DON’T IGNORE THE LOW LOW PLACEMENT OF THE BATTERY (Behind the front wheel mounted too low for serious off roading) ALSO GAS TANK MUST BE REMOVED TO CLEAN/REPLACE AIR FILTER
I test rode the bike here in Florida at a local Fort Myers Dealership, it was nice to ride, nimble and fun... it is missing a couple of key features such as the QuickShifter and Blipper, but the biggest FAILURE is that the Dealer Network is GOUGING on the price by adding $5000 to the cost. Gouging is what makes the Dealership experience disappointing. The other let down being in Florida is the the heat coming off of the engine is still a bit uncomfortable.
On the tech side, one thing they forgot is a quick shifter. I'm not sold on the Fred Flintstone headlight, but maybe could get used to it. Overall a surprisingly good effort from Harley to offer a modern Adv at a reasonable price.
great review. I picked mine up in May and it is still generating "perma-grin" on every ride. If a Japanese company had made this bike, it would be an impressive bike, but for HD to engineer/design it is absolutely amazing.
The Special doesn't actually come with the auto lowering suspension feature, which costs $1,000 extra. The spoked wire wheels are also an optional extra at $500 for the Special and much more if added to the base model. I enjoyed testing it for my own Channel. Nice review overall guys, keep up the good work!
It's not exactly the Road Glide with the V-Rod engine in full tour equipment they could have built back then. But this one has your dirt road capability once you put a stage 3 front fender on it.
I realise that this may not appeal to traditional Harley riders who like a noisy V twin. You can still buy the traditional Harley but this will introduce other riders - me included. My first trip to a Harley dealer coming up tomorrow.
Harley Davison motorcycles has gone electric (failed) and go "adventure" bike. The company Harley-David (HD) has been trying a lot of different things to survive. Sadly most motorcyclist born these days don't like Harley unreliability, Harley culture, and Harley NO-customer service. I, personally will never understand the HD sales people that treat potential buyer with snottiness & many time just ignore the possible customer. Happy _Labor Day!_
I'm pretty sure it's still coming! They're using this as the test mule for the platform and the engine, once they're sure of it they'll start spamming variants 😂
I've had an M8 Heritage Classic and a 2020 Road Glide. Great motors, not much to complain about. They changed the oil requirements so you can actually get the 2 oils from Amsoil with a filter in a kit for $99 CDN.
I own the 2018 1200 GS, and although the Harley rode well enough it isn’t in the same league as my GS, I got off the Harley and then rode my GS. The BMW is much better in weight balance, acceleration, gear selection (has quick shift and blipper). The overall feeling of the BMW is higher quality. The HD was good, the rider triangle was nice, but in Florida the heat off of the engine was still a bit much, would be good up North.
I had a 2019 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S. I loved that bike. It had a great punch of acceleration. The Pan America has a different kind of acceleration. It is sneaky fast. I realized that the smooth engine gets going without a lot of effort. It seems just as fast, but it is smooth like the Africa Twin was with a lot more power. I decided on the Pan America because I chose not to get a warranty on the KTM and with 6,500 miles I had MTC and ABS failures. I was happy that it still had the two year manufacturers warranty, but I realized after calling around that I had no choice about getting it taken care of. There are not enough techs in my area to deal with Euro bikes. There are Harley Davidson dealerships everywhere. I think all of us adventure riders are going to benefit from Harley coming out with this bike. BTW, it is by far the most comfortable bike. I have tested The GS Adventures, owned the AT, owned the 1290 SAS. This is by far the most comfortable.
It's not a Harley. It's a new technology, BMW, KTM like bike. It's not made to please the "frozen chozen" old school Harley riders who have held The Motor Co. in "crusier" tail spin for 118 years. HD breaking out of that mold but is it soon enough.
@TFLbike Alex, I see you are wearing Five gloves. Do you like them? Having a hard time settling on some cooler weather gloves. I see they make an awesome adv glove TPX1.
I’m sure they’ll get there soon. Especially trying to keep up with the euro stands and the epa. Rumor is they are redesigning the sportster with that new revolution max motor
@@electric7487 I was afraid of a vmax,but that was when I was a new rider.Now,if I could find a new one(old stock) I'd buy it immediately.Sorry to see it go.
