Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1365688
P86 RIDE REVIEW I 2 0 2 1 H A R L E Y - D A V I D S O N P A N A M E R I C A 1 2 5 0 S P E C I A L Speed. Harley- Davidson's adventure touring weapon enjoys it and the components can handle it. RIDE REVIEW RIDE REVIEW RIDE REVIEW I 2 0 2 1 H A R L E Y - D A V I D S O N P A N A M E R I C A 1 2 5 0 S P E C I A L Speed. Harley- Davidson's adventure touring weapon enjoys it and the components can handle it. Relying heavily on a Bluetooth con- nection to your phone, the system allows you to access and view vehicle diagnostics and settings (no phone re- quired), music, see and receive incom- ing phone calls and more. The biggest headline here is the moving map navi- gation display that pulls straight from your phone. Navigation is provided via the Harley-Davidson App and shows on the screen in a full map, or you can select a speedometer screen and turn-by-turn icons will show in a widget zone. Again, the map is touch-screen capable for zooming, panning, etc. The windscreen on top of the dash is adjustable through a nice range with a one-handed trigger mechanism. Remember to adjust it before you set off because it tightens at speed via wind force. Complaints The bulk of the new Pan America from Harley-Davidson impresses. But there are a few areas where improvements can likely be made, or the bike simply misses for me. First is ergonomics. The bike, while ingeniously using the engine as the entire frame, misses a bit of ergonomic benefits a traditional frame can offer. Here, we're required to stack risers on top of the triple clamp to get bars above the tank. The stock risers are a few inches tall, and optional taller ris- ers are available. But I don't like either option because the stock bar curves back and sweeps in aggressively that makes it less than ideal. It's biased to on-road comfort, but even then, the sweep is a little aggressive for wrist comfort on long days. Speed. Harley- Speed. Harley- - allows you to access and view vehicle diagnostics and settings (no phone re- quired), music, see and receive incom- ing phone calls and more. The biggest - your phone. Navigation is provided via can select a speedometer screen and Foot controls are less of an issue although I wish the quick-adjustable brake tip made a bigger jump to the high-position. As it is, the change be- tween low-to-high is minuscule. I'd like to see an on-demand vari- able-slip traction control, like KTM pro- vides via it's Rally Mode. I'm impressed with Harley-Davidson's application of a massive suite of tech, but if they could just give me that tunability, I could