Motorcycles

The Pan America and the Bronx: Two weird new Harleys for a weird new world

The Pan America and the Bronx: Two weird new Harleys for a weird new world
The Pan America adventure tourer and the Bronx streetfighter were Harley-Davidson's big reveals for EICMA 2019
The Pan America adventure tourer and the Bronx streetfighter were Harley-Davidson's big reveals for EICMA 2019
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The 1250cc Revolution Max engine
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The 1250cc Revolution Max engine
Harley worked with Brembo on a special set of monobloc calipers
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Harley worked with Brembo on a special set of monobloc calipers
The Pan America seems to have electronic suspension, heated grips and cruise control
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The Pan America seems to have electronic suspension, heated grips and cruise control
Decked out with big hard luggage, the Pan America looks ready to conquer continents
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Decked out with big hard luggage, the Pan America looks ready to conquer continents
Harley-Davidson's vision of an American adventure tourer
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Harley-Davidson's vision of an American adventure tourer
The Pan American 1250
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The Pan American 1250
A Harley to stand up on.
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A Harley for standing up on
The Bronx's Revolution 975cc engine
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The Bronx's Revolution 975cc engine
Custom Brembo brakes and co-branded Michelin tires
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Custom Brembo brakes and co-branded Michelin tires
Cruise control, adjustable suspension and heated grips on the Bronx streetfighter
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Cruise control, adjustable suspension and heated grips on the Bronx streetfighter
The Bronx 975 Streetfighter
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The Bronx 975 Streetfighter
A moody bruiser of a thing
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A moody bruiser of a thing
How will the Harley faitful react to the new, high-revving Revolution motor?
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How will the Harley faitful react to the new, high-revving Revolution motor?
The Bronx has lean angle to spare
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The Bronx has lean angle to spare
We're looking forward to seeing the Bronx optioned up out of the parts catalog
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We're looking forward to seeing the Bronx optioned up out of the parts catalog
The Pan America adventure tourer and the Bronx streetfighter were Harley-Davidson's big reveals for EICMA 2019
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The Pan America adventure tourer and the Bronx streetfighter were Harley-Davidson's big reveals for EICMA 2019
View gallery - 16 images

Harley-Davidson is not messing around. It's on a moon-shot mission to save itself by metamorphosing into a modern motorcycle company, while trying not to tread on its "badass" Boomer cruiser base in the process. Step one: the all-electric Livewire, a next-to silent streetbike. And now, at EICMA, far from the stars, stripes and apple pies of home, the company has released its next two efforts to find new relevance in a changing age. One has to wonder how these things would've gone down at an American release full of die-hard Harley fans who hold the brand's old-school image very dearly.

The new bikes are an adventure tourer and a streetfighter, both powered by a new Revolution engine platform. These will be 60-degree V-Twins, naturally, but liquid cooled and with dual downdraft throttle bodies. They'll also make a lot more power than Harley riders are accustomed to, by revving significantly higher than the big cruiser donks. The engines are narrow and compact, they form part of the frame for engineering purposes, and they feature internal counterbalancers to cut down on vibrations.

The 1250cc Revolution Max engine
The 1250cc Revolution Max engine

The new bikes will have to stop as well as they go, and Harley has teamed up with Brembo to create a special set of radial, 4-piston monoblocs that should set new braking standards for the marque. Harley's key input seems to have been minor and mainly aesthetic, adding a few "softer curves" to the caliper designs. Hopefully that's all; Brembo knows a thing or two about the actual braking part. Likewise, H-D has teamed up with Michelin to develop special co-branded tires for these two bikes, presumably to drum a few extra bucks out of its consumer base when it's time for new hoops.

The 2021 Pan America Adventure Tourer

Decked out with big hard luggage, the Pan America looks ready to conquer continents
Decked out with big hard luggage, the Pan America looks ready to conquer continents

First up, the adventure machine. The Pan America 1250 is H-D's answer to the R1200GS, the 1290 Super Adventure, the Super Ténéré, and the rest of the colossal "big chook chasers" that make up the ADV segment. While late to the party (everyone else seems to be refocusing their efforts toward middleweight adventure tourers), the Pan America will use a 1250cc "Revolution Max" engine, with which Harley is targeting an output over 145 horses and 90 lb-ft (122 Nm) of torque.

