The reality is that probably less than 1% of the riders out there have the ability to utilize whatever performance differences there are. So it comes down to what you like, what you enjoy driving. I own an older, classic 1993 GSPD and a Pan Am Special. I love them both. Part of the equation for me was enjoying something different and giving kudos to Harley Davidson for boldly going where it’s never gone before.
I have a 2022 Pan American that I put 18,000 trouble free miles on pavenent riding only. Touring, commuting , back roads. Yes, there is room for improvement and refinement . For a first effort they did very well. Thats from a former Beemer, Moto Guzzi, Honda, Kaw ,Yamaha, Buell and HD owner
Nice! I also feel that they've caused some positive challenges to the whole segment and with some tweaks here and there it could become an even more capable motorcycle and one of the top ones.
@honestlion17 call it what t you want dude. I ve no reason to bullshit you or anyone else . Thats the truth . Take it anyway you want. Life is too short to carry on any conversation with you.
@@honestlion17 I've owned bikes from Ducati, KTM, BMW, Triumph, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha...I've never owned a Harley (never been a fan of the brand, or culture that comes with it), and the Panemerica is the first Harley I would consider. So yes I can see why someone who's avoided Harleys all their lives, might suddenly find this proposition worth considering. I'll still give them 2-3 years to keep refining it, and maybe have a front redesign, but at that point, it could very well be my first Harley.
I owned a GS, but when looking a year ago, i chose Harley, for a number of reason, but in the end it was long term maintenance cost, I’m a basic guy, and the valve adjustments on the GS was just beyond me, Harley is self adjusting
I had 5 GS ADV and wanted to get somthing different, so I switched to the PAS, at the end it was a huge disappointment, first one broke down 5 times and stranded in a HD workshop fot 7 months due to parts missing, I returned it and got a 23 brandnew, after about 800 km, it restarted again, throwing DTC's and stranded in the ws, after repair I picked it up and went straight to a BMW dealer and bought a new 1250 GSA... now 4000 km later, all fine, no issue at all..
Very concise and clear analysis. Love it. I was not sure at all which of the two bikes to take. They are so close in many terms. Opted for the Pan Am, hope this was the right choice. Thank you for this video.
My pan American I bought this year in June. In 4 ish month she has 7400 miles on it. I live in a rural area so she’s likely had 2000 miles of dirt roads and at least 600 or so in the ditch/off road. An absolute dream to ride. I also rather deal with harley people then the bmw crowd. To each there own.
The GS is brilliant, the Pan, from my test ride, is quite good but not as refined as the German. But, at second hand prices, the Pan can be picked up in Australia for 12-18 THOUSAND LESS. I don’t think the BMW is 12 Thousand dollars better than the Pan. I also understand the GS holds its value more than the Pan, but if you love the bike and keep it, then it doesn’t really matter IMO. Thanks Vtold.
Added a tall seat for the legroom. Def reco for 6'4"+ riders. Extended the windshield too for buffet free riding. 22'PAS with 5k miles now. no real issues.
I just bought a new to me 2021 Pan America Special. Indeed I am a Harley fan boy. However, the fact that I bought the Harley Davidson actually has made me interested in looking at BMW and Triumph. "They're bikes, big or small love em all!!"😊
I've got huge respect for Harley with them achieving so much with their first attempt. And brought entirely new suspension technology beating everyone else. Truly impressive and inspiring. Let's see what they come up with next. Cheers! :)
I have a R1250GS and rode the PA a couple of times, agree with your points. I was impressed with the PA engine power but all the other points as you mentioned would make me not get the PA.
And yet it’s in the same segment with HD introducing features unavailable in a GS and anything else in the class. Like hand guards hitting the screen. Don’t underestimate Harley.
For the price, the additional tariffs in Europe disadvantage the PanAm. Moving the engine building and European models assembly in Thailand will help. Revisit your comparison in 25 (maybe).
Right, you def need a thick wallet and consider the very high cost of ownership of the GS. All of us with GS experience are well aware, in spite of a lengthy pedigree, still has it's issues as evidenced by threads in the GS forums. There are far, far superior platforms for ADV off road performance to be sure. None of these heavy weights are top performers on technical trails. They are heavily biased for road performance and some excel better than others in terms of long distance performance (i.e. Pan America). The heavy weight simply allow the average rider access to dirt roads and mild two tracks.....that's the simple reality.
I got a PanAm here in the Philippines and it has many many problems. Right now it has been at the dealer for 4 months and the dealer has told many lies about me and why the bike has problems that are blamed on me. I have filed a case with the Department of Trade and Industry to get my money back but the dealer is trying everything not to refund me. Don't buy one here in the Philippines.
