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/1367911
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 18 MAY 4, 2021 P163 handling, technology. And you'll be cool if you own one be- cause—it's a Harley. So here we are: never in a million years would I have ever thought that I would even consider owning anything that Harley-Davidson makes. Nothing in their lineup or their "culture" has ever appealed to me. But that might change with the Pan America—that is, if I can overlook my years of frustration, and at times, my utter disdain for "The Motor Company" itself. Believe me, I fully understand the power of the brand, a brand so pow- erful that in 1982, when yours truly was making a decent living selling Japanese motorcycles, they convinced U.S. lawmak- ers to impose massive tariffs on all Japanese motorcycles over 750cc, even after the likes of Honda and Kawasaki offered to share their technology with H-D and even loan them money. But Harley didn't want that, what they wanted was an unfair advantage. Just like they did in 1987 with AMA flat track rac- ing when Bubba Shobert was kicking their butts so bad that loud pipes couldn't save them. So, what did they do? They used their political clout with the sanctioning body to have the rules changed, which effectively made the factory Honda that Shobert was racing—and pretty much anything else that wasn't made in Milwaukee—illegal. The racing world was shocked and appalled, but the rule stood and flat track racing turned into a dud and stayed that way up until very recently. Now, I'm not that naïve—I worked for a manufacturer for 25 years, and I know that they'll all do whatever it takes to gain an advantage over their competi- tion. They all want to have an advantage, that's just the nature of business. As the old saying goes, "If you ain't cheating, you ain't winning." Right. To that end, perhaps The Motor Company got us again. They certainly had their doubters when rumors of the Pan America first surfaced a few years ago. It was laughable. No one thought that they could really build a motorcycle that could even be mentioned in the same breath with the almighty BMW GS. But here it is. And good for them. I honestly hope that it's a huge success. There's a saying in the indus- try: "So goes Harley, so goes the industry," and if they are successful with this new model, it could truly change the mo- torcycle industry as we know it. They were smart enough, or desperate enough, to real- ize that the customers of old are not the customers of today. It's something that a few other manufacturers have failed to understand. The touring custom- ers of this generation don't want the Fat Boys and Gold Wings of old; they want powerful, great-handling adventure bikes packed with technology that will go anywhere and across any ter- rain, even if they never actually go there. The motorcycle industry sells aspirational ideals, it's built into every motorcycle that anyone has ever purchased. We want to believe that we can go anywhere and do anything. It's in the DNA of every rider who's ever thrown a leg over a bike. To be the fastest guy, the coolest dude, the modern-day Marlboro Man. Harley is the master of market- ing that idea. Buy a Harley and you're automatically a badass, even if you're a dentist or a gro- cery store manager in real life. Harley-Davidson can do this. And in doing so with the Pan America, they could completely change the way the world views their company and the American motorcycle industry. Finally, a true globe-trotting motorcycle built by a powerful American company. Some will hate them for it, but I think the majority, including me, will appreciate that they did what they had to do in a time when they needed it most. I can't wait to ride the new Pan America, and I hope it's as good as Jesse and everyone else says it is. If so, I might just buy me a Harley. Love 'em or hate 'em, The Motor Company always seems to end up on top. CN