H-D Pan America

[Yamajank]

11 minutes ago, roadrash83 said:

3. The Brembo brakes are great! 

4. The bike is rock solid on the highway even at triple digit speeds, no problems with getting bounced around in wake turbulence off 18 wheelers.

5. The side stand will get a little getting use to because toe tad is in front of the shifter.

6. Heat off the rear cylinder header is pretty bad on the leg at long traffic lights ( I live in southwest Florida) but the on the move it's fine.

Had the chance to demo this at the Road America race this Sunday. Agree with all of these however I disagree that the heat on the right leg goes away...maybe at highway speeds but other than that it feels like something is on fire. That's one of the things I think the tracer does really well...no hot spots. I'll add that the setup I was on had the off-road biased tires and with this I thought some of the handling was poor. Don't know if it was tires or suspension or if it has an easy remedy but that was my experience. 

[Wintersdark]

2 hours ago, texscottyd said:

100% concur.   Did you see the 1250 Custom that HD announced as part of the Pan America release?  It's the next bike they're slated to produce from the Revolution Max engine platform...

 

It's like they knew they were onto something great with the Bronx, but just couldn't leave it alone:  "I dunno, it's cool and all...  maybe if we stretch it out and lower it some more?  And throw some scrambler high pipes on it... yeah, that would be cool.   And get rid of the silly extra front brake rotor and low profile tires while you're at it..." 

Who needs dual front disks on what is clearly a surprisingly heavy, powerful machine, right?  Gotta have a long wheelbase and a dramatically oversized front tire too, because who needs nice, nimble handling when you can look Powerful And Manly. 

They were so close.  So close to something really awesome, that could rival the Indian FJR.  There's demonstrably a huge market for this style of bike, a performance oriented street bike.  It's a market that Harley directly ignores despite a huge part of that market specifically being younger American riders - a group they are well positioned to appeal to and who they *need* to appeal to soon, or they'll simply run out of customers.  This here looks like a Starter Bike from which you upgrade to a Fat Bob... But it just doesn't fit the same niche as the Bronx at all.  

The PA is definitely a good step for them - good for appealing to us Dad Bike Guys -  but they really, REALLY should have done both it and the Bronx.  

I mean, I think the PA is an interesting ride and all, but honestly, I can't see myself buying it.  I'd buy a Tenere first for adventure (A T7 probably, that thing is awesome, but maybe a Super Tenere), or go KTM.  But the Bronx?  I dunno.  I feel I could be roped into buying that by a motivated Harley dealer when I was just browsing through the store. 

Quote

It's like they knew they were onto something great with the Bronx, but just couldn't leave it alone

 

[roadrash83]

2 hours ago, Yamajank said:

Had the chance to demo this at the Road America race this Sunday. Agree with all of these however I disagree that the heat on the right leg goes away...maybe at highway speeds but other than that it feels like something is on fire. That's one of the things I think the tracer does really well...no hot spots. I'll add that the setup I was on had the off-road biased tires and with this I thought some of the handling was poor. Don't know if it was tires or suspension or if it has an easy remedy but that was my experience. 

 I have to say I’m riding with a pair of Kilm textile riding paints so that may help with the heat. You have to remember With a V-twin you are sitting almost on top of the rear  cylinder and pipe so there is going to be a lot more heat than an in line engine. ADV bikes are not sport bikes with 17” inch front wheels. The Pan America  or any ADV bike is not going to be in the same league as the Tracer is as far as overall handling. I also have no plan on selling my GT, but I will not ride it off the pavement.

[roadrash83]

9 hours ago, texscottyd said:

I still hope that the Bronx project is delayed, and not dead.   

Curiously, I found this reference buried deep on the HD Canada website.   It's obviously an orphaned page, but still gives me some hope...   It's a bike I would be very interested in owning.  

❌  "Coming in 2020"  ❌

Harley-Davidson Bronx | Harley-Davidson USA

---

...

 

 From what I was told by two dealers the Bronx is not really scraped, they are really putting the effort into getting the Pan America out. I first saw the Bronx and the Pan-American at the NY cycle show in 2019 the Bronx looked really sharp and I'm kind  amazed they did the PA first when the Sportster is on it's death bed. 

[micah2074]

On 6/10/2021 at 6:53 PM, roadrash83 said:

 I'm taking delivery of a Pan America on Saturday. Should have been two weeks ago but I walked out over the price, typical HD dealer with all the added charges and a 10% over list dealer mark-up. The Tee-shirt vendor wanted a almost $30.000 for the bike out the door. So with luck I will have a special in orange  creamsicle paint job for $25,204 out the door from the same dealer. 

Let me start by saying I’m a capitalist 100% and believe a thing is worth what someone is willing to pay. With that being said, this is exactly what I hoped wouldn’t happen.

I believe this bike and possible bikes using the drivetrain in the future could be what saves HD...if it convinces NEW people to join the Harley clan. The price, to me and other non HD people I ride with is a big part of the appeal.  

They won’t convince the diehard euro fanboys to come over jacking around like that. The PanAm goes from something I’m willing to spend a bit on to “no way” when they start wanting $25K+. I believe there’s a lot that feel that way too. I also don’t think  many of their customer base want an “adventure” bike. Especially not one that approaches the upper end of their models price wise. 

My interest in the bike has diminished after reading your post an other posts on other boards.  Maybe it’ll work out for them. Only time will tell. 
 

