Motorcycle specifications Harley-DavidsonPan America 1250 prototype 2020 New road for Harley

A Harley-Davidson maxi-trailer? A total shock! With an engine whose power is somewhere between that of an R 1250 GS and a 1260 Multistrada.... It's a major upheaval, perhaps the biggest in decades. It's called the 1250 Pan America

As the brand says, this bike has a strong taste for adventure. It takes up the codes of the segment, with a big-bike size, long-travel suspension, spoked rims, an upright (or even standing) riding position, a large fuel tank and protective bars. The aesthetics are very... personal, with a charm worthy of certain creatures hidden in subtropical deserts.

If the design is the opposite of the Italian school, the technology is far more enticing. The Pan America will be equipped with an all-new liquid-cooled engine, whose power and displacement will vary according to the model. For the trail version, this 60° twin will offer a cubic capacity of 1250 cm3, with 145 hp and 122 nm. This will be the most muscular of Milwaukee's powerplants, with 50% more power than the M8 114.

With this machine, Harley is bringing itself up to speed with the big European and Japanese trail bikes. It will feature inverted forks, Brembo 4-piston radial brake calipers, chain drive, TFT instrument panel, electronic suspension, height-adjustable bubble, engine cowling, LED headlights... What about electronic assistants? Some MoCo models are already equipped with traction control, ABS Cornering, hill-start assist and Driving Modes. Pan America should logically be equipped with them. Obligatory, one would be tempted to say, given that most trails in the segment are (largely) equipped with them.

Honda had the Pan-European; would Harley have used a play on words to highlight this completely new (to him) type of motorcycle? No, its name is closer to that of the Pan American road. A route covering tens of thousands of kilometers, linking the extremes of the Americas, from northern Alaska to southern Argentina. It begins in Prudhoe Bay and ends in Ushuaïa. A trip worthy of Laurent Cochet.

M.B - Manufacturer's photos