Wait, Harley is preparing a new Adventure chopper with a handlebar height of two meters and a wheelbase of four meters and a helmet with horns as a gift. Why are these people so mean in everything?
I've ridden the older one for some time and it's not exactly my kind of motorcycle so I might not be the right person to assess it today. It's a large highway-eater while what I like is adventure motorcycles that are a different kind of animal.
I didn't want a cruiser/grand touring type motorcycle & PanAmerica was the most comfortable bike for me I liked the Hoover vacuum looking front better than the Big Bird alien look of other adv motorcycles. The biggest drawback to the GS for me was dealer network. I hope HD doesn't change the front fairing & light look. I seen a picture of a 2025 with hideous round lights that look like they belong on a Chinese motorcycle😢 I hope that doesn't happen.
It was a good review but as a person who is die hard Harley I plan to get a PA. Every comment Of negativity I hear about a PA comes from Die hard GS or Honda riders. No matter what Harley does they would never leave a honest comment 😂😂😂😂
The pan America is an adventure bike with little history in the field. The BMW GS on the opposite is legendary by proven quality and years of evolution, but still it has its weak points. Every bike have their weaknesses, even the GS. Today I went out for a spin with my GSA rally and as I was on the entryway to a faster route, tried to set up that little tap to raise the windshield, and it broke. I didn’t use brutal force but as the bike was in motion, is always a little difficult to operate the windshield on the move and it broke easily. That’s made of plastic, so, not the most resistant kind I think. I was surprised to know that it is entirely made of plastic. I think that the new GS will have an electric wind shield but if not, they should improve the mechanism in reference. How many of these and other far more important flaws will, in time be revealed about the HD pan America? I imagine, quite a few, for sure. So, model’s history, practical information about real Experience of use and ownership are also significant factors of analysis when a evaluation is taking place between two bikes of different brands in the same vehicle segment category. I don’t know if you should introduce this factor into your evaluation criteria. It isn’t a critical view of your work, it is only a question that I’m formulating considering if it could help the comparison method of analysis and it’s standards. Thank you, as always, for your thoughts and for the video contents in general which I truly enjoyed to watch ✌️✌️
Whaaaat? You broke the windshield adjustment? What exactly did give up - the knob or some of the parts of the mechanism itself somewhere inside the fairing? Damn... no brute force? Sounds like a gorilla hand! ;) But seriously, this should not have happened. I agree with you than an electric windshield would be a great solution. I'd even love it as a gadget. The previous Triumph Tiger 1200 Explorer had it but in the new version that's on the market now they removed it. GS would be the only one in the segment to have it and BMW would have my huge respect for it. Thanks for the tip on long-term ownership experience. I don't really see a way of implementing that into my reviews as they're focused so much on riding experiences and ownership depends on soooooo many factors like where the bike is kept, how it's maintained and also single examples can have so different things happening to them during being in use by a specific owner. I've thought about it and it hasn't led me to very specific reliable way of evaluating that.
@@VToldsMotoShow Yes in deed It happened and no with brut force was used. They say that the GSA windshield is larger and taller than the regular one on the GS and it must be handed like, one hand turning the wheel and the other pushing slightly forward the windshield, if not it’s risky. I saw no information for that procedure on the GSA owner’s manual I think that they answered like this to avoid warranty issues/ claims. And they told me that it was forbidden to move the windshield above 60 km/h, which I didn’t, but I didn’t know abou that recommendation from the brand either. In conclusion, even BMW dealers, sometimes are bias and full of BS. If hadn’t the money to replace the part we could go south with this one. I have the broken part, if you send me your e-mail I’ll send some pictures, it’s nasty!
Not fair comparing a four year old newcomer with the icon that created the ADV genre. Give HD a couole more years to refine this machine. Its pretty damn good for their first swing. Have a 2022 PAS with 22,893 trouble free miles. I love it. I also loved my 1996 GS 1100.
The GS lovers out in force today. The GS isnt the best large adv bike any longer. Harley made a great bike on its first try. Arguably as good as a GS in most areas and way better in sporty riding.
