Pan America 1250 Leads Harley-Davidson’s Onslaught In The ADV Segment

Harley-Davidson was topping the headlines in 2018 after it decided to venture into territories that it had stayed away from all these years. The ‘More Roads To Harley-Davidson’ expansion strategy gave us the first glimpse of the cruiser giant’s first-ever ADV, the Pan America. However, Harley played it safe and this strategy was replaced by the new 'Hardwire' initiative. Though some bikes were scrapped, the Pan America stayed. Now, almost three years later, the bike has been officially unveiled in two variants: Standard and Special.

Heart Of The Matter
The Harley-Davidson Pan America is powered by the Revolution Max 1252cc, liquid-cooled V-twin engine belting out a claimed 152.2PS at 9,000rpm and 127Nm at 6,750rpm. In a bid to improve the torque spread, Harley-Davidson has equipped the engine with Variable Valve Timing (VVT). This motor is mated to a six-speed gearbox with a slip-and-assist clutch.

The Electronic Nannies
With so much power on tap, the Pan America comes loaded with electronic aids such as lean sensitive ABS, traction control, linked braking, and torque slip control. It even gets hill hold control as standard. The Pan America comes with five riding modes: Rain, Road, Sport, Off-road, and one customisable riding mode. In addition to these, the Special variant gets an Off-road Plus riding mode and a customisable Off-Road Plus mode. On the Pan America Special, the riding modes also adjust the semi-active suspension.

The Impressive Hardware
Yes, the Special variant comes with electronically adjustable semi-active 47mm Showa USD fork and a Showa monoshock, both offering 191mm of travel. The standard variant gets a similar setup without electronic adjustability. As for the braking, Harley-Davidson teamed up with Brembo to develop calipers, specifically designed for the Pan America. The radially mounted 4-pot monoblock calipers clamp onto twin 320mm discs at the front. A 280mm disc paired with a single pot caliper handles braking duties at the rear. Harley has equipped the bike with a 19/17-inch wheel setup, shod with Michelin Scorcher dual purpose tyres. The Pan America 1250 is a proper heavyweight ADV with a kerb weight of 254kg. At 850mm, the seat height too is like a full-blown ADV.

The Mahoosive Screen
The Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 comes equipped with a 6.85-inch TFT touchscreen with non-reflective glass, making it easier to read under harsh sunlight as well. The console is compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, enabling riders to check calls and messages and even use navigation on-the-go. For obvious reasons, the touchscreen automatically disables when the vehicle is in motion.

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The Imposing Styling
Not much has changed with the Pan America from the concept stage, in terms of design. Despite being the first-ever ADV from the brand, it looks unmistakably Harley. From the Fat Bob-inspired rectangular LED headlight to the thoughtfully crafted V-Twin engine cradled in the trellis frame, everything screams Harley. Both variants are offered in three different colours. While the Standard gets the H-D letters on the tank, the Special gets the bar and shield logo on the tank.

No Spoked Rims?
An ADV without spoked rims? Well, not really. Harley-Davidson is offering spoked rims with tubeless tyres as an accessory with the Special variant. Other accessories for the top variant include an adaptive ride height system that lowers the bike on stops for easy reach and adjusts the height again when in motion. Like every Harley, the Pan America too gets a range of dedicated accessories including three luggage options, a Screaming Eagle exhaust, and different windshields.

Is The Pan America Coming To India?
Hero MotoCorp recently announced that it has set up a new vertical for Harley-Davidson’s business in India. With the showrooms already back in operations, we can expect the Pan America 1250 to grace our shores by the end of this year. The bike has been priced at $17,319 (Rs 12.53 lakh) and $19,999 (Rs 14.47 lakh) for the Standard and Special trims respectively. Harley-Davidson is likely to bring the Pan America 1250 to India via the CBU route which will take the pricing to around 20 lakh for the Standard model and RS 23-24 lakh for Special variant. If and when launched, the bike will take on the BMW R 1250 GS.