ROAD NEWS
ADVANCED SUSPENSION Harley claims to have focused the design all with the goal of achieving a desirable powerto-weight ratio . The frame is made up of three distinct elements – the front frame , the mid-frame and the tail section – all of which bolt directly to the powertrain . The chassis is designed with a 1570mm wheelbase , which Harley claims is ideal for both touring ( especially with passenger and loaded luggage ) and agile handling required for offroad manoeuvrability . Weight is claimed at 242kg for the base Pan America , with the Pan America Special tipping the scales at 253kg . The suspension system is supplied by Showa and is fully adjustable for pre-load and compression / rebound damping . Suspension travel at both ends is the same 190mm , and ground clearance is 210mm . The forks are a 1x1 47mm inverted cartridge fork . The rear is a piggyback reservoir shock with hydraulic preload adjustment . Seat height is 869mm in the base Pan America , but the Pan America Special gains the option to have Harley-Davidson ’ s new Adaptive Ride Height system installed . The ARH system can lowering the seat height 1 to 2 inches ( depending on automatically selected rear preload , which determines ride height when the bike is moving ). Unladen seat height is 830mm inches in the low position and 856mm in the high position . The fuel tank is constructed of aluminium and has 21-litres of capacity , which at a claimed economy of 4.9L / 100km should give over 400km of range . At the time of launch , the base Pan America is only available with a set of cast alloy wheels in a 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheel sizing . This points to where Harley-Davidson is pointing the Pan America . It ’ s not a hard-core adventurer and is intended for use on paved roads and unpaved surfaces , such as gravel roads and fire roads according to Harley- Davidson ’ s press release . The up-specced Pan America Special will feature the same cast alloy wheels as standard , but will have the option of spoked wheels . Both models utilise a tubeless tyre design in an effort to keep weight down . Tyre wise Harley-Davidson and Michelin collaboratively designed a Scorcher Adventure tyre for the Pan America models to meet the demands associated with adventure touring , while the option of Michelin Anakee Wild tyres will be offered through Harley-Davidson ’ s dealers .
ELECTRONICS The Pan America features five rider modes on the base model ( four are pre-programmed and one can be customised ) while the Pan America 1250 Special model has two additional modes that can be customised by the owner . Pre-programed ride modes include Road , Sport , Rain , Off-Road and Off-Road Plus . The rider may use the MODE button on the righthand controller to change the active ride mode while riding the motorcycle or when stopped , with some exceptions . As well as rider modes and traction control , the bike has some very useful technology as well . All instrumentation and infotainment functions are displayed on a tilting 6.8-inch TFT touchscreen with a non-reflective glass cover to make it easier to view in most lighting conditions . The touchscreen function is disabled when the motorcycle is in motion , but the rider can use hand controls to manage many functions of the screen display when the motorcycle is moving . The display supports infotainment generated by the rider ’ s Bluetooth-equipped mobile device , including music and calls . Navigation is supplied by the free Harley-Davidson App for iOS or Android . Cruise control is standard on both models . Lighting is all-LED . The ‘ Daymaker ’ Signature LED headlamp has been designed using new photometric analysis technology to produce outstanding “ punch ” down the road with a very homogenous spread of light ; eliminating distracting “ hot spots .”
22 KIWI RIDER