pig with no power and is old technology without even reading anything about it and having never seen it or ridden it.


The other half is divided into a few other major groups:

People saying that it can't go where a 250 pound 500cc dirt bike with lights and a plate can go.

It's too expensive compared to a KLR650.

The new mid-sized ADV bikes are lighter and cheaper.

It's not made in Japan, Germany or Austria, so it's no good.

And the few people who say that it's good to have another player in the game, hopefully it meets expectations and also helps push the other manufacturers to continue to improve their lineups over the coming years.



I hope to get a test ride on one some time soon. I think that I am in the last group of people, even though I don't plan to buy one anytime soon.
 

PhilPhilippines

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It seems that half the people online want to hate this bike just because it's made by Harley Davidson, saying that it leaks oil, it's an unreliable big pig with no power and is old technology without even reading anything about it and having never seen it or ridden it.


The other half is divided into a few other major groups:

People saying that it can't go where a 250 pound 500cc dirt bike with lights and a plate can go.

It's too expensive compared to a KLR650.

The new mid-sized ADV bikes are lighter and cheaper.

It's not made in Japan, Germany or Austria, so it's no good.

And the few people who say that it's good to have another player in the game, hopefully it meets expectations and also helps push the other manufacturers to continue to improve their lineups over the coming years.



I hope to get a test ride on one some time soon. I think that I am in the last group of people, even though I don't plan to buy one anytime soon.
I just do not like its looks. However, I do like traditional traditional HDs and Indians even if youngsters don't
 

tntmo

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I just do not like its looks. However, I do like traditional traditional HDs and Indians even if youngsters don't
I don't think too many large ADV bikes are real "lookers", the BMW GS, Tiger, even our beloved S10 aren't amazing looking machines for the most part. The HD is definitely different, just like the rest!
 

PhilPhilippines

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I don't think too many large ADV bikes are real "lookers", the BMW GS, Tiger, even our beloved S10 aren't amazing looking machines for the most part. The HD is definitely different, just like the rest!
I;m just weird then, cos I've always gravitated towards offroad and ADV bikes... :D
 

Checkswrecks

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The specs would make me think there has been a huge philosophy change at Harley and maybe this is a sign they want to survive. Lets hope so.
Personally I am curious how this will be handled at the dealer level.
What's overlooked is that the "Revolution Max 1250" is a totally new engine and HD will be coming out with other models built around it. There were a couple of teasers in the video showing a new cruiser with it. Till COVID cleared the sale floors the dealers were hurting badly and everybody at them knows they need to find a way to get new customers and to change their game to do it. Because of this, I'm guessing there will be a lot of training for the dealer salespeople, which they certainly never had for the Buell line. Those were seen as unwanted stepchildren.
 

PhilPhilippines

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What's overlooked is that the "Revolution Max 1250" is a totally new engine and HD will be coming out with other models built around it. There were a couple of teasers in the video showing a new cruiser with it. Till COVID cleared the sale floors the dealers were hurting badly and everybody at them knows they need to find a way to get new customers and to change their game to do it. Because of this, I'm guessing there will be a lot of training for the dealer salespeople, which they certainly never had for the Buell line. Those were seen as unwanted stepchildren.
The engine may well be spot on, but it will still be a hard sell with that frontal area debacle. It looks a little more approachable in the grey, but the orange is hideous.
 
B

ballisticexchris

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There's a lot to like in that and a few things that turn me off such as the dustbuster nose and price, even though the price is good by Harley standards. I remember when I switched from the FJR to the Tenere and was at a FJR group a woman come up to tell me the Tenere was the F-Ugliest thing she'd ever seen and ask why I ever wanted to own one. Oh well. The biggest thing on this Harley that might turn me off is the seating position so I'm looking forward to seeing one at the local dealer when they come in.

