Custom Vehicles dress the H-D Adventure bike
Good clean fun!
For the last two decades the motorcycle industry has been engaged in producing ever more adventure bikes. BMWs GS, the rebirth of the Africa Twin, Yamahas ever evolving Tenere range. Even Ducati got in on the act by greatly improving their Multistrada while KTM ran at the market good and hard. But a H-D adventure bike? I didn’t see that coming!
The more road biased 'ST' model
When I initially rode the first of H-Ds new PanAmerica machines a few years ago I found a bike that confounded my expectations of the brand. It was, and still is powered by the ‘Motor Companies’ air and water-cooled 1250cc v twin and that’s pretty much where the similarities between it and any other Harley ended.
Cross-spoked wheels add so much to a bike in this class
At first glance it has a face that ‘only a mother could love’. On closer inspection it had a whole lot more going on. The engine is a stressed member of the frame, the suspension is tall, and the side profile looks the part with a decent, not too tall, screen a generous 21 litre tank and seats that are deep enough to spend a long day sitting on. The Öhlins steering damper, the Michelin tyres and the radially mounted Brembo calipers along with Showa suspension all promise a quality ride*. The adaptive headlights are another quality touch.
So bright, they'd blind the sun!
The 300kg wet weight is well hidden and balanced. Once rolling it becomes even more so. Thanks to the electronically adjustable suspension there’s a feature called adaptive ride height. This allows the rear shock to sag and allow the back of the bike to sit lower when it’s parked. The idea here is to allow the rider to mount and dismount with ease. While I get why it’s there, as a rider who likes to climb onto my bike via the footpegs, I could do without it.
Semi active electronic suspension
The newest engine, ‘the Revolution Max, puts out 150bhp and 128Nm of torque. This is a lot of power for the class and especially where H-D are concerned. The bike is incredibly enjoyable to counter steer through the technical twisties, and that engine picks up wonderfully. It also lifts its front wheel quite nicely, not that we condone that kind of behaviour. Not even a little bit.
Crash bars come as standard on the CVO
With a 65kilo experienced pillion the bike performs pretty much as it does without one. The riders seat height is a comfy 875mm which can be dropped to 850. The new ST version is lower with a less challenging 825mm. The steeper rake on the forks makes it a very responsive machine to steer. The ground clearance is, at 30mm, tall enough to clear most of what one might find on a decent forest trail. And speaking of trails, because of the ergonomic set up, it’s really easy to ride while standing up on the pegs.
Beautiful milled pieces and even a quickshifter
Back in 2018, when the bike was first launched it was relatively basic. Now there’s a choice of different Panamerica models in the Adventure range.
The ‘Special’ is closest to the original with a full host of the available spec. While it comes on standard cast wheels there is an option to upgrade to the tougher laced spoked ones. They also look cooler on an adventure bike.
The ST is the one with the lower seat. It also looks a little more refined thanks to the front mudguard. The quickshifter on the gearbox shows the bikes street bias as do the cast wheels.
Panamerica Gets The CVO Treatment
I want the CVO one. Harleys Custom Vehicle Operations division take bikes from their range and makes limited numbers of them very special. The Panamerica is no different in this regard.
Its base colour is fantastic. H-D call it carbon blue and it’s inset with an urban camo. This works really well with the orange on the frame and crash bars. That orange is dropped into the bikes details on the engine, saddles, hand guards and grips.
A fine, upstanding motorcycle
There are three pieces of SW Motech hard luggage with 120 litres of storage between them. The trick here is to detach the top box and one of the panniers. This allows you to remotely trigger everyone’s OCD. One does, after all, make ones fun where one can.
Then there’s the lighting. There’s enough light coming off those daymakers to dazzle the sun.
A clearer TFT screen
All the bikes have a full TFT screen with a choice of five preset fuelling modes and four customisable ones. There’s even an option to switch off the ABS so you don’t have to be overwhelmed by the fear associated with riding a bike down a shale hill with no brakes.
The ST is €21K, the special €22K and the CVO is €31K. Talk to Mo on 051844200 and get yourself something that allows you to stand out from the pack.
*A ‘quality ride’ means something completely different on the Northside of Dublin…