2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special First Ride

Harley-Davidson’s Pan America 1250 Special performs on and off the road with a killer engine, a capable chassis, and innovative features. Cycle World takes it for a ride to see how it performs.

Phone calls, emails, and text messages came flooding in when I posted a teaser photo after my first day on the 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special. Well? How is it? Is it a competitor? And the most important question: Did they pull it off?

Yes. Yes, they did.

Harley-Davidson has built a legitimate adventure-touring motorcycle. I’m going to get hate mail from both H-D loyalists and adventure fiends, but I’ll say it: The 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special is the best motorcycle The Motor Company has ever produced.

There. I said it. I stand by it. Come at me. Harley has succeeded, much to the dismay of the social media naysayers.

Powering the Pan America 1250 is H-D’s new Revolution Max 1250, a liquid-cooled 60-degree 1,252cc V-twin. It’s a completely new engine designed from the ground up as the centerpiece, and structural chassis member, of the Pan America. Dual overhead cams are independently variable via cam phasers, operated by hydraulic pressure controlled by a solenoid plunger. Cam timing can be adjusted through 40 degrees of rotation, and because every cam has a phaser, front and rear cylinder valve timing are independent as well. Harley-Davidson pointed out that the drive-side cam journal is part of the drive sprocket, making it possible to remove the camshafts without disassembling the camshaft drive, simplifying service or upgrades. Roller-finger valve actuation is maintenance-free thanks to hydraulic valve lash adjustment.

Crankshaft connecting-rod journals are offset 30 degrees, making for a 90-degree firing order, which Harley claims produces more on-power traction in the dirt. Forged aluminum pistons stroke through 72.3mm in a 105 mm bore and feature a low-friction coating on the skirts, low-tension piston rings (again, to reduce friction), an anodized top ring land for durability, and underside oil jets for heat dissipation. The large bore requires the use of a dual spark plug design for complete and rapid intake-charge combustion. The compression ratio is 13.0:1, meaning the Revolution Max requires 91-octane fuel for best performance; knock sensors will trigger less aggressive ignition timing and fueling ratios. This will reduce the power, and although H-D reps declined to give a minimum octane number, they claim the engine can be run safely in regions with “low quality” gasoline.

Wow. That’s the short of it when describing the Revolution Max, and the first word my furry mug blurted out as I grabbed my first handful of throttle in Sport mode. Power comes on strong at around 2,200 rpm and continues to build with more and more velocity as you cross the 8,500-rpm mark. After that it begins to taper off in aggression until you reach the rev limiter at 9,500 rpm. That’s 9,500 rpm from a Harley. And while the low-end and top-end performance are impressive, it’s the middle of the digital tach that is the sweetest. Third gear is a set-and-forget mark for winding backroads, as the Max pulls with simple tenacity at the 5K mark to spring you out of the corners. The lean-sensitive traction control, C-TCS in Harley-speak, is the least restrictive in this mode and will let the standard, specially developed Michelin Scorcher Adventure tires do much of the work. The future of this engine is very bright indeed.

While Sport mode is the most aggressive and impressive of your choices, H-D has equipped the Pan America with Road, Rain, Off-Road, and Off-Road Plus modes. These modes are not only tied to engine performance but to suspension settings, engine-braking, and ABS settings. Road mode reduces that midrange stonk, but there’s still plenty of power on tap for any road work that doesn’t demand making the time between the corners short as possible. Rain mode reduces power significantly, but as there wasn’t even a chance of precipitation during our two-day test, only a quick confirmation of reduced power and maximum C-TCS was performed. Off-Road and Off-Road Plus provide a power level suited for dirt duty with a tractable character and reduced top-end power.

Read the full review here: https://www.cycleworld.com/story/motorcycle-reviews/2021-harley-davidson-pan-america-1250-special-first-ride-review/

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