Unfortunately, MCN has a poll that asks if this could be a Harley that people will buy and the response is 91.1% negative.
I'll tell you Bob that the looks of the Super Tenere were not a factor when I made the decision to buy. All my dark joking aside, it's the most confidence inspiring machine I have ever swung a leg over. It's a lot more bike than the rider. For smooth fire roads and mile crunching I don't see many more bikes that can outperform this bike. And boy the reliability is amazing!! And the comfort is second to none.

The Harley is going to have a hard time performing as well as other bikes in the segment. I just don't see the reliability and function being there.
 

Mak10

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It will be interesting to see one in person. When you look at the front of a KTM or even the GS with its asymmetrical headlights, they aren’t the most beautiful design I’ve ever seen.
The GS just became accepted as a benchmark bike. Then the look grows on you.
One thing that this Harley had going for it at the moment is a plentiful amount of dealerships. You can’t go very far from a HD dealer in the US.
 

Checkswrecks

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Harley has shown a number of prototypes based on this engine with other faces. It won't take long before the aftermarket has alternatives to the dust buster nose.
Flat tracker prototype to compete with the Indian 1200:
[IMG]

Bronx prototype street bike:
[IMG]


And look at those fork tubes begging for a set of muscular twin round lights with a Plexiglas fairing above.
 

WJBertrand

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It actually looks better than I expected on paper at least. Seems like their engineers or consultants knew what ADV bikers want. The lowering function when stopped is intriguing. This is one of the things I don't like about my Super Tenere and probably any ADV bike is the need to crawl up on them like a horse. When I've got something lashed to the back seat it's just that much more difficult. Pricing is competitive too. The Hoover vacuum front end will take some getting used to, but so did the lopsided GS front end when It was introduced. I've never been a big fan of the KTM front ends either though. Road test reviews will tell whether the feature set really works like it should and time will tell about the reliability question.
 

Dirt_Dad

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It will be interesting to see one in person. When you look at the front of a KTM or even the GS with its asymmetrical headlights, they aren’t the most beautiful design I’ve ever seen.
The GS just became accepted as a benchmark bike. Then the look grows on you.
I agree the KTM front was always bizarre to me. It's grown on me to the point that I can't stop admiring it whenever I get a chance to see it (which hasn't been very often in the last month).

Since the near universal opinion of the Pan American is it looks awful, it seems the aftermarket has a great opportunity here. The specs appear to be worthy of exploration. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I've owned bikes that on paper were downright bad, but turned out to be great fun. Also had it go the other way.

On paper, if you only saw the specs and not the manufacturer, it would be easy to be curious about the bike. There's obviously a lot for Harley to overcome. I wish them well. More options are always better and I hope they find an audience for this bike. It may not be the current Adventure guys, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Good luck, Harley.

Not to be contrarian, but I thought from the moment I saw it, the Super Tenere was one of the best looking bikes I'd ever seen. Never once has a problem with its looks.
 

Johnwesley

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I really like what Harley is doing with this bike. It looks like they are taking it seriously and providing things that adv guys want. I like that they have thought about the soft luggage and went with the typical ADV build of soft bags. I think this is a new start for Harley and they have put their heart and soul into the market. I am anxious to go ride one and see what it's really like. spec wise it’s in the hunt with BMW and KTM, while also more modern than the T10. I appreciate HD not copying what others are doing for a style stand point. It would be easier to have gone the copy cat route. like it or not it will stand out in the crowd which for me is a good thing. Under 550lbs full of fuel and what will be very close to 135 RWHp will be a nice performing machine. Fully adjustable suspension on the base model and active suspension on the top tier is very nice. I know of a few that are very happy about the suspension that lowers as you come to a stop. For a first real shoot at this they have done their homework. I believe it will have a place in the ADV market. With the closing of dealerships and the new low build numbers of bikes now, current dealers will be looking to sell bikes any bike. That puts them in a place where I believe you will see a new dealership style that looks to help you with the ADV segment. Harley will be training dealerships on how to interact with this different type of rider and I hope it all takes and works for Harley. I am excited to see what the future holds for them.
 
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