The American Adventure Bike That Quietly Outperformed Its Rivals
The adventure touring segment has treated towering seat heights like an inescapable fact. We accepted that it was a result of needing ground clearance that matched off-road ambitions. The trouble was that these high seat heights made every slanted stoplight or parking lot maneuver a butt-clenching experience. Unless you were an NBA player, getting one of these tall and heavy motorcycles across loose gravel would spike anxiety. All this was tolerated because we thought that real off-tarmac capability had its downsides on the blacktop.
European Ergonomics Alienated Shorter Adventure Riders
This mindset that one has to suffer through the high seat of an adventure bike was born from European thinking. It was an assumption that someone who rides an adventure tourer is extremely comfortable handling a tall, heavy, off-road-capable vehicle in the dirt.
The reality is that even if you have the inseam to flat-foot it in the parking lot, you need to have spent many hours in the gym, on dirt tracks, and on smaller bikes to develop the kind of skills you see in the marketing materials for these behemoths. Which, given how much money one needs to spend to buy one, is an almost impossible ask of the customer.
Adaptive Suspension Solved The Inseam Dilemma
There is always a solution for every problem, and in the adventure touring fraternity, different solutions were found for the problem of the high seat. The easiest and most prolific one is having different seat heights for the same seat via different mounting solutions, and also offering optional low seats for a little extra money.
However, when technology is at the level it is today, we can go one step further, and we have. There is a motorcycle manufacturer with visionary engineers who designed dynamic semi-active suspension that automatically drops the ride height as soon as the machine rolls to walking speed or stops. But no, it is not from any of the manufacturers you thought it would be from.
Flat-Track Heritage Backs Harley-Davidson’s Off-Road Ambitions
This masterstroke of engineering was designed by Harley-Davidson, which is better known for developing and manufacturing bikes that do not go off-road at all. But if you think back a few decades or even a century, Harley-Davidson has been involved in racing, and it started off racing on dirt tracks.
In the 1970s, it dominated flat track racing, which is also an unpaved discipline, so it is not without experience in the arena. When it decided to take its products off-road, it did so with a bang and designed an adventure tourer that took the fight to the best in the business with some of the most advanced technology in the segment.
The Pan America 1250 Redefined Milwaukee Engineering
When the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 launched, it shattered every preconceived notion of what a Harley-Davidson could be. It displayed innovation that was groundbreaking not just for Harley, but for the entire segment. The Revolution Max engine sports variable valve timing on all its valves, even the exhaust valves—which is something unique to it to this very day.
It has semi-active electronic suspension and was the first to sport a feature that drops the ride height at walking speed. This was such a good idea that competitors have since copied it. The result is a motorcycle that nails power, balance, and real-world usability.
Shared Mechanical Foundations Anchor The Model Lineup
Since we are talking adventure bikes, we are going to leave out the Pan America 1250 ST despite it being one of the most exciting Harleys of late, because it is more of a sport-tourer than an adventure motorcycle. We are going to stick to the variants with spoke rims. The Pan America 1250 Special retails for $19,999, equaling the ST’s base price.
Next up the ladder is the Pan America 1250 Limited, which costs $26,499. This adds luggage from the factory and all the performance features like Adaptive Ride Height and a quickshifter. At the top of the heap is the CVO Pan America with a price of $29,249. It is visually different from the others, but mechanically identical.
Dual Variable Valve Timing Eliminates Powerband Compromises
The Pan America is powered by a Revolution Max engine, and as the name suggests, it carries on the tradition of a wholly liquid-cooled engine. It displaces 1,252 cc from a 60-degree V-twin and has a compression ratio of 13.0:1. It generates 150 horsepower at 8,750 RPM and 95 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 RPM.
That kind of output makes long road trips feel effortless. This is managed through a six-speed gearbox with an assist-and-slipper clutch. This is the only Harley-Davidson with a final chain drive right now—and the quickshifter is a rarity as well.
Semi-Active Electronic Suspension Solves A Tall Problem
Harnessing 150 horsepower across varied terrain demands a chassis and suspension system sophisticated enough to match the engine’s ambition — and this is where the Pan America’s most imitated innovation lives. The Pan America has a thoroughly modern steel trellis frame that uses the engine as a stressed member. The suspension consists of 47 mm inverted front forks and a linkage-type rear monoshock. Even the base non-electronic suspension is fully adjustable and offers 7.5 inches of travel at both ends.
The electronic suspension is semi-active and adjusts damping as well as rear preload on its own. The front preload has to be manually adjusted. No matter what you choose, it nails interstate cruising, backroad fun, and dirt trails.
