Harold Olaf Cecil rides demo Harley-Davidson Pan America at Giant Loop Ride
Finally! Rode the Harley-Davidson Pan America last weekend at the 10th Annual Giant Loop Ride – first ADV event on the H-D Pan America Demo Tour. Congratulations to the H-D team for creating a legit adventure touring machine that compares well with other high performance twin cylinder ADV bikes. Muscular, comfortable and smooth with good wind protection and a host of modern electronic features, the Pan America on the highway is a pleasure. But the real question on everyone’s mind: How does it do off the pavement? Thankfully, H-D understands how important this is to the ADV market, so they allowed their demo team to set up a basic professional test course, with a cone slalom, tight circle, short single track and hard acceleration/hard braking area. I’ve ridden twin cylinder adventure bikes since 2010 – BMW, KTM, Honda, etc. – and the Pan America will hold its own against any of them in the terrain 90% of the market will tackle (dirt, gravel and paved roads). Surprisingly light and nimble feeling, the Pan America “wears its weight well” with a low center of gravity and responsive steering touch. Although it lacks some of the ground clearance and suspension legs of other ADV bikes, the welcome trade-off is a lower seat height that will appeal to many riders who are not comfortable with only one foot at a time reaching the ground. The automatic ride height adjustment feature is going to be very popular. I’m so pleased to see H-D offer not just a passable but rather a truly excellent entry into the adventure touring motorcycle market! Go ride it before you judge it!