Only time will tell how reliable is that engine !!! that is my only worry if I will buy this motorcycle other than that bike looks great . It's really refreshing to see something different.
Nice review! Could you tell me something about the amount of heat that’s generated in the area around your right leg…? Some are mentioning this as an adverse side-affect of the exhaust -system situated close to the right side of the body? My KTM 1090 adv generates lots of heat between my legs ( especially when the temperatures go up in the summertime) ; just keep riding is the only solution 😉 in my opinion! The HD is a new gem on the market, I will certainly have a look at it in the future ! 🏍
Kudos to HD for getting outside their comfort zone, again. Looks like it could be a lot of fun if you dig the looks of it. The orange reminds me of KTM, I would probably pick that instead. But reality is that once I get tired of trashing 1290 I would eventually be found sitting on a GS... :))
Just as a reminder, Harley (with Porsche engineering) started this engine design in 2001. Transmission, engine case, and lifter design is new, but it is otherwise (mostly) unchanged.
*Observations* Harley Davison motorcycles has gone electric (failed) and now going "adventure" bike (possible fail too). The company Harley-David (HD) has been trying a lot of different things to survive. Sadly most motorcyclist born these days don't like Harley *_unreliability,_* Harley culture, and Harley NO-customer service. I, personally will never understand the HD sales people that treat potential buyers with snottiness & many times just ignore the possible customer. Happy _Labor Day!_
Only a decade and change behind the Euro and Japanese bikes with an Adventure Bike. Almost 40 decades behind with self adjusting valves. 30 years behind with CVVT.
Harley has been doing self adjusting valves for a long time on their other v-twins and they get bashed for it. Self adjusting valves don’t like high RPM and has been limited to around 8000 RPM so it has been more at home on cars so nice most of them don’t rev that high. Which bikes had CVVT 30 years ago? Honda did a version of VTEC on the VFR in the early 2000’s and Kawasaki did it on the Concours14 in 2008. More bikes are adopting it now, but only in the past few years. I am not a fan of the Panamerica, but it looks like a very serious attempt at the competition. I just hope that Harley dealerships are more accepting than they were of Buell.
40 decades? They aren’t that far behind anybody else. That’s like 400 years! What motorcycle manufacturer was putting CVVT on their bikes 30 years ago? Honda did a weird version on their VFR in 2002 or 2003, but it wasn’t really variable in that it just didn’t open a set of valves at low rpm. My 2000 VFR had enough power and I thought the new system was overly complicated. In 2008, Kawasaki put VVT on the Concours14 that actually rotated the intake cam to change power characteristics and several other models from various manufacturers have come along since. I wish them great success, but it isn’t for me.
Is still HD i.e. expensive product they're happy to sell, service will be $$$, and when issues arise you'll be lucky to either get it solved satisfactorily and/or walking out with the shirt still on your back. Indian has made some unique offerings but have copied HD in this one unfortunate characteristic; they both have frustrating dealerships who are wallet vampires. I've recently moved on to the companies who take care of their customers and have zero regrets...
@@Random-ed2xf Apples and oranges. That 650 isn’t going to replace a big touring bike like BMW R1250GS but a Pan Am might. Completely Different target audience. Not fair to compare New against used either. Is it mainly for Status? Maybe but all the big adventure machine makers are selling them As fast as they can produce. BMW wants in on The MoCos Cruiser/ Bagger Sales, now Harley is firing back at BMW‘s bread n butter GS. If Harley made a smaller lighter cheaper Pan Am to take in those 650 or 850 sized it’d surely get BMW‘s attention. An 975 based adventure with these features would be stiff competition for the S1000XR.
@@Random-ed2xf apples n oranges. The big adventure bikes are two up plus bags touring machines. That KLR is fine for solo riding without bags on or off road.
First you said it was good for short guys like you. Then you said you were 5'10" in my book that is not short. So what is the seat height? I'm 5'6" and most girls I know are even shorter. Can we ride one of these? I need a seat height of 28" or less which puts me out of 99% of the bikes they make today.