The company calls this its "two-wheel multi-tool, built to endure, designed to explore, and engineered for the unknown." It looks the part, with its beefy bash-plate, touring screen, barkbusters, massive three-box pannier system, spoked wheels, chunky off-road tires, comfy looking dual seat and an exposed subframe that looks terrific to strap a tent to. There's no weight figure as yet, or indeed a price, but Harley has committed to getting this 2021 model into stores in late 2020. Here's a video:

2021 Pan America | Harley-Davidson

The 2021 Bronx Streetfighter

The Bronx 975 Streetfighter
The Bronx 975 Streetfighter

Every bit as interesting is the Bronx, which takes some of the Livewire's snub-nosed proportions and marries them with a 975cc version of the Revolution motor and a few licks of the kind of flair Erik Buell brought to the Harley stable in the late 1990s with bikes like the White Lightning. This is no Buell, though. H-D presumably still owns the patents on some of Buell's outrageous ideas, but the Bronx has no rim-mounted disc brake, underslung exhaust, fuel-in-the-frame or oil-in-the-swingarm business.

Indeed it's a fairly conservative effort at a streetfighter, especially in an era where things like the Super Duper Duke and Tuono V4 walk the Earth. Power and torque figures are targeted to be at least 115 horses at 70 lb-ft (95 Nm), respectively, which should be fun enough provided it's not much more than the 500-odd pounder (225-odd kg) it looks like it might be.

Harley calls it a middleweight, but one with an "unapologetic attitude." We feel it'd be a bit less apologetic if it had access to the full-fat 1250cc motor, but it's a nice enough looker to sell well if it rides well, and no doubt it'll look and sound much more Harley-worthy and thunderous once owners have bled their way through the options catalog. Here's a video.

What are your thoughts? Has Milwaukee come up with anything that tickles your fancy here? Check out plenty of shots in the gallery.

Source: Harley-Davidson

View gallery - 16 images
11 comments
11 comments
Koziol
Dear Harley,
We do not want the old and tired V Twin you keep putting on the bikes. This is the same old design from WWII that you continue to add.
USIron
Koziol, you are only partly correct. It is a V twin but far far from the usual stuff they've been doing for years. Much more modern. It will piss off the gray beards, like me, but that's good. They aren't buying much anymore! These engines are more like the liquid cooled Indian offerings.
Gyula Bognar
I just echo the previous comment from Koziol. The V-Twin engine is B O R I N G, but even if it is good, the message is, that Harley cannot do, doesn't want to do anything new, modern, better, advanced engine designs, yet it wants huge prices for bikes, based on a 100-year old design, that is being repeated over and over again. Also, the bikes are ugly, cluttered, heavy-looking with all kinds of parts hanging on them. Less, much less would be more!
Todd
Harley had both of these bikes in their quiver 10 years ago, but were too short-sighted to see their value. With proper support from H-D, the Buell XB series, under Eric Buells' guidance, could have evolved into much more exciting motos, far sooner than these late arrivals. There's nothing new here. They will be too heavy, too expensive, and too late.
Martin Hone
Nothing tired about a V-twin in a motorcycle, unless you have only ever ridden 4-cylinder sewing machines. Granted, an overweight machine powered by an ugly engine of any sort is hardly appealing.....
Brodie Henryson
Whether or not these new bikes appeal to a younger audience is yet to be seen, old diehard HD faithful are getting too old for these types of bikes, have zero interest in them, and the younger crowd sees heavy and slow, the PanAm will be a top-heavy pig. I agree with other comments about the V-Twins, I bought the new Goldwing and took my Vtwin out for a last ride, I only got a few miles before turning around, just couldn't deal with the noise.
Richard Martinez Febles
Ducati, Suzuki, Yamaha, Hesketh
All have v-twins as do many, many other bike makers.
For those of you narrow-minded that say that Harley needs to hang up the V-Twin well let's just get to the point here, Harleys are not made for you or for anyone like-minded.
I own many bikes and accept Harley for what they are, a V-twin company. Let's get real if we are going to be talking about ugly and Antiquated let's talk about BMWs boxer oil head engines which are quite successful today more specifically on the GS bikes which I happen to own one of those as well, it is ugly but it works.
So bottom line here not everything is for you learn to accept that.
c w
V-twin is a cylinder arrangement, not a lifestyle choice. It can be as quiet, advanced as smooth as a team of engineers would like it to be.

If you think that's incorrect, note the Ducatis, Suzuki's and Moto Guzzis that use them... To say nothing of the Honda, Yamahas, Kawasakis...

Any engine is loud when de-catted and straight-piped.

Any cylinder arrangement can be cooled liquidly, dually-cammed from overhead, timed variably, throttled wiredly (or wirelessly) or managed by a small electronic box with the power of 20 small electric boxes from twenty years prior.
Rob Hruska
The Streetfighter looks like exactly what I've been yearning for. Can't wait to try one out.
nick101
This is a bold move for Harley, but they really don't have any choice. They used to be much more adventurous company before they discovered that a cohort would buy their big twins no matter how overpriced and under-engineered. They even made (or imported) a horizontal single that was a blast to ride with it's super low center of gravity, they should make some of those.
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