On the end... GS is GS and he is in his own category. All others are good bikes and they can compare one with other but when you compare them with GS they lose... I like that Panamerica, and Africa twin and Multistrada etc... but i have GS as my only bike because he is best for me in every way. I will like to own all of this other bikes but only as second bike because GS just win in all ways... and it's ugly, and expensive but he is so fucking good that you are not sorry to have it. Cheers from UK by Croatian guy Love your videos ❤
Well, I tend to side with Brito Barros here as the GS doesn't have to be perceived as ugly at all. Is a Mercedes G-Class ugly? It depends on what your perspective and taste are. Sometimes it's not about the lines themselves but rather an overall appeal and damn, GS is really cool being that "tough guy" among others with a lot of botox. I hope this makes you more satisfied about GS's design perspective. I like it myself despite realizing that a random blonde girl on the street may say that she prefers the looks of a smooth Ducati.
@@VToldsMotoShow spot on! That blond girl would think about that cool GS guy, when she’s on the side of the road with her boyfriend in the middle of nowhere waiting for Ducati phone Assistance and no one answered their call .🤣 She’s now remembering that GS SOS feature is only present on the BMW and she’s wondering why she didn’t made her Life to be a ride😂😂😂
The reality is that probably less than 1% of the riders out there have the ability to utilize whatever performance differences there are. So it comes down to what you like, what you enjoy driving. I own an older, classic 1993 GSPD and a Pan Am Special. I love them both. Part of the equation for me was enjoying something different and giving kudos to Harley Davidson for boldly going where it’s never gone before.
Great persprctive!
I love your no bias reviews! Keep up the great reviews!
I have a 2022 Pan American that I put 18,000 trouble free miles on pavenent riding only. Touring, commuting , back roads.
Yes, there is room for improvement and refinement .
For a first effort they did very well.
Thats from a former Beemer, Moto Guzzi, Honda, Kaw ,Yamaha, Buell and HD owner
Nice! I also feel that they've caused some positive challenges to the whole segment and with some tweaks here and there it could become an even more capable motorcycle and one of the top ones.
If you ever owned those other motorcycles, you would never buy a Harley Davidson.So I call BS. 😮
@honestlion17 call it what t you want dude.
I ve no reason to bullshit you or anyone else .
Thats the truth .
Take it anyway you want.
Life is too short to carry on any conversation with you.
@@honestlion17 I've owned bikes from Ducati, KTM, BMW, Triumph, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha...I've never owned a Harley (never been a fan of the brand, or culture that comes with it), and the Panemerica is the first Harley I would consider. So yes I can see why someone who's avoided Harleys all their lives, might suddenly find this proposition worth considering. I'll still give them 2-3 years to keep refining it, and maybe have a front redesign, but at that point, it could very well be my first Harley.
@@honestlion17you seem to speak with authority.
Tell us if your bad experiences with Harleys
I owned a GS, but when looking a year ago, i chose Harley, for a number of reason, but in the end it was long term maintenance cost, I’m a basic guy, and the valve adjustments on the GS was just beyond me, Harley is self adjusting
You’ve quickly become my source for honest MC reviews. Please consider doing a review on the Yamaha FJR 1300. Thanks!
I had 5 GS ADV and wanted to get somthing different, so I switched to the PAS, at the end it was a huge disappointment, first one broke down 5 times and stranded in a HD workshop fot 7 months due to parts missing, I returned it and got a 23 brandnew, after about 800 km, it restarted again, throwing DTC's and stranded in the ws, after repair I picked it up and went straight to a BMW dealer and bought a new 1250 GSA... now 4000 km later, all fine, no issue at all..
That sucks that the 23 had those issues.
Should not be
Very concise and clear analysis. Love it. I was not sure at all which of the two bikes to take. They are so close in many terms. Opted for the Pan Am, hope this was the right choice. Thank you for this video.
My pan American I bought this year in June. In 4 ish month she has 7400 miles on it. I live in a rural area so she’s likely had 2000 miles of dirt roads and at least 600 or so in the ditch/off road. An absolute dream to ride. I also rather deal with harley people then the bmw crowd. To each there own.
The GS is brilliant, the Pan, from my test ride, is quite good but not as refined as the German. But, at second hand prices, the Pan can be picked up in Australia for 12-18 THOUSAND LESS. I don’t think the BMW is 12 Thousand dollars better than the Pan. I also understand the GS holds its value more than the Pan, but if you love the bike and keep it, then it doesn’t really matter IMO. Thanks Vtold.
Added a tall seat for the legroom. Def reco for 6'4"+ riders. Extended the windshield too for buffet free riding. 22'PAS with 5k miles now. no real issues.
I just bought a new to me 2021 Pan America Special. Indeed I am a Harley fan boy.