The additional dealer mark-up in my area is about 4 to 5 thousand dollars. I test rode one and really liked it but told the salesperson I wasn't interested in paying the premium.
I feel like this bike is going to help KTM sell a lot of 1290's ; ) Props to Harley for thinking outside the box though, and I hope to take a spin on one someday
Nice head light design, as round lights will always be a nostalgic favorite, but then we haven't ran carriage lamps on a cars in a while. 🤔 Yeah things do change, wouldn't surprise me if the new lighting makes it visibly safer, as it's 😎 Visibly cooler. This Internship is over, as these are cool young credible journalist, so keep them busy TFL👍🏻
if i could afford anything like that id very much like it slightly weid headlight is just a good conversation starter and even more when you the them its a harley....
Finally a modern American ADV motorcycle, and of course it comes from Harley Davidson! The trend setters. Now maybe Indian can come along and build an ADV bike and totally copy the PA🤣🤣. It’s awesome to see the motor company not afraid to take chances and expand their lineups and go right for the throat in this super competitive and extremely demanding segment of motorcycles! Ain’t scared, go big or go home, attitude is definitely the direction Harley went here! BMWho? KTMmmmm🤔? It’s also uniquely Harley Davidson in the looks category and I’m a HUGE fan!! I guess they’ve had two come to Tulsa Oklahoma where I’m at and they never even made it to the showroom floor! Bought before they arrived. Can’t wait to see what else they have planned for the near future, a 975 version I’m sure! Exciting times for Harley Davidson fans. At least for this one.
They won't copy it until Harley stops making it and they can market it as a new thing, like they did when they copied the V-Rod and made the Octane lol
These bikes are NEVER near MSRP. Dealer's jack the prices up to the stratosphere. Like the BMW GS expect to pay 30k++++. These HD's are just cashing in on the adventure market. Adventure market = street riding, but I "LOOK" tough, styling to the max. I'm wondering what the next M/C fad will be coming next.
I was excited for this bike until I test rode it and realized it wasn't much different from my 2014 Ducati Multistrada pikes peak. Harley came so close but missed the mark in my opinion all they did was throw way to much tech at it and missed the mark
I really REALLY wish that Charlie and Ewan would have used these bikes on the last ride they did. Those stupid electric bikes were just a publicity stunt. It got boring fast. I quit watching after like 3 episodes. It was all about just finding the next place to charge.
I’m a Harley guy but if i was getting another adventure bike it probably wouldn’t be this. Way too much tech and potential things to go wrong. And you’d have to sell your children to get it fixed
They need to stop sticking those v-twins in all there bikes. I understand that’s the culture but that culture is dying. If you want to survive... evolve.
Just admit that you hate the look. Most ADVs are fugly anyway, except Multistrada and VFR1200X. Tiger 1200 is debatable. And the fugliness in ADV is actually a feature.
Looks are always subjective. Like it or not I can appreciate HD giving this segment an alternative style wise. They should do well with this bike as long as the dealers are willing to adapt to the customers that corporate is targeting
DON’T IGNORE THE LOW LOW PLACEMENT OF THE BATTERY (Behind the front wheel mounted too low for serious off roading)
ALSO GAS TANK MUST BE REMOVED TO CLEAN/REPLACE AIR FILTER
Thats how it is on my 2014 Ducati Multistrada in fact a most of this bike is like my 2014
Vstrom most BMW bikes are the same but alot easier than taking the tank of my superglide
I test rode the bike here in Florida at a local Fort Myers Dealership, it was nice to ride, nimble and fun... it is missing a couple of key features such as the QuickShifter and Blipper, but the biggest FAILURE is that the Dealer Network is GOUGING on the price by adding $5000 to the cost. Gouging is what makes the Dealership experience disappointing. The other let down being in Florida is the the heat coming off of the engine is still a bit uncomfortable.
I just purchased one at list price, not all HD dealers are thieving their patrons.
