First Ride: 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250

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To paraphrase the immortal Marshall McLuhan, the motor is the motorcycle. It always has been. I mean, the name is a dead giveaway, right? Motor. Cycle. A motor in a cycle, or if you prefer a different emphasis, a cycle with a motor. Either way, the motor is the central character in the cycle.

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Contrast that with the automobile. It used to be called the motorcar back in the day to distinguish it from the horse-drawn carriage. But as soon as the internal combustion engine became commonplace the distinction was dropped.

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The point I am trying to make is that the engine is the lead actor in whatever two-wheeled play you’ve bought into. Ditto the jet aircraft and the motorboat, their engines either no longer central to the plot or having become so homogenous as to be indistinguishable. Seriously, who, other than an aircraft mechanic, can tell a Rolls-Royce twin-shaft, two-stage turbofan from a Pratt & Whitney geared, high-bypass turbofan?

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But only a complete dunderhead would mistake a mistake an Indian Thunder Stroke for a Ducati Testatretta even though both are, technically, V-twins. Indeed if you have even an ounce of passion for motorcycles you know that V-twins are grunty and inline fours scream, that parallel twins are cheap little runabouts while V4s are big-buck MotoGP tire-shredders. And even the most casual of observers knows that a Harley sounds like a Miles Davis thumpa-thumpa backbeat. But if the motorcycle screaming by sounds like it’s being chased by the hounds of hell, well then it’s probably some kind of crotch rocket. The point I am trying to make is that the engine is the lead actor in whatever two-wheeled play you’ve bought into.

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None more so than Harley-Davidson’s new Pan America 1250. Yes, all Harley engines perform like they’ve gone to central casting, but unlike any Big Twin, Milwaukee’s new Revolution Max can actually act. From the top of its semi-polished valve covers to the bottom of its oil sump, the 1250 is truly — and, yes I am talking about Harley! — innovative.

First there’s the fact that Harley has found a way to combine a modern four-valve, finger-follower, double overhead camshaft valve train with hydraulic valve adjusters. That means — and I believe this is a first for DOHC motorcycle engines — the Pan America will never need a valve adjustment. Ducati recently made a big stink that its new Multistrada V4 will only need shim changes at 60,000 klicks. The new Harley doesn’t even have a shim to change. Throw in a semi-wet sump oiling system that separates the oil sump from the main crankcase and a completely variable valve timing — not the basic on-off system BMW boasts in its ShiftCam — and you have the highest tech motor in the adventure segment.

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It’s also a powerhouse. The company claims 150 horsepower for the new Max engine. I suspect that’s a bit of an understatement. Hit the throttle hard and the Pan America will leave a 1250 GS in its dust and I’m pretty confident it would keep up with Ducati’s Multistrada 1260. Ditto the last KTM 1290 I rode. Take my word for this: The new Pan America is fast. Not fast for a Harley. Just fast.

It’s also charismatic, literally bubbling with personality. First off, thanks to Milwaukee’s mixing 30-degree offset crankpins and twin balance shafts — one in the crankcase driven from the crankshaft; the other up top, driven from the cam — the Revolution Max somehow manages to be glass smooth when cruising at a steady speed, yet quake in anticipation when you really pin it. Comfort for the long haul; positive reinforcement when you’re on it.

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Even the way the 60-degree V-twin makes power is nothing short of eye-opening. Oh, there’s no surprise that it’s grunty all the way down to 2,500 rpm. It is a Harley, after all. The mid-range passing power will perk your ears up a bit, though, even sixth gear failing to blunt the big twin’s edge. The exhaust note hardens and the digital speedo starts doing a dance as pixels try to keep pace with power.

But, it’s what happens at about 6,500 rpm that really gets your attention. Just when you think the darned things going to plateau — it is, again, a Harley after all — that the big cams kick in and the Pan America starts acting like a Panigale on the back straight on Misano. The front end goes light, the handlebars might start to wag a little and, for the first time in my 37-year motorcycle-testing career, I was actually wishing a Harley-Davidson had a quickshifter.

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And, just to wet your whistle a little more, I think there’s more if Harley would fully unleash the beast. I can tell you for a fact — and don’t even bother asking me how I know — that the Revolution Max continues making power past its 9,000 rpm redline. In fact, were it not for its 9,300 rpm rev limiter the 1250 would assuredly make more power than its advertised 150-hp. How much is anyone’s guess, but there’s more to this engine than Harley is saying.

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As for the rest of the Pan America, the chassis plays a pretty good supporting role to the engine’s lead. Like the motor, it too has a defining innovation. In this case, it’s called Adaptive Ride Height (ARH). For those not familiar with adventure touring motorcycles, their major sticking point is seat height. To accommodate the long-travel suspension that distinguishes them from ordinary touring motorcycles — and gives them the off-road ability that adds the “adventure” to their touring abilities — they are burdened with very tall seats. If you’re under 5-foot-10, you simply can’t plant your feet securely on the ground at a stoplight.

Harley-Davidson solves this problem by simply— and by simply, I mean why didn’t someone think of this sooner — lowering the suspension as the Pan America comes to a stop. So, while the regular Pan Am’s seat height is a tallish 807 millimetres from terra firma, sidle up to a stoplight on a Special and the beast hunkers down to a much more manageable 772-mm. The difference is startling. Where competitors like BMW’s GS or Triumph’s Tiger 1200 have even my 5-foot-11 frame on tippy-toes, stoplights on a Pan America have both my Dainese Torque Outs flat on the floor. The only downside is that ARH is only available on the upmarket Special models ($24,199).

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It is the best engine in the adventure-touring segment.

Said Special edition also includes automatically-adjusting, variable damping suspension, not to mention a tire pressure monitoring system and an LED light that projects into corners. Like so many motorcycles, the main advantage of the computer-controlled suspenders — besides being essential for adding the ARH system — is their ability to adjust preload automatically when you add luggage and/or a passenger. If you don’t often ride two-up or need the seat lowering system, the standard Pan America 1250 ($20,999) will do just fine.

That’s because it handles well, has a decent seat and passable wind protection. The digital display is a doddle to use with easily manipulated submenus. The brakes — Brembo calipers, discs and master cylinders — need more bedding in than most, but once all the surfaces are mated the front four-piston monoblocks are more than capable of stoppies. And yes, all you serious adventurers, there’s an Off-Road Plus mode disables the rear ABS system — as well as de-linking front and rear brakes — so you can slide the rear tire at will.

Add it all up and the Pan America is a state-of-the-art adventure touring motorcycle with handling, comfort and features equal to the best in the segment. But the highlight is the Revolution Max motor. It is the best engine in the adventure-touring segment. Hell, it may be the best engine in all of motorcycling. It most certainly is my new favourite.