However, the fact that I bought the Harley Davidson actually has made me interested in looking at BMW and Triumph. "They're bikes, big or small love em all!!"😊
I've got huge respect for Harley with them achieving so much with their first attempt. And brought entirely new suspension technology beating everyone else. Truly impressive and inspiring. Let's see what they come up with next. Cheers! :)
I absolutely love the bike. Put another 200km on it today
I have a R1250GS and rode the PA a couple of times, agree with your points. I was impressed with the PA engine power but all the other points as you mentioned would make me not get the PA.
They've got a lot of potential in this platform but now should focus on some details and... design?
V-told has been smoking something I think. The GS is in a totally different league.
And yet it’s in the same segment with HD introducing features unavailable in a GS and anything else in the class. Like hand guards hitting the screen. Don’t underestimate Harley.
For the price, the additional tariffs in Europe disadvantage the PanAm. Moving the engine building and European models assembly in Thailand will help. Revisit your comparison in 25 (maybe).
Harley Davidson Pan America for me 👍
Which one has very expensive mandatory BMW maintenance & which one doesn't? I'd choose the one that doesn't.
Not sure that there is an appropriate choice then. Depends on how thick one’s wallet is though.
Right, you def need a thick wallet and consider the very high cost of ownership of the GS. All of us with GS experience are well aware, in spite of a lengthy pedigree, still has it's issues as evidenced by threads in the GS forums. There are far, far superior platforms for ADV off road performance to be sure. None of these heavy weights are top performers on technical trails. They are heavily biased for road performance and some excel better than others in terms of long distance performance (i.e. Pan America). The heavy weight simply allow the average rider access to dirt roads and mild two tracks.....that's the simple reality.
@victoryengineer I agree with you on these heavy weight ADV Bikes.
The Yamaha Tenere 700 is more like what I consider a true on/off road bike.
I think the front end reminds me of the Original Battle Star Galactica. The Cylons head/face short no red light up front
Oh, it's now even more creepy.
@@VToldsMotoShow LMFAO 🤣🤣🤣
I got a PanAm here in the Philippines and it has many many problems. Right now it has been at the dealer for 4 months and the dealer has told many lies about me and why the bike has problems that are blamed on me. I have filed a case with the Department of Trade and Industry to get my money back but the dealer is trying everything not to refund me. Don't buy one here in the Philippines.
May I ask what issues you have had with it? I had a few issues myself and we finally found the problem with it
My Saturday treat 💪
What about the running costs? I’d a few bmw cars and well maintenance costs was the killer. Is the Harley more affordable to run?
This should be checked locally with a dealer/shop that one would plan to service their bike at. It varies country to country and dealer to dealer.
There is zero BMW dealers where I live so it's a no-brainer. Five Harley dealerships within 100 km.
Wait, Harley is preparing a new Adventure chopper with a handlebar height of two meters and a wheelbase of four meters and a helmet with horns as a gift. Why are these people so mean in everything?
Can you check the BMW GTL K1600 2022-2023???
I've ridden the older one for some time and it's not exactly my kind of motorcycle so I might not be the right person to assess it today. It's a large highway-eater while what I like is adventure motorcycles that are a different kind of animal.
@@VToldsMotoShow I like your honesty. I just purchased one after I tried my friend's GTL... I loved it.
I didn't want a cruiser/grand touring type motorcycle & PanAmerica was the most comfortable bike for me I liked the Hoover vacuum looking front better than the Big Bird alien look of other adv motorcycles.
The biggest drawback to the GS for me was dealer network.
I hope HD doesn't change the front fairing & light look.
I seen a picture of a 2025 with hideous round lights that look like they belong on a Chinese motorcycle😢 I hope that doesn't happen.
It was a good review but as a person who is die hard Harley I plan to get a PA. Every comment Of negativity I hear about a PA comes from Die hard GS or Honda riders. No matter what Harley does they would never leave a honest comment 😂😂😂😂
GS’s are like belly buttons. Everyone has one. I’ll stick with the PA. Sounds waaaay better as well.
The pan America is an adventure bike with little history in the field. The BMW GS on the opposite is legendary by proven quality and years of evolution, but still it has its weak points.
Every bike have their weaknesses, even the GS. Today I went out for a spin with my GSA rally and as I was on the entryway to a faster route, tried to set up that little tap to raise the windshield, and it broke. I didn’t use brutal force but as the bike was in motion, is always a little difficult to operate the windshield on the move and it broke easily. That’s made of plastic, so, not the most resistant kind I think. I was surprised to know that it is entirely made of plastic. I think that the new GS will have an electric wind shield but if not, they should improve the mechanism in reference. How many of these and other far more important flaws will, in time be revealed about the HD pan America? I imagine, quite a few, for sure. So, model’s history, practical information about real Experience of use and ownership are also significant factors of analysis when a evaluation is taking place between two bikes of different brands in the same vehicle segment category.