On the tech side, one thing they forgot is a quick shifter. I'm not sold on the Fred Flintstone headlight, but maybe could get used to it. Overall a surprisingly good effort from Harley to offer a modern Adv at a reasonable price.
great review. I picked mine up in May and it is still generating "perma-grin" on every ride. If a Japanese company had made this bike, it would be an impressive bike, but for HD to engineer/design it is absolutely amazing.
The Special doesn't actually come with the auto lowering suspension feature, which costs $1,000 extra. The spoked wire wheels are also an optional extra at $500 for the Special and much more if added to the base model. I enjoyed testing it for my own Channel. Nice review overall guys, keep up the good work!
This is my new favorite channel!
It's not exactly the Road Glide with the V-Rod engine in full tour equipment they could have built back then. But this one has your dirt road capability once you put a stage 3 front fender on it.
I realise that this may not appeal to traditional Harley riders who like a noisy V twin.
You can still buy the traditional Harley but this will introduce other riders - me included.
My first trip to a Harley dealer coming up tomorrow.
I think it looks awesome. Great to see Harley get into new territory. Nice features too
Harley Davison motorcycles has gone electric (failed) and go "adventure" bike. The company Harley-David (HD)
has been trying a lot of different things to survive.
Sadly most motorcyclist born these days don't like Harley unreliability, Harley culture, and Harley NO-customer service.
I, personally will never understand the HD sales people that treat potential buyer with snottiness & many time just ignore the possible customer.
Happy _Labor Day!_
I’d much rather see the Bronx return, with the 975 they originally planned for it and this 1250 as a bigger option
and if it was starting under $12,000.
I'm pretty sure it's still coming! They're using this as the test mule for the platform and the engine, once they're sure of it they'll start spamming variants 😂
I have a 2007 Harley Electra... not much tech. How reliable are the newer Harleys? Mechanical & electrical.
I've had an M8 Heritage Classic and a 2020 Road Glide. Great motors, not much to complain about. They changed the oil requirements so you can actually get the 2 oils from Amsoil with a filter in a kit for $99 CDN.
Hopefully the aftermarket will step in to fix that headlight. I believe its a step in the right direction and it's better than I expected.
The adjustable ride height is a win for Harley....It open up to more riders...win for HD
I really enjoyed watching your video. Keep it up 👍🏼
I hope you guys will do a comparison with the BMW GS 1250.Lets see how far Harley Davidson has really come.
I own the 2018 1200 GS, and although the Harley rode well enough it isn’t in the same league as my GS, I got off the Harley and then rode my GS. The BMW is much better in weight balance, acceleration, gear selection (has quick shift and blipper). The overall feeling of the BMW is higher quality. The HD was good, the rider triangle was nice, but in Florida the heat off of the engine was still a bit much, would be good up North.
I had a 2019 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S. I loved that bike. It had a great punch of acceleration. The Pan America has a different kind of acceleration. It is sneaky fast. I realized that the smooth engine gets going without a lot of effort. It seems just as fast, but it is smooth like the Africa Twin was with a lot more power. I decided on the Pan America because I chose not to get a warranty on the KTM and with 6,500 miles I had MTC and ABS failures. I was happy that it still had the two year manufacturers warranty, but I realized after calling around that I had no choice about getting it taken care of. There are not enough techs in my area to deal with Euro bikes. There are Harley Davidson dealerships everywhere. I think all of us adventure riders are going to benefit from Harley coming out with this bike. BTW, it is by far the most comfortable bike. I have tested The GS Adventures, owned the AT, owned the 1290 SAS. This is by far the most comfortable.
It's not a Harley. It's a new technology, BMW, KTM like bike.
It's not made to please the "frozen chozen" old school Harley riders who have held The Motor Co. in "crusier" tail spin for 118 years.
HD breaking out of that mold but is it soon enough.
When illogical brand haters try to give compliments 🤣
@TFLbike Alex, I see you are wearing Five gloves. Do you like them? Having a hard time settling on some cooler weather gloves. I see they make an awesome adv glove TPX1.
The wire-spoke is not for looks but for wheel durability
It’s a winner for me. Tempted by the new Sportster S but the Pan Am just has it all. Not many complaints.
Harley should make all their bikes liquid cooled like this.
