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First Weekend in May!


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35 minutes ago, Earache said:

Figures you'd get one before us. Did you see in person? Opinions?

 

They has just uncrated it so the fairing wasn’t complete, it looked good though, the motor looks weird, sits quite low but I understand the suspension raises as you set off. Edinburgh Harley are getting theirs shortly so will lend me it for an afternoon.

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12 minutes ago, Buckster said:

Edinburgh Harley are getting theirs shortly so will lend me it for an afternoon.

I don't suppose......??

No.....probably not!

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3 hours ago, Earache said:

I give up!  I've been to 4 HD dealerships over the past weekend trying to see the new Pan America. None of them have it and have heard no rumors as to when it might show up. One sales guy didn't even  know hat I was talking about.

Got a cool shirt for @Buckster though. Size XXXXXXL, too!

The HD dealer here sent an ‘invite’ to go see it when it arrived, if you wanna see it bad maybe stick your name on their mailing list. 

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23 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

The HD dealer here sent an ‘invite’ to go see it when it arrived, if you wanna see it bad maybe stick your name on their mailing list. 

Just a bit of a hike to get over there to see it. Still, might be worth it.

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signed up to ride it mid-May, in Lake Elsinore.  Been reading lots of good reviews about it.  Except the front end 🙂

 

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5 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Now thats a ride Id really like to hear a report on 👍

will do.

 

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22 hours ago, Tym said:

Great name for a dirt bike! 

🤓

what a coincidence they are testing them there 🙂

 

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so, probably should go in Second Weekend in May thread, but i did mention checking out the new Harley Pan America here.  Couldnt wait any longer, as the local dealer got two on Thursday.  Friday, took a long lunch to go drool over new bikes (even if they are HDs)  The first one in was a black Special Edition (includes ride modes, center stand, and other things i forget for now).  That bike had a deposit, but the dealer never got an answer from the deposit holder, so as of yesterday (Saturday) it was available to anyone. IMG_3335.thumb.JPG.d5897933b6a07d67cd3319fb4860f0fe.JPG

Salesman took me and my buddy in the shop and showed us their demo, the orange and white one.  In pics, those colors never looked appealing.  In person, everything changes.  The front doesnt looks a wonky and the orange is a great color!

Went back yesterday (saturday) and got a quick pavement only ride on the demo.  Very impressive effort, considering this being a entirely new genre for HD (ignoring Buell for the moment).   They should be proud of their efforts.   Motor is good and i'm looking forward to riding it again in two weeks, in sport mode.

 

IMG_3341.thumb.JPG.4b7b07e76eb778640d2598e9ca198c83.JPG

 

IMG_3343.thumb.JPG.c471789cb28136070bc547e767d0f1c4.JPGIMG_3340.thumb.JPG.22a2364045d8198c16ad14f5e3622277.JPGIMG_3337.thumb.JPG.b96f7bf706c39b7610e47bd874e784bb.JPGCYFM4512.thumb.JPG.52d04fe52aa139177fdba9b2f985ed3f.JPG

 

Initial thoughts:

Cracking up on the HD labeled Anakee Adventure tires.  Like that the wheels are same size as on the GS, so tire options are plenty.

Engine noise is throaty and pleasing.

Lots of buttons on the handgrips, will take a while to learn them all.

Fonts on digital display are a little small, but you can use of the buttons to scroll thru the info, with is showing in the center of the display with each push.

Quality seems really good.  

Handle bars remind me of a KTM - narrow than a GS.

It feels lighter than a GS, especially when sitting on it and rocking it back and forth.

Suspension felt soft, but i wasnt allowed to mess with many settings.  I'm sure the Sport setting is nice and firm.

The auto-lowering suspension was interesting and a great feature for height challenged.

Dealer staff seem out of their element in trying to sell it.  (Understandable, and not a complaint).  We spent more time educating the salesman about why some features are on it.   