[keithu]

33 minutes ago, micah2074 said:

Let me start by saying I’m a capitalist 100% and believe a thing is worth what someone is willing to pay. With that being said, this is exactly what I hoped wouldn’t happen.

To be fair, my local Yamaha dealer - a high volume dealer that usually offers big discounts - was advertising T7s at $14999 last week, though this week they're back down to only $12999. This is against a supposed MSRP of $9999. 

Like you said, a thing is worth what people are willing to pay. 

[micah2074]

6 hours ago, keithu said:

To be fair, my local Yamaha dealer - a high volume dealer that usually offers big discounts - was advertising T7s at $14999 last week, though this week they're back down to only $12999. This is against a supposed MSRP of $9999. 

Like you said, a thing is worth what people are willing to pay. 

I agree.....I also think HD dealers are making a mistake. But, I’ve been wrong before.
The PanAm was a slam dunk for me before I started reading these stories. There are too many good alternatives out there for me to pay an HD “premium”. 

[roadrash83]

2 hours ago, micah2074 said:

I agree.....I also think HD dealers are making a mistake. But, I’ve been wrong before.
The PanAm was a slam dunk for me before I started reading these stories. There are too many good alternatives out there for me to pay an HD “premium”. 

 Give it a little time, I think the excitement will wear off and dealers be happy to get list. The place I got mine from had a sign up by the front door telling you how low the supply of motorcycles is. That is part of HD's plan to make their brand more elite. One thing HD has done right is make the price for the accessories well under what BMW wants for theirs. 

[kilo3]

20 minutes ago, roadrash83 said:

 The place I got mine from had a sign up by the front door telling you how low the supply of motorcycles is. That is part of HD's plan to make their brand more elite. One thing HD has done right is make the price for the accessories well under what BMW wants for theirs. 

That's everywhere. My (big) local dealership has maybe 20-30 bikes in their showroom. It's usually in the 100's.
They had to get creative with their presentation, it's kind of funny to see all the dead space around one bike.
My dealer that sold my wife her bike last year asked to buy it back 1k over our purchase price.

[roadrash83]

 I have been spending some time riding and getting to know the Pan America and I'm really enjoying the bike. I tried out the adaptive ride height and it is pretty awesome.  One of my nit picks with the bike is the heat that comes of the rear header will stopped in traffic, with the bike in the lowered position my leg is far enough from the header that it's not an issue. The lowered height is going to be great with a passenger and full baggage. Nothing worse than having your foot slip out from under you while parking because your on tippy toes trying to push it.

 I wish the bike had a USB port in the cockpit. REALLY NO EXCUSE for there not being one in a new model bike in todays world.  

[fddriver2]

On 6/15/2021 at 9:26 AM, kilo3 said:

That's everywhere. My (big) local dealership has maybe 20-30 bikes in their showroom. It's usually in the 100's.
They had to get creative with their presentation, it's kind of funny to see all the dead space around one bike.
My dealer that sold my wife her bike last year asked to buy it back 1k over our purchase price.

  ☝️ This is fact. None of the dealers near me (Ft. Lauderdale - Miami) have a lot of stock, used is nonexistent. Dealers who have buildings you could put an AirBus 380 in have 20 bikes in it. Go on cycle trader. People are asking $1,500 - $2,000 over KBB or NADA for bike that ain't all that..... 

Madness.....

[nhchris]

I demo'd a Pan America today at Laconia bike week and really enjoyed it.  Very poised on the asphalt and well composed on gravel and dirt. Lots of power and cool suspension action.

It's a great ride!

The demo was fun because there was no leader to slow things down.  Just a marked 5 mile road route.  Very different from Americade.

[roadrash83]

 I hit my first problem with the PA. I can not get my phone to  link to the display on the bike and work for navigation. Apparently HD knows about the problem and is working on a re-flash. In doing a little research it looks like a few of the bikes that use this system are having issues that need to be ironed out. Hopefully HD will come out quickly with the re-flash and it will work as it should. 

[Ride365]

6 hours ago, roadrash83 said:

 I hit my first problem with the PA. I can not get my phone to  link to the display on the bike and work for navigation. Apparently HD knows about the problem and is working on a re-flash. In doing a little research it looks like a few of the bikes that use this system are having issues that need to be ironed out. Hopefully HD will come out quickly with the re-flash and it will work as it should. 

Similar issue with my bud's new Honda AT.

[roadrash83]

I have been slowly racking up some miles on the PA, unfortunately  life is getting in the way. I like the bike and am very impressed with all the ride modes that it has . So far I have only played with the street modes and I programed in two of my own. Two of the stock modes are good, Street (I use for rain) and Sport (I use for all else). The rain mode cuts the throttle response and power to much for my liking, reminds me of riding Honda CB360. One of the modes I configured was what I would want for a track day, very impressed with it🙂 So far I feel the fueling is spot on and no need for a Power Commander or re-flash it this point. 

  Living in South Florida I get a chance to ride around in a lot of heavy rainstorms, luckily they usually don't last long. I would say Pan America and the 900GT offer equal rain protection for the rider, the faster the bike goes the better the protection!

 One thing about the Pan America is you won't go broke farkeling the bike out right off the bat .You can't buy any thing for the bike, everything is on back order from the T-Shirt company and the aftermarket has nothing yet.

.