I’m sure they’ll get there soon. Especially trying to keep up with the euro stands and the epa. Rumor is they are redesigning the sportster with that new revolution max motor
I agree! I would never buy an air cooled bike after having liquid 👍
They should also make V4-powered cruisers. Yamaha are killing the Vmax, so Harley could fill in this gap with their own V4 power cruiser.
@@electric7487
I was afraid of a vmax,but that was when I was a new rider.Now,if I could find a new one(old stock) I'd buy it immediately.Sorry to see it go.
No. There is a virtue to air cooked bikes.
Only time will tell how reliable is that engine !!! that is my only worry if I will buy this motorcycle other than that bike looks great . It's really refreshing to see something different.
I enjoy TFL Truck, but to find out you have the bike channel is pretty awesome.
A great first effort by HD.I’ll consider buying one when they polish it up in a year or two.
Great looking bike except those burnt pipes. Wish I could join you on that ride coming up. Hope you 2 have a blast tho! Thanks for this review.
Great review guys!
Good looking bike, like the paint and the liquid cooled twin looks great. Great review!
I will check it out at HD dealer tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur
Nice review! Could you tell me something about the amount of heat that’s generated in the area around your right leg…? Some are mentioning this as an adverse side-affect of the exhaust -system situated close to the right side of the body? My KTM 1090 adv generates lots of heat between my legs ( especially when the temperatures go up in the summertime) ; just keep riding is the only solution 😉 in my opinion!
The HD is a new gem on the market, I will certainly have a look at it in the future ! 🏍
How much of this machine is imported? Showa suspension, Brembo brakes, ohlin damper,
Very good report guys.
Kudos to HD for getting outside their comfort zone, again. Looks like it could be a lot of fun if you dig the looks of it. The orange reminds me of KTM, I would probably pick that instead. But reality is that once I get tired of trashing 1290 I would eventually be found sitting on a GS... :))
Love the design!👍👍
Excited to see Harley joining the modern age. I’ll have to look into getting one.
The engine on this bike reminds me of the Honda 1.0 L engine that is in the talon, Africa twin, and pioneer
Just as a reminder, Harley (with Porsche engineering) started this engine design in 2001. Transmission, engine case, and lifter design is new, but it is otherwise (mostly) unchanged.
@@Jk-ot9qm No, it's not a revamped VROD engine.
"𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙, 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙮’𝙨 𝙋𝙖𝙪𝙡 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (𝙑-𝙍𝙤𝙙) 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙓 (𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩) 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣-𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙃𝘿𝙈𝘾 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙪𝙠𝙚𝙚."
www.motorcycle.com/features/more-than-you-probably-wanted-to-know-about-the-harley-davidson-1250-revolution-max-engine.html
very good review. You guys are on a good track. Very impressed with the Pan America, but its out of my price range.
*Observations*
Harley Davison motorcycles has gone electric (failed) and now going "adventure" bike (possible fail too). The company Harley-David (HD)
has been trying a lot of different things to survive.
Sadly most motorcyclist born these days don't like Harley *_unreliability,_* Harley culture, and Harley NO-customer service.
I, personally will never understand the HD sales people that treat potential buyers with snottiness & many times just ignore the possible customer.
Happy _Labor Day!_
What gloves are those?
I want to see a streetbike version with the 1250 Revolution engine ... to compete with the KTM Super Duker.
The Sportster S looks pretty good. Waiting to see what kind of entry level bike they make for the 975 engine
Only a decade and change behind the Euro and Japanese bikes with an Adventure Bike. Almost 40 decades behind with self adjusting valves. 30 years behind with CVVT.
What other adv has self adjusting valves.
Harley has been doing self adjusting valves for a long time on their other v-twins and they get bashed for it. Self adjusting valves don’t like high RPM and has been limited to around 8000 RPM so it has been more at home on cars so nice most of them don’t rev that high. Which bikes had CVVT 30 years ago? Honda did a version of VTEC on the VFR in the early 2000’s and Kawasaki did it on the Concours14 in 2008. More bikes are adopting it now, but only in the past few years. I am not a fan of the Panamerica, but it looks like a very serious attempt at the competition. I just hope that Harley dealerships are more accepting than they were of Buell.
