2020 H-D Pan America

6th November 2019

Revolution Max | Adventure bike | 1,250cc 

◄PREVIOUS STORY                     NEXT STORY►

Is this the ugliest Harley-Davidson ever? We can't decide. One moment we think it looks like something you might cobble together with Lego and propel with a rubber band. And the next moment we take a step back and squint and nod and think; You know, they just might have something there...

And while we're mulling over this poser, we'll tell you that this bike is the new prototype 1,250cc Pan America sledgehammer that H-D is hoping to help crack open the adventure bike market.

Powered by a 1,250cc variant of the new Revolution Max engine (as used on the equally new 975cc Harley-Davidson Bronx), this 60-degree, liquid-cooled V-twin dirt devil is looking to develop 145 horsepower with 90lb-ft of torque. These numbers, take note, are aspirational rather than confirmed because the engineers are evidently still twiddling dyno knobs and stuff whilst playing catch up with the marketeers.

The bike is currently being ogled at the EICMA show, and Milwaukee isn't giving too much away. But it's odds on that this will be a divisive motorcycle that risks much derision from the established adventure bike community—and at the moment it's certainly hard to see how H-D can possibly make any significant dents in this sector. Milwaukee is years behind, after all, and to a greater or lesser extent it's fighting against its core identity as a builder of cool and heavyweight heritage cruisers.

Except that a new generation of potential buyers are out there somewhere (notably in the Far East); guys and girls who are more progressive than the old guard and who are coming of age in a world of 500cc and 750cc Street models and electric Livewires. So from that starting point, the Pan America isn't such a great leap.

But for anyone currently in their forties or fifties, the Pan America is probably something of a lost cause. Then again, Harley-Davidson motorcycles (like most bikes) look a lot better up close, and in the Orient, the brand is very highly regarded.

We hope that Milwaukee manages to plant its flag firmly on a chunk of this territory. But we'll reserve judgement until we see one up close and take one for a blast.

Check Sump Classic Bike News July 2019 for more on this bike

◄PREVIOUS STORY                     NEXT STORY►