HD Pan America SS1000 Break In run

Jim in FL

Premier Member
#1
I just picked up a 2021 Harley Pan America Special, broke it in with a SS1000, and electronically submitted it. I just thought I’d post a quick ride report on the start of this little adventure for those interested.

I’ve been following this bike since it was announced years ago, since it is like a mash-up of the last 3 bikes I’ve sold – a BMW F800GS Trophy, Harley MT500, and Harley 883. And when Kelly Quinn (ToH Rider involved in testing) messaged me and said it was legit I was hooked. Back in Feb when I heard they were taking orders I stopped by Seminole Harley they told me May was sold out, bet they were taking deposits for Nov. A week ago I stuck my nose in Rossmeyer’s , and they told me FL was in the last region they’ll be shipping to, and they weren’t expecting them until late May or early June. Bummer.

Wednesday the Orlando Harley Sales Manager said the shipping company had just unexpectedly dropped off three Pan Americas, and asked if I was still interested. Silly question.

The initial break in service is 1000 miles, so it seemed like the obvious thing would be to go on a nice, easy SS1000. They opened at 10am Friday, I figured I’d be out of there by noon and head right down the street to my credit union for the first dated receipt. Since I wasn’t going to mount my 595 on it until later, I laid out a simple route I could just make a few notes of cities to hit, make my Ocala 6pm meeting, and still get plenty of sleep before work 10am Saturday (my hard deadline).

Well, that didn’t happen. By the time all the paperwork, insurance binders, etc. was done it was a quarter to 2pm, but I figured I was still good for time.
I finally shoved all my paperwork in my backpack and jumped on my bike, rode down to my credit union for my first receipt, and headed out to I-4 with my sights set on JAX. And immediately ran into a huge traffic back up due to a crash. I worked my way over to the first off ramp and saw that the bottom of the ramp was completely blocked by two additional cars that had decided to have their own private crash. Stuck on I-4, It wound up taking me an hour and a half to cover the first 40 miles due to two additional crashes. Only two of the three that brought us to a halt were actually northbound, the other was southbound, I guess everyone decided to stop out of sympathy.

The cooling system on the Pan Am is awesome, it never even came close to overheating while sitting there idling at a stop with an indicated 98’ F outside temp.

Since it was evidently “Crash your car in FL” day, I bailed off the road at the Deland exit and figured I’d run up 17 to Palatka, then cross over to Gainesville, and still make it to Ocala on time. But I didn’t know that apparently Friday is when all the farmers take their equipment out for a spin.

The power band of the Pan America is amazingly broad, and even in the wrong gear it can instantly jump out with a roar to pass a line of as many as 8 tractors towing equipment going down a narrow 2 lane road when all the tractors going the other way have finally passed.

By the time I made it to Palatka I knew Gainesville was out, so I headed south to Salt Springs (where I used to be stationed as a Firefighter/Paramedic).

The cruise control on the bike is awesome, and makes it real easy to set at the speed limit for a long straight cruise when a Putnam County Sherriff decides to tailgate you the entire 25 miles down 19 to Salt Springs (even though the last 9 miles are in Marion County).

With the road I was planning to take blocked with yet another crash, I stayed on 19 all the way to 40, and made it to Ocala for my meeting, a CrossFit workout to get rid of a bit of the irritation, and then struck out north. I figured if I ran up I75 to Atlanta I’d still be good. Well, about 100 miles south of Atlanta on a remote section of I-75 I decided to turn off my bike, stretch a bit, and take a little nap in the fast lane – since all three lanes were blocked (and the median unpassable) by a major wreck that took over half an hour to clear with heavy equipment, helicopters flown in, etc.
When we finally started crawling along in a single lane I jumped off at the first exit, refilled, and headed south to Lake City, JAX, Daytona, and Deland. I was just over 200 miles short, so hopped on my computer, figured out a route 40 to I95 south & back that would get the miles I needed and took off to make it back in time for work. For the first time in this whole SS1000 everything went exactly as planned. I looked pretty rough when I showed up to work, but everyone was more interested in checking out the Pan Am.

Bought it Friday, dropped it off Sunday morning for the 1000 mile break in service with 1110 on it. Showroom guys were amazed, service guys know me:

Sales (excited): He put 1000 miles on it yesterday!
Service (deadpan): Of course he did.

Had an amusing follow up call yesterday with a very polite lady as well:
Cust service: I'm just calling to see if you are satisfied with your experience (etc..)
Me: Yea, the bike's great, I'm bringing it back tomorrow morning.
Cust service: I'm sorry, is there a problem with your new motorcycle?
Me: Not at all, I put 1000 miles on it yesterday and it's ready for its first service.
Cust service: I'm glad to hea....wait....what?