Harley been doing self adjusting valves since the 1950s
40 decades? They aren’t that far behind anybody else. That’s like 400 years! What motorcycle manufacturer was putting CVVT on their bikes 30 years ago? Honda did a weird version on their VFR in 2002 or 2003, but it wasn’t really variable in that it just didn’t open a set of valves at low rpm. My 2000 VFR had enough power and I thought the new system was overly complicated. In 2008, Kawasaki put VVT on the Concours14 that actually rotated the intake cam to change power characteristics and several other models from various manufacturers have come along since. I wish them great success, but it isn’t for me.
Is still HD i.e. expensive product they're happy to sell, service will be $$$, and when issues arise you'll be lucky to either get it solved satisfactorily and/or walking out with the shirt still on your back. Indian has made some unique offerings but have copied HD in this one unfortunate characteristic; they both have frustrating dealerships who are wallet vampires. I've recently moved on to the companies who take care of their customers and have zero regrets...
20k for this just to say you have a Harley. Rather buy Japanese most are in the 7k range and will be reliable.
@@Random-ed2xf your Not going to get a big Adventure for 7k. Price, weight, performance, it’s breathing down BMW’s neck.
@@Random-ed2xf Apples and oranges. That 650 isn’t going to replace a big touring bike like BMW R1250GS but a Pan Am might. Completely Different target audience. Not fair to compare New against used either. Is it mainly for Status? Maybe but all the big adventure machine makers are selling them
As fast as they can produce. BMW wants in on The MoCos Cruiser/ Bagger Sales, now Harley is firing back at BMW‘s bread n butter GS. If Harley made a smaller lighter cheaper Pan Am to take in those 650 or 850 sized it’d surely get BMW‘s attention. An 975 based adventure with these features would be stiff competition for the S1000XR.
@@Random-ed2xf apples n oranges. The big adventure bikes are two up plus bags touring machines. That KLR is fine for solo riding without bags on or off road.
@@Random-ed2xf Apples n oranges dude. The large Adventure bikes aren’t the biggest segment that’s still growing for no reason.
In my opinion they dropped the ball not using a drive shaft. I would want this bike if it had one
First you said it was good for short guys like you. Then you said you were 5'10" in my book that is not short. So what is the seat height? I'm 5'6" and most girls I know are even shorter. Can we ride one of these? I need a seat height of 28" or less which puts me out of 99% of the bikes they make today.
I’m your same height and felt very comfortable on the special with the seat in the lower position.
Says allot more about the quality of euro adv bikes imo.
Most people that buy these things never go anywhere near adv riding.
Wait until the dealers plug in their prices - then the run will turn the other way
The additional dealer mark-up in my area is about 4 to 5 thousand dollars. I test rode one and really liked it but told the salesperson I wasn't interested in paying the premium.
the poor dealer experience will turn a lot of ppl off imo
My dealer. Is awesome.Doc's Kirkwood Mo.
MY local dealer is out for a week with his no 2 both on Pans doing a big tour so he will know all about them
I feel like this bike is going to help KTM sell a lot of 1290's ; ) Props to Harley for thinking outside the box though, and I hope to take a spin on one someday
Harley did a good job with this bike. Hopefully they make some affordable cruisers with this motor and bring back the Bronx
Probably next year
Interesting bike but base price is ridiculously high for most people. Not a fan of the square styling either.
The thing that stops me looking at this bike is the ugly white aftermarket headlight cowl from the 80's.
Nice head light design, as round lights will always be a nostalgic favorite, but then we haven't ran carriage lamps on a cars in a while. 🤔 Yeah things do change, wouldn't surprise me if the new lighting makes it visibly safer, as it's 😎 Visibly cooler.
This Internship is over, as these are cool young credible journalist, so keep them busy TFL👍🏻
if i could afford anything like that id very much like it slightly weid headlight is just a good conversation starter and even more when you the them its a harley....