I don’t know if you should introduce this factor into your evaluation criteria. It isn’t a critical view of your work, it is only a question that I’m formulating considering if it could help the comparison method of analysis and it’s standards.
Thank you, as always, for your thoughts and for the video contents in general which I truly enjoyed to watch ✌️✌️
Whaaaat? You broke the windshield adjustment? What exactly did give up - the knob or some of the parts of the mechanism itself somewhere inside the fairing? Damn... no brute force? Sounds like a gorilla hand! ;) But seriously, this should not have happened.
I agree with you than an electric windshield would be a great solution. I'd even love it as a gadget. The previous Triumph Tiger 1200 Explorer had it but in the new version that's on the market now they removed it. GS would be the only one in the segment to have it and BMW would have my huge respect for it.
Thanks for the tip on long-term ownership experience. I don't really see a way of implementing that into my reviews as they're focused so much on riding experiences and ownership depends on soooooo many factors like where the bike is kept, how it's maintained and also single examples can have so different things happening to them during being in use by a specific owner. I've thought about it and it hasn't led me to very specific reliable way of evaluating that.
@@VToldsMotoShow Yes in deed It happened and no with brut force was used. They say that the GSA windshield is larger and taller than the regular one on the GS and it must be handed like, one hand turning the wheel and the other pushing slightly forward the windshield, if not it’s risky. I saw no information for that procedure on the GSA owner’s manual I think that they answered like this to avoid warranty issues/ claims. And they told me that it was forbidden to move the windshield above 60 km/h, which I didn’t, but I didn’t know abou that recommendation from the brand either. In conclusion, even BMW dealers, sometimes are bias and full of BS.
If hadn’t the money to replace the part we could go south with this one. I have the broken part, if you send me your e-mail I’ll send some pictures, it’s nasty!
Not fair comparing a four year old newcomer with the icon that created the ADV genre.
Give HD a couole more years to refine this machine.
Its pretty damn good for their first swing.
Have a 2022 PAS with 22,893 trouble free miles.
I love it.
I also loved my 1996 GS 1100.
Harley have emotion, bmw is steril
I Have a 23 Pan America what a machine.. still not the gs maybe in couple more years but definely fun to ride. way faster than my friends gs 1250
The GS lovers out in force today. The GS isnt the best large adv bike any longer. Harley made a great bike on its first try. Arguably as good as a GS in most areas and way better in sporty riding.
Pana america
Harley is better
On the end... GS is GS and he is in his own category. All others are good bikes and they can compare one with other but when you compare them with GS they lose...
I like that Panamerica, and Africa twin and Multistrada etc... but i have GS as my only bike because he is best for me in every way. I will like to own all of this other bikes but only as second bike because GS just win in all ways... and it's ugly, and expensive but he is so fucking good that you are not sorry to have it.
Cheers from UK by Croatian guy
Love your videos ❤
What’s ugly about? The pan America, of course!👌🏻
Well, I tend to side with Brito Barros here as the GS doesn't have to be perceived as ugly at all. Is a Mercedes G-Class ugly? It depends on what your perspective and taste are. Sometimes it's not about the lines themselves but rather an overall appeal and damn, GS is really cool being that "tough guy" among others with a lot of botox. I hope this makes you more satisfied about GS's design perspective. I like it myself despite realizing that a random blonde girl on the street may say that she prefers the looks of a smooth Ducati.
@@VToldsMotoShow spot on!
That blond girl would think about that cool GS guy, when she’s on the side of the road with her boyfriend in the middle of nowhere waiting for Ducati phone Assistance and no one answered their call .🤣 She’s now remembering that GS SOS feature is only present on the BMW and she’s wondering why she didn’t made her Life to be a ride😂😂😂
@@VToldsMotoShowand.... new is here... i like it, what you think mate??
That GS Trophy is great, in my opinion
@@Fernando90054
I love the ugly Pan America
Neither!!!
Gs all day every day.
And every night and every place ;)
B*tch Made Waterworks when it comes to maintenance. Let harley get the kinks ironed out.
@@johnboe412 in Europe less than €15000 for 2021 pan America ques why ? Not because their great 😂😂
Give me the Pan America all day. I need the 24 cvo in my life. I dont need a B*tch Made Waterworks overweight cow. Or the maintance costs
The 24 CVO's are sweeeet!!
Stop fooling, since when is s*** sweet?