2022 Harley-Davidson Pan America
With HarleyDavidson making a big deal about its new Sportster replacement – the Nightster – and it’s Revolution Max 975T powerplant, it’s easy to miss the fact that Harley hasn’t left the rest of its range wanting.
A case in point is the Pan America which, although being new only last year, has already had some improvements made.
It’s still the 1250cc version of the water-cooled Revolution Max engine; still the same 19”/17” wheel combination; the same ride modes and cornering ABS and traction control; and exactly the same styling and ergonomics that left the motorcycle world gobsmacked that this is actually a Harley adventure bike.
But perhaps what most surprised us all wasn’t the fact that the Motor Company made an adventure bike, but that it made such a good adventure bike! As a first attempt to make inroads into a segment of the market that is as far apart from its core audience as you could possibly get, the Pan America was a complete shock – it’s actually a very good adventure bike, both on the road and off.
And the end result was that Harley sold out of the 2021 allocation of Pan Americas, and it would be all too easy for H-D to rest on its laurels and just keep building the same bike for this year. but, instead, it listened to customers and read reviews, and made the one tweak that so many people had said was missing, by adding a quickshifter to the package which makes the bike even more usable, especially in an off-road environment, with the shifter being smooth in operation, up and down the ’box.
There’s also been some tweaking of the big TFT screen arrangement, with it being slightly more legible, and the
Hill Hold Assist system has been extended to be activated for a longer time (for between three to five minutes!), although it does still take a good firm tug on the lever to activate it.
In short, it’s a great bike made even better, and while the price point starts at £14,795, that is actually less than it was when it was launched, while the Gauntlet Grey paint option adds a further £375, which is still less than the £15,500 it was at launch!
If you want the all-singing version with the impressive adaptive ride height, then the Pan America 1250 Special chimes in at £16,795, although aside from the semi-active front and rear suspension it has various other features, too, such as the tubeless spoked wheels, aluminium bash plate, heated grips, tyre pressure monitoring system, centre stand, etc., many of which are available as extras for the basic model. More details at www.harley-davidson.com/gb