Finally a modern American ADV motorcycle, and of course it comes from Harley Davidson! The trend setters. Now maybe Indian can come along and build an ADV bike and totally copy the PA🤣🤣. It’s awesome to see the motor company not afraid to take chances and expand their lineups and go right for the throat in this super competitive and extremely demanding segment of motorcycles! Ain’t scared, go big or go home, attitude is definitely the direction Harley went here! BMWho? KTMmmmm🤔? It’s also uniquely Harley Davidson in the looks category and I’m a HUGE fan!! I guess they’ve had two come to Tulsa Oklahoma where I’m at and they never even made it to the showroom floor! Bought before they arrived. Can’t wait to see what else they have planned for the near future, a 975 version I’m sure! Exciting times for Harley Davidson fans. At least for this one.
They won't copy it until Harley stops making it and they can market it as a new thing, like they did when they copied the V-Rod and made the Octane lol
It's a funny thing how the HD crowd ribs Indian for copying HD...... Then proceeds to copy BMW and KTM 😂
That orange version is hideous, the grey one is quite nice
I'm shocked tbh. Almost wasn't to go to a Harley dealer and check this out.
These bikes are NEVER near MSRP. Dealer's jack the prices up to the stratosphere. Like the BMW GS expect to pay 30k++++. These HD's are just cashing in on the adventure market. Adventure market = street riding, but I "LOOK" tough, styling to the max. I'm wondering what the next M/C fad will be coming next.
I was excited for this bike until I test rode it and realized it wasn't much different from my 2014 Ducati Multistrada pikes peak. Harley came so close but missed the mark in my opinion all they did was throw way to much tech at it and missed the mark
I really REALLY wish that Charlie and Ewan would have used these bikes on the last ride they did. Those stupid electric bikes were just a publicity stunt. It got boring fast. I quit watching after like 3 episodes. It was all about just finding the next place to charge.
That was the point, highlighting the fact that we still need to figure out how to get some usable range out of e-cycles
Impressive effort. For me, it looks like a brick suspended by two wheels. Heavy looking and low. Cool bike but not adv looking.
Oh hell it looks like a cylon. From B.G.
Alex is always 2x louder in volume. No disrespect. I love what you have to say.
I'll buy a Harley when it's made in America and weighs less than 450 pounds
Hope they don't do what they've done with the livewire, they must have got the front end from IKEA, the rest of the bike looks brilliant.
I hate touch screens. Pointless. I like the headlight. The Chevy truck of motorcycles.
Roman has to review this bike...
Seems to be a great alternative to the established bikes, reliability ?……well time will tell, but why such an ugly headlight, WHY 😩
The headliis a left over from the road glide.
I’m a Harley guy but if i was getting another adventure bike it probably wouldn’t be this. Way too much tech and potential things to go wrong. And you’d have to sell your children to get it fixed
Right.But is there a bike this size that isn't loaded with tech?That's the thing now.
They need to stop sticking those v-twins in all there bikes. I understand that’s the culture but that culture is dying. If you want to survive... evolve.
There is nothing wrong with a V-twin if it is properly engineered. Time will tell as to its reliability.
The Pan America makes the R1250GS look outdated.
I really hope that you aren't going to suggest that ANYTHING from Harley is going to be in the same ballpark as BMW GSs. Talk to us in 30 years
This will upset long time harley owners
150 hp? Really? Is that on an Harley Davidson Dyno?
Yuck!
to bad its a harley. No way I would choose this over a metric. I like to ride, not work on my bike.
Get a Yamaha Super Tenere 1200.
That front master cylinder is disgusting. Spoils the whole look of the bike.
Just admit that you hate the look. Most ADVs are fugly anyway, except Multistrada and VFR1200X. Tiger 1200 is debatable.
And the fugliness in ADV is actually a feature.
Looks are always subjective. Like it or not I can appreciate HD giving this segment an alternative style wise. They should do well with this bike as long as the dealers are willing to adapt to the customers that corporate is targeting
The king of fully is the BMW GS.
Too bad its the ugliest thing in the world
HIDEOUS!
No real man rides a Sportster
Horrible review, typical of TFL
Can't watch this nonsense
Ever hear of the 60' TV show "Then came Bronson"? He rode a Sportster all over the country.