It will be interesting to see the thoughts and reviews on this one when it comes out. Too many bash bikes strictly on looks without having ever having ridden it, let alone even sat on it. At this point, the only thing Harley has going against it is the ADV market is really tight. Until the specs, prices, and reviews come out, anything else is just guessing and opinions. The only observation to make is that might be more like the Triumph Tiger in weight distribution due to the placement of the engine up towards the tank like a tradition v-twin.. Compared to a BMW, KTM, etc where everything is sprung very low and the engine sits low, a Tiger has a very high center of gravity.

I havent had my VStrom for long but got it simply because I wanted an adv bike and didnt want to spend a lot of money. Most of the time has and will be spent on the slab but I am waiting for my new rims and tires to come in I ordered from JP. I am putting on a dedicated set of snow tires for the winter. I hate being able to not ride when there is snow on the roads. Cruisers just too top heavy and bulky for that.

 

Two things,if Harley wants to break into this market it had damn well better be reliable as a Timex watch and will have to be at a price point competitive with KTM and BMW.
If they can make a good showing at the Dakar Rally it would go a long way towards selling these bikes.
If they pull their usual BS of putting a new design into the market and spending the next couple years working out problems post production it will be a dismal failure.
Nobody wants a bike out in the desert or up in the mountains that they can't trust to get them back.
I hope they do it right and it's a big success but I sure wouldn't buy a first year bike for myself,they haven't had a good first year for a new design since the first Evo came out excepting maybe the V-Rod which was far from a big sales success,great motor but not a great bike design.
Wish they had built a nice sport touring bike around the VR engine rather than yet another cruiser.

 

ADV bikes like SUVs are excellent for the bad roads in most of the US and world. The US is too large to fix them all but that's hardly new for HD since before the Interstate system most US roads were unpaved. Those roads are perfect for leisurely touring on bikes designed to deal with them. Cruiser suspension is far inferior in pursuit of retro looks. ADVs are reactions to cruiser bloat. Motorcycles were once light, narrow, and capable generalist machines. Today they're specialized.

(BTW BMWs depreciate quickly and there is no bottom making them excellent for the rich demographic who can afford to dispose of them, but if I went ADV I'd buy Japanese for superior reliability and quality. I'm a multibrand mechanic so no dog in that fight).

They're great bikes and popular among the vintage Britbike collectors I hang out with. (Old Britbikes are just not suitable to modern highway operation or hard use.) I have too many motorcycles or I'd get one too. Japan leads the world in quality from CNC machine tools (which make everything else directly or otherwise) on down.

HD needs to make its offerings TOUGH and RELIABLE. If the customer can't beat it like a rented mule or an Evo Sportster (probably HDs toughest engine family) then there's no reason to spend premium money. I'll call out stupid all day but if the MoCo manages not to shoot off its own toes I'll praise that too.

 

I don't think the serious "adventure" rider group will take the Harley seriously until someone does something like a Patagonia - Alaska ride, like "Itchy Boots" (youtube channel name) is currently doing on a Royal Enfield Himalayan. If Harley sponsored an experienced rider and provided a Pan America, it would be the best world wide advertising they could do - if it finished. A Canadian is back in Mexico while trying this round trip from Alaska. Poor fool started on a Ural sidecar rig, wised up and switched to an Africa Twin in Nevada. Even that highly respected bike has needed a lot of repairs along the way. Itchy Boots (Dutch lady), I have hopes for, but not expectations, unless she's careful to pick out the best roads, the Canadian hit many nightmare roads and trails that even the Honda had problems with. A rider like one of these finishing on the new Harley would ease a lot of fears about reliability. Maybe not Itchy, she's a little lady and no 1000+cc bike is a lightweight.

 

Let me preface this by saying, I LOVE the look of this thing and am rooting for HD big time with this bike. The bike looks like something from Mad Maxx/Zombie Apocolypse/Armagedon …..love it!!!!

This is the best move they could be making. We love their cruisers, but I'll be the first to say, I love my bike, but it has limitations that exist because of trying to design to "tradition". Tradition is cool, but I want more than tradition. A liquid cooled 1250 is an excellent step towards new horizons for HD, and an ADV bike no less. Personally, I've grown a huge fondness for this platform. Was on tour with my buddy, who was then riding a BMW F800GS. We were in northern VT on off camber roads in the mountains with "frost heaves" (have never seen signs for that before). He was blopping along at a nice pace with the long suspension eating up all the road imperfections, while my bike (with upgraded front and rear suspension) felt like it was getting beat up badly. If I got this bike, I'd rarely if ever see off road, but it's for those really crappy roads where a bike like this shines. A true real world bike. As a brand, I truly like HD, and love the idea that I can stay with them for platforms other than cruisers. I don't trust BMW's and KTM's are a little too focused on the off road thing.

As others have said, I'm right along with ya in that I'm hopeful this engine finds its way into other platforms as well. I'm very hopeful to see this guy at the IMS show this year.

 

This has just popped up onto my facebook feed. Pan America release tomorrow?

 

Shows a bike in the dirt and the one shot of the shadow of the bike sure looks like an adventure bike.

Only other thing it might be is a scrambler or dirt track version of the street rod.

 

As mentioned earlier, put it in the world class races and let it’s results speak..personally, I hope it succeeds.

 

Watching that video a few more times I'm not sure it's the Pan America. Either that or they are releasing more than one bike tomorrow. The shots of the bike on the road coming towards you show a round headlight like a Sportster. No frame mounted fairing. Also the arial shots the bike doesn't look big enough to be a PA. It may be a Sportster based scrambler. But then again the shadow of the first bike sure looks like it could be the PA. Which supports the more than one bike theory.

 

I think they're designed to go anywhere, and that includes long stretches of freeway. So I'd say yes.