On a Camp fire had the HD CEO decided that the Bike is almost ready, and that HD will release it to the world now
I could discover an adventure bike, demonstrated by “Pros” able to compete with all other brands in the class above 200 kgs …
Discovered Main Feature 1.
Remarkably interesting was the statement, that the suspension regulates the seat height. It seems that if the bike comes to a complete stop, the suspension goes down, so that even smaller riders can put their feet safely on the ground. If the motorcycle starts to accelerate the suspension will pump up the bike to an acceptable height as required by driving mode selected. HD calls it “adaptive ride height”!
This is completely new on the market! A lot of riders lower their adventure bikes due to compromise-based decision making to an individual acceptable level. The must pay the bill for this on some different levels. First the ground clearance of the motorcycle will be most probably not sufficient to deal with “hard rock” gravel tracks. Second, Side Stand, main stand must be cut down to the proper size. Third the cost will be almost 1000 USD.
Overall, I am remarkably interesting, how Harley has addressed this issue technically.
Discovered Main Feature 2.
The Motorcycle was designed from the engine outwards to frame, gear, and suspension.
BMW has the same approach. This guarantees less vibration on higher speed on a highway means in Europe the Autobahn. Addressing this point, I would like to come out with one consideration as well.
HD announced in the video a partnership with Michelin concerning the tires. The Michelin Knobby tires as shown in the video are most probably not certified for higher speeds. As the HD Pan America is launched on the European Marked and understands themselves as competitor against the BMW GS 1250 Adventure or KTM 1290 or Ducati Multistrada and, and and… Either the Michelin Adventure tire must be a matter of concern or other tire types with European V- Classification (Speeds above 180 km /h) such as Metzeler Karo Street and others must be considered as an alternative. This, because it is assumed that with – 152 HP / 8750 RPM / 128 NM – the bike will run faster than 160 or 180 km/h.
Dicovered Main Feature 3.
“No evolution without revolution” was one statement in the video. At this stage HD has not addressed the weight of the motorcycle clearly. However, and depending on the selected ad on equipment will be the weight between 242 and 258 kg which is almost 10-20 kg less weight that the BMW GS 1250 ADV due to the weight of the shaft drive installed. Further it seems the engineers did an exceptionally good job in relation to system protection.
It seems all needful areas are well protected, and the material chosen was titanium and other stabile lightweight material for guards, exhaust and so on. It may be expected that this approach avoids a lot of rider’s headache in terms of damage and corrosion. There is never a question if only the question to answer when an adventure bike will fall on its side. Hopefully on lower speed, in such cases with rider in the saddle.
Discovered Main Feature 4.
“Surprise” HD managed to establish a complete adventure gear line. Means from helmet to the boots. Will see how this riding gear will compete towards well established brands such as HELD or KLIM or others…
Discovered Main Feature 5.
The bike will come in different colors and three different luggage solutions. Sport, Aluminum (SW Motech Trax) and Soft Baggage. It seems that customization will be not an issue.
Those of you not having seen the HD video here is the link:
Harley-Davidson Pan America™ (harley-davidson.com)
Open Questions:
- Delivery time?
- Price?
- Official Specification Sheet?
- Configurator?
That is all for the beginning ….