Brembo supplies the braking hardware with twin 320 mm floating discs at the front with radial four-piston monobloc calipers and a 280 mm disc with a single-piston caliper at the rear. Wheel sizes are a 19-inch front and 17-inch rear, and spoked rims are available across the range; they are optional on the Special. Michelin Scorcher Adventure radial tubeless tires are standard fitment. The premium hardware matches nicely with the engine’s high performance, giving it the ability to thrill the rider and keep up with the competition.
Tall Enough For Highway Miles, Low Enough For Shorter Riders To Manage
The Pan America 1250 competes with full-size adventure bikes, so it is not a surprise to know that it is 89.4 inches long and 38.4 inches wide, with a wheelbase of 62.4 inches. The dimensions make it feel just right for American riders. The laden seat height can be either 31.1 inches or 32 inches, depending on whether you install it in the low or high position; two are available as standard.
The ground clearance remains constant at 6.9 inches. It weighs 578 pounds ready to ride and has a 5.6-gallon fuel tank. This is a big, comfortable motorcycle for two, with decent ground clearance for off-tarmac riding.
Factory Features Dictate The Trim Structure
The Pan America 1250 is mechanically identical across its variants, but it is the features that distinguish one from another. Even the base variant has enough features to make every road trip better. The common things are the 6.8-inch touchscreen TFT display that offers Bluetooth and navigation.
The electronics are also identical across the range. With the by-wire throttle and six-axis IMU, the bike offers cornering traction control, cornering drag torque slip control, cornering ABS, electronically linked brakes, wheel lift mitigation at either end, hill hold assist, and tire pressure monitoring. The options list for the lower end of the range has various bits of luggage and cosmetic items.
The Pan America Special has alloy wheels and the electronic suspension without the adaptive ride height for its base price. You will have to add the adaptive ride height, a two-way quickshifter, and tubeless laced wheels off the options list.
If you also add aluminum saddlebags, a top case, auxiliary lighting, and better protection off the options list, you will come within a few hundred dollars of the Pan America Limited, which provides these things as standard from the factory. Then there is the CVO Pan America, which offers a very eye-catching paint scheme and is produced in small numbers to maintain exclusivity.
Excess Curb Weight Hampers Technical Off-Road Agility
The standout figure for the Pan America is its 578-pound weight. Even though it is this Harley’s weight in running order, it is well over 50 pounds heavier than a lot of the competition, which can make it unwieldy at low speed and off tarmac. The suspension that automatically lowers at walking pace helps mitigate that somewhat.
The suspension travel is also not quite enough for aggressive off-road work despite the ground clearance. Finally, it has extremely steep depreciation. This makes it a more sensible buy as a used bike, rather than a new one.
Five Established Rivals That Make The Pan America’s Price Hard To Justify — Until You Do The Math
The full-size adventure segment is awash with established names, and Harley-Davidson has one of the toughest jobs in the two-wheel world with the Pan America 1250. The adventure bike benchmark is the $20,395 BMW R 1300 GS; it has a very attractive base price, a proven engine and chassis, and the respect of anyone who wants a bike in this segment. Dipping into the options can drive the price up in a hurry, though.
The $29,995 Ducati Multistrada V4 S is designed to rule the tarmac with its 170 horsepower V4. However, you can equip it for more off-road work with the optional spoke rims, but that drives an already extremely premium price even higher. If it is excitement you want though, you possibly cannot do better than the KTM 1390 Super Adventure.
There is the R for those who want to ride off-road, and the S Evo for those who want something that redefines what luxury means. This is probably the most advanced of the lot currently and the only other model besides the BMW to offer an automated manual transmission. It is also remarkably good value at $22,699 for the S Evo with its electronic suspension and auto ‘box.
The $23,195 Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Pro is also a brilliant option that feels more expensive than it actually is, if you want something different. Its inline three-cylinder engine with the T-Plane crank gives it a distinctive soundtrack and power delivery, and it is equipped with some of the best electronics and features in the segment.
It also helps that it has shaft drive and weighs just as much as its twin-cylinder competitors. If you are on a budget, the Moto Guzzi Stelvio offers an interesting alternative. It feels very much like a premium product with a single-sided swingarm, shaft drive, and advanced electronics with the $17,590 PFF Rider Assistance Solution variant. However, being an adventure bike, Moto Guzzi’s small dealer and service network might work against it.
Arguably the most reliable option is the $18,599 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT, which balances comfort, technology, and capability. Like the KTM, you can have it in two different flavors if you prefer off-road or on-road riding. It is also the only one here with a cradle frame and a dual-clutch six-speed automatic gearbox. It will not be as quick as the others, but it does not lack on the features front, with a TFT touchscreen display that has Apple CarPlay and electronic suspension.
Source: Harley-Davidson USA
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