panned the pan american ...it may surprise you

[minkyhead]

im not going into any real detail theres a gazzillion of usful videos about the gadgets spec and all of that

i never had any intention of getting it for off road ...long story short i rode the special ..nice suspension .as fast as fu''k ...ktm boys and sports bike boys wont feel shortchanged it revs hard and instant ...motor is probably just what you expect from a 150hp vee twin
its managable the weight really isnt glaring at you some of the switch gear is meeeeh the high dip switch is plain silly ......anyway the main thing i want is good riding expieriance all the rest is subjective
the ride quality handing cornering stability and confort are right up there ...underpinned by that monster vee it hits hard and revs as quick as any four ive ever owned ....brakes are ace ....it really surprised me

i had the shit green colour but all id say is if you want a alternative to the big adv tourers its a worth a punt for a test ride ....first time in 64 years ive ever been in a harley dealers and ...this was the most unharley like harley ive ever come accross ...i like it

shit video i were only out 1.5 hours and half of that was stuck on the ring road but i got a taste for it and it wasnt bitter

[bikenav]

surprised, especially about what your saying about the engine, if I get the chance I will try one. thanks for your headsup.

[daveuprite]

Isn't it great being surprised by a bike? But if HD can produce something good, why haven't they bothered until now? Because they know that their adoring masses will buy any old overpriced chromey crap they churn out decade after decade. It's about time they made an effort and good to see.

Especially interesting to hear about the engine. I love V-twins but their character varies so much, and the really fun ones are those that spin up quick and rev hard. It's a bit ironic that HD finally gets its engine right just before the petrol engine is consigned to history!

[minkyhead]

yes very surprising package ...you really will have to be a pretty handy rider on a pretty handy bike to get in front of one ..if you have ever ridden a sv 650 motor it reminds me of that but of course way faster ..slow of fast its fuelled perfect ....this probably gives a better idea ..as long as its robust that engine is without doubt a home run as the yanks will say

[minkyhead]

Isn't it great being surprised by a bike? But if HD can produce something good, why haven't they bothered until now? Because they know that their adoring masses will buy any old overpriced chromey crap they churn out decade after decade. It's about time they made an effort and good to see.

Especially interesting to hear about the engine. I love V-twins but their character varies so much, and the really fun ones are those that spin up quick and rev hard. It's a bit ironic that HD finally gets its engine right just before the petrol engine is consigned to history!

what he said

[NeilM]

I had a really good look over a Pan America today and a couple of things struck me.

First, it isn't nearly as big as it looks on line and in the video's... oh it's big, but it's not 1250GSA / Africa Twin big, at least not tall. Second, it is a really well thought out and well detailed bike. Everything is there, where you need it and nothing more.

I know this sounds obvious, but so many modern bikes seem to have every spare inch jammed full of bit'n'bobs and electronic wizardry. There is a certain amount of that with the Pan Am I was looking at, but it just appeared to have all that was necessary, and nothing more.

At the same dealers I had a look at a couple of 1250GSA's and they are a piece of art, but my word they look big and top heavy.

I didn't get to ask any questions about either bike, there was a salesman sat at a desk, but he was on his computer.... why are showroom salesmen seemingly always on a computer? There was another guy with a HD shirt on, dealing with a customer, a lady putting out merch and another guy dealing with a rider just back from trying a Ducati, but that was it so not exactly heaving.

I may well book a ride on a Pan Am, after ten or fifteen minutes looking at it from pretty much all angles... I'm liking what I saw.

[Pint Master]

Rode one at the ABR Festival good off-road engine and gearbox were fine suspension wasn't brilliant but God its an ugly bastard couldn't face opening the garage door to be faced by that.

[lancashirelad]

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