2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 First Ride Review: Bruce Banner In Hulk’s Skin

Is Harley’s first adventure bike as impressive as the bike maker’s majestic lineage?

Off-road riding is a tricky affair and I’ve had my fair share of falls in the brief experience that I’ve had on a closed-off-road circuit.

As a result, when I got the chance to ride the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 on one such tight course (made mostly for bikes like Hero Xpulse 200,) all I had were jitters and a lot of anxiety, considering this would be my first ever experience aboard a full-blown 245kg, 1000cc+ adventure motorcycle.

Lucky for me, though, the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 turned out to be Bruce Banner rather than an angry Hulk, to my surprise, leaving a long-lasting spell on me.

Oh, and since I rode the bike on a closed circuit, I couldn’t really fiddle around with the settings or exploit the full engine potential of the bike, so please excuse me for that. Anyway, here are my thoughts from the brief, but soul-pleasing experience with Harley-Davidson’s first-ever adventure bike.

2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 First Ride Review: Bruce Banner In Hulk’s Skin

• Year: 2021
• Make: Harley-Davidson
• Engine: inline-2
• Displacement: 1252 cc
• Price: INR 1690000
• Price: Luxury

Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 First Ride Review – The Visual Aspect

In fact, the Pan America inspires so much confidence that even an averagely experienced rider like me can do this with ease

The brawny fascia with the broad LED headlight makes the bike look quite mean, a trait I appreciate on big bikes.

When the Pan America 1250 came out, the opinions about its design were a mixed bag. Many liked the brawny appearance, while others thought it was a little too “Harley” like, bulky, and simply not as striking to look as its competition.

Personally, I like the Pan America’s design. Sure, we’ve been spoiled by radical ADVs nowadays like the KTM 1290 Adventure or the Ducati Multistrada V4, but considering Harley-Davidson’s lineage, the Pan America 1250 fits just right and looks the part.

Why such electronics? Well, they’ve been employed to help you tame the 150 horses and they work quite well too

The Hulk-like angry fascia, though, isn’t complemented by an aggressive tail end, as the rear looks quite small on what is an overall large bike. It does, however, boast a similar pattern as the headlight, something you’ll notice only if you look closely.

Speaking of “large”, the bike feels that way when you swing a leg too. You sit a little sunk in and the huge windscreen along with the big TFT and tall handlebar make the cockpit quite roomy. The finish levels on the bike are quite acceptable with only a few plastics feeling slightly flimsy. The TFT animations, however, aren’t very smooth, at least during the startup.

Like the design, the cockpit is impressive too and greets you with a big TFT instrument cluster laden with all modern electronics you can think of

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, the seat height does feel tall and if you’re 5’8 or below, you will struggle to flat foot, which makes life hard on uneven terrain. To counter this, Harley-Davidson does sell an Adaptive Seat Height module separately, which makes the ride height drop by nearly 20mm automatically once the bike comes to a halt. Pretty cool, right?

Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 First Ride Review – Riding Experience

Before riding the bike, I was quite intimidated by the Pan America’s juicy Revolution Max 1250 engine. After all, the Pan America is one of the most powerful Harley-Davidsons ever with 150+PS and 127Nm on tap

However, the reality was a bit different, with emphasis on “bit”.

And in case you are gutsy enough to switch the electronics off, the Pan America’s exceptional throttle calibration makes helps you slide around in a very predictable manner

As soon as I released the clutch, it felt as if I was on a completely different motorcycle. The Hulk-like beast, with intentions to Hulk-smash you to death, had suddenly become a friendly, well-behaved Bruce Banner.

You see, the Pan America’s meaty motor, though super torquey and powerful, is counterbalanced and feels very smooth on the go. This, in turn, makes the whole bike feel quite poised and, dare I say, “tameable”.

Now, don’t get the wrong impression here, as smooth and friendly as the Pan America 1250 maybe, it still packs more than enough power to throw you off and make your heart skip a beat if you give it the full beans. And this is exactly why the bike comes replete with top-spec electronics like ride modes, switchable traction control, cornering ABS, and engine brake control, the works.

Why such electronics? Well, they’ve been employed to help you tame the 150 horses and they work quite well too

All this is topped off by an admirably well-calibrated throttle which lets you slide around in a predictable yet super fun manner. Only after switching the TC to its lowest setting or completely off, though.

The only major gripe with the engine, for me, would be heat management. The engine and the exhaust pipes are all exposed which get super hot and can easily burn your pant or boot. Not to mention, this gets even worse when ridden in the hot weather like the ongoing summer in Delhi, where I got to take the bike for a spin.

What makes the Pan America truly impressive to ride, though, is its exception ability to mask its 245kg kerb weight

Circling back to the riding, another thing that makes life easier is the bike’s stand-up riding posture. As soon as you get up from the sunk-down seat, you immediately get into a commanding position, as if you’re on a chariot, ready to give orders, but with 150 horses at your disposal.

Additionally, the feet are well placed on the pegs (which get removable rubber inserts) and the tall, wide handlebar gives excellent leverage without making your arms feel stretched. Plus, all the controls (clutch, brakes, gear lever, and rear brake) are easily reachable, making slow-speed maneuvering a breeze. If you do feel a little stretched, the bike has adjustable clutch and brake, making things easier for all kinds of rider.

Last year, Harley-Davidson unveiled its first-ever ADV, the Pan America 1250, and I recently took it for a spin. Here are my first impressions

As likable as all this is, the highlight for me here was how well the Pan America 1250 masks its weight. You’d expect a 245kg motorcycle to be sluggish or at least hard to muscle around a tight off-road course, but the Pan America is completely the opposite.

It feels as if the moment you get it going, all the bike’s heft vanishes and it shifts into a lightweight mode letting you play around and direct it in any direction, especially at slow speeds where weight is usually the party-pooper. However, all the 250-odd-kgs do come alive as soon as the bike comes to halt and I can confirm this quite well, considering I had to move it out of a gravel pit post getting stuck.

Like what you see? Well, there’s a full version of this review too which you can read by swiping up.

Touching upon the suspension, the overall setup was quite pliant, but I did experience a little thudding on hard, sharp rocks. This could have a negative impact on the Pan America’s stock alloy wheels, but it’s highly unlikely that you’ll face such terrain on a regular basis, so no need to fret.

Also, since the tarmac was only dirt, barely any front anchors were needed. However, I did have a riot with the sharp rear brake which provided excellent feedback while locking the rear wheel.

Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 First Ride Review – Final Thoughts

The Pan America 1250 may be the company’s first full-blown ADV motorcycle but it’s so good that it makes you question if Harley has been secretly building ADVs for ages.

Add to this the bike’s starting price tag of Rs 16.90 lakh (ex-showroom), which undercuts both the Ducati Multistrada V4 and the BMW R 1250 GS by a substantial chunk, makes this a package worth considering if plan to pan (pun intended) across cities and even countries.

Finally, I’d like to thank Capital Harley-Davidson Delhi for organizing this event and trusting me with their motorcycle. Looking forward to more of these. *wink wink*

Keyword: 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 First Ride Review: Bruce Banner In Hulk’s Skin