Rider Barry Venison rented this Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 on Twisted Road.

Pan America First Impression

From minute one, my first impression was that it was too big, too high, and too slow—although it looked great.

I began my journey in rain mode and I “knew" immediately that all of my first impressions were absolutely right. I thought about turning around and returning it to Sergei as riding “that” bike was not fun. I’d just come off two sublime days on the BMW 2022 S 1000R and it’s a bike that I gelled and bonded with immediately; it was so good I didn’t want to take it back to David, the owner.

I flicked through the modes again and decided to hit sport mode—it was make-or-break time.

Pan America Sports Mode

The Pan Am was now in sport mode and—oh my word—this machine was transformed into a rampant hooligan on steroids. I thought, "somebody is going to jail!" The power surge after 4000 revs had me clinging onto the handlebars to stop myself from being bucked off this bright orange burbling beast.

A flick of the mode button had changed the muted character of a heavy lump into a surging, carving, slicing joy to ride. A flick of a mode button also transformed my grumpy “I knew it” erroneous first impressions into a hyper-caffeinated Harley adventure bike fanboy.

The day took us on the freeway and carving through LA traffic was fun, especially with the view from the high seating position. We left the freeway for one of my favorite roads—Angeles Crest Highway—which is all turns, twisties, and long sweeping curves.

I was very surprised by how accomplished and leanable the Pan America was in the corners; the Brembo brakes handled the weight admirably on braking late and hard into turns. The suspension was balanced, and the grip of the chunky tires gave plenty of confidence to lean right into the turns.

Pan America Road Mode

Suitably impressed, we headed back through street traffic very smoothly, in road mode, to take some photos of the Hollywood (Harleywood) sign.

Only one niggle at this point, despite the new self-lowering suspension, on slowing and stopping I still felt a distinct unease about not being able to get both of my feet on the ground. I am 5' 10".

Next morning—Malibu Day! I tried to get the bike out of the garage and it was like trying to pull an uncooperative pregnant cow out of a barn—not gonna happen. I managed eventually but moving that dead weight was not fun.

Pan America Adjustability

I decided to drop the seat another inch (it takes 30 seconds; Sergei showed me how), and that one single afterthought move transformed this top-heavy tippy ADV into my best friend—with lots of benefits. I could now comfortably get both of my feet flat on the ground. It was a new world. Pan America had transformed itself yet again. Thank you, Harley Davidson, for that extra 1” (it means a lot to a man!).

We strolled comfortably around Malibu in road mode after ripping it up on the freeway in sport mode—legally of course. What a beautiful day we had.

I found that the gentler you are with this ADV, the smoother the fun that you have with it.

The engine is immense. It's so powerful, but when tamed down to road mode, it’s a pussycat—the clutch is light, brakes are superb, mirrors have zero vibration, the riding position is very comfortable, the windscreen is easily adjustable on the fly, as are rider modes.

This Harley Davidson Pan America can transform itself in several different shapes (luggage available), sizes, heights, and speeds. It’s got many different characters hidden within its rugged and impressive exterior.

Summary of My Pan America 1250 Experience

This Harley Davidson Pan America 1250 special is a transformer.

Though the Pan America is a heavy lump when still, once started, its engine is fast A.F. It will seamlessly handle everything that you throw at it: canyons, freeways, off-road, cruising, carving, toodling along in the city—and do it all in high-tech style wrapped in a brawny charm that no other bike or brand can match.

The Los Angeles National Forest and mountains (ACH) to Malibu (PCH) and everything else in between were devoured in a fast, extremely comfortable, and capable way. Acceleration, braking, balance. tech, flickability, sure-footedness, tank range, riding position, rider modes, automatic suspension lowering, flat footable, the list of quality and fun characteristics keeps on coming—until you try to get it (and its unborn calf), out of the garage in the morning. The upside to that is that it’s a great workout.

My time with this groundbreaking class act worked out great. I am now officially a huge fan, and funnily enough, I didn’t want to take it back to Sergei. 

Cheers, 
Barry