HD will use Revit gear, which looks really good.  This is another point where the salesman was lost.  During training on the bikes, gear and accessories, he was shocked about the price of the adventure gear.  He is used to selling $200 -$300 jackets, and whatever assless chaps go for.  I assured him that us Power Rangers generally dont have a problem spending $1500 to $2000 on good, safe riding gear (pants and jackets).

overall, i would say the Pan America is 90% of a GS.  That could change after the factory ride in two weeks.

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13 minutes ago, alfalfa said:

so, probably should go in Second Weekend in May thread, but i did mention checking out the new Harley Pan America here.  Couldnt wait any longer, as the local dealer got two on Thursday.  Friday, took a long lunch to go drool over new bikes (even if they are HDs)  The first one in was a black Special Edition (includes ride modes, center stand, and other things i forget for now).  That bike had a deposit, but the dealer never got an answer from the deposit holder, so as of yesterday (Saturday) it was available to anyone. IMG_3335.thumb.JPG.d5897933b6a07d67cd3319fb4860f0fe.JPG

Salesman took me and my buddy in the shop and showed us their demo, the orange and white one.  In pics, those colors never looked appealing.  In person, everything changes.  The front doesnt looks a wonky and the orange is a great color!

Went back yesterday (saturday) and got a quick pavement only ride on the demo.  Very impressive effort, considering this being a entirely new genre for HD (ignoring Buell for the moment).   They should be proud of their efforts.   Motor is good and i'm looking forward to riding it again in two weeks, in sport mode.

 

IMG_3341.thumb.JPG.4b7b07e76eb778640d2598e9ca198c83.JPG

 

IMG_3343.thumb.JPG.c471789cb28136070bc547e767d0f1c4.JPGIMG_3340.thumb.JPG.22a2364045d8198c16ad14f5e3622277.JPGIMG_3337.thumb.JPG.b96f7bf706c39b7610e47bd874e784bb.JPGCYFM4512.thumb.JPG.52d04fe52aa139177fdba9b2f985ed3f.JPG

 

Initial thoughts:

Cracking up on the HD labeled Anakee Adventure tires.  Like that the wheels are same size as on the GS, so tire options are plenty.

Engine noise is throaty and pleasing.

Lots of buttons on the handgrips, will take a while to learn them all.

Fonts on digital display are a little small, but you can use of the buttons to scroll thru the info, with is showing in the center of the display with each push.

Quality seems really good.  

Handle bars remind me of a KTM - narrow than a GS.

It feels lighter than a GS, especially when sitting on it and rocking it back and forth.

Suspension felt soft, but i wasnt allowed to mess with many settings.  I'm sure the Sport setting is nice and firm.

The auto-lowering suspension was interesting and a great feature for height challenged.

Dealer staff seem out of their element in trying to sell it.  (Understandable, and not a complaint).  We spent more time educating the salesman about why some features are on it.   

HD will use Revit gear, which looks really good.  This is another point where the salesman was lost.  During training on the bikes, gear and accessories, he was shocked about the price of the adventure gear.  He is used to selling $200 -$300 jackets, and whatever assless chaps go for.  I assured him that us Power Rangers generally dont have a problem spending $1500 to $2000 on good, safe riding gear (pants and jackets).

overall, i would say the Pan America is 90% of a GS.  That could change after the factory ride in two weeks.

It looks good!

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5 hours ago, Tym said:

Thanks for the write up @alfalfa! Cant wait to see one leave the ground!

My buddy, Matt took one for a test ride in Ohio. There are rumors it had the front wheel leave the ground (he is the friend on my KTM in Baja that has a hard time keeping it on two wheels).   I need to find the video of him in Mongolia, during the GS Trophy competition.  They have a long shot of the group transiting a stage across the desert, when one bike rares back on the rear wheel at about 60 and rides off 🙂

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5 hours ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

Certainly looks better in black in the photos 

Yes, it does.  i also like the grey model.  Truth be told, the orange/white looks really good in person.

image.png.7c3b4115671d29aabd2bf35792efeb61.png

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