The bike is amazing. But I really need to put my GPS on it, and the Spot 3 generously donated to me by Phil Ward, before my next IBA run.

Jim in FL
#61852
 

Jim in FL

Premier Member
#5
It is a bit like the BMW F800GS Trophy I owned, but better balanced, better suspension, lower seat, lower center of gravity, way better powerband - wider and way more power. More comfortable, but that's a pretty low bar. Based on the completely unscientific method of riding over stuff on the way into the back yard it seems to have about the same ground clearance. Lots of whirring steampunk noises going on inside the engine cases, the Harley tech said that one of the lessons was explaining them to customers.

The Pan Am is its own thing. If I didn't know what it was, I'd say it is an Adventure Bike that reminds me of a Sporty.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#6
Great ride report, Jim.

The story epilogue with the dealership after the break-in run was perfect. Would not be surprised if you hear a follow-up from corporate about that (not just about the sales experience...)
 

Jim in FL

Premier Member
#7
I would love to get in the loop with Corprate about this bike - not just for the usual reasons, but maybe to get a few strings pulled to get around the back order for aluminum cases, etc.

Jim in FL
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#8
Do you really want the factory cases? You might have better luck contacting some of the aftermarket companies like Touratech, Happy Trails, Jesse, Tusk, Moose Racing, coyotetrips, etc. Or just rolling your own pannier racks and putting what ever cases you want on them. Touratech sells bare hoops in steel and stainless steel if you want to jump start the process. I suspect many of the companies will be interested in making something for you if you're willing to provide them with the bike for a while.
 

Shame

Premier Member
#9
Do you really want the factory cases? You might have better luck contacting some of the aftermarket companies like Touratech, Happy Trails, Jesse, Tusk, Moose Racing, coyotetrips, etc. Or just rolling your own pannier racks and putting what ever cases you want on them. Touratech sells bare hoops in steel and stainless steel if you want to jump start the process. I suspect many of the companies will be interested in making something for you if you're willing to provide them with the bike for a while.
I'd keep it as sleek as possible if they have any aerodynamic offerings
 

Shame

Premier Member
#10
I just picked up a 2021 Harley Pan America Special, broke it in with a SS1000, and electronically submitted it. I just thought I’d post a quick ride report on the start of this little adventure for those interested.

I’ve been following this bike since it was announced years ago, since it is like a mash-up of the last 3 bikes I’ve sold – a BMW F800GS Trophy, Harley MT500, and Harley 883. And when Kelly Quinn (ToH Rider involved in testing) messaged me and said it was legit I was hooked. Back in Feb when I heard they were taking orders I stopped by Seminole Harley they told me May was sold out, bet they were taking deposits for Nov. A week ago I stuck my nose in Rossmeyer’s , and they told me FL was in the last region they’ll be shipping to, and they weren’t expecting them until late May or early June. Bummer.

Wednesday the Orlando Harley Sales Manager said the shipping company had just unexpectedly dropped off three Pan Americas, and asked if I was still interested. Silly question.

The initial break in service is 1000 miles, so it seemed like the obvious thing would be to go on a nice, easy SS1000. They opened at 10am Friday, I figured I’d be out of there by noon and head right down the street to my credit union for the first dated receipt. Since I wasn’t going to mount my 595 on it until later, I laid out a simple route I could just make a few notes of cities to hit, make my Ocala 6pm meeting, and still get plenty of sleep before work 10am Saturday (my hard deadline).

Well, that didn’t happen. By the time all the paperwork, insurance binders, etc. was done it was a quarter to 2pm, but I figured I was still good for time.
I finally shoved all my paperwork in my backpack and jumped on my bike, rode down to my credit union for my first receipt, and headed out to I-4 with my sights set on JAX. And immediately ran into a huge traffic back up due to a crash. I worked my way over to the first off ramp and saw that the bottom of the ramp was completely blocked by two additional cars that had decided to have their own private crash. Stuck on I-4, It wound up taking me an hour and a half to cover the first 40 miles due to two additional crashes. Only two of the three that brought us to a halt were actually northbound, the other was southbound, I guess everyone decided to stop out of sympathy.

The cooling system on the Pan Am is awesome, it never even came close to overheating while sitting there idling at a stop with an indicated 98’ F outside temp.

Since it was evidently “Crash your car in FL” day, I bailed off the road at the Deland exit and figured I’d run up 17 to Palatka, then cross over to Gainesville, and still make it to Ocala on time. But I didn’t know that apparently Friday is when all the farmers take their equipment out for a spin.

The power band of the Pan America is amazingly broad, and even in the wrong gear it can instantly jump out with a roar to pass a line of as many as 8 tractors towing equipment going down a narrow 2 lane road when all the tractors going the other way have finally passed.

By the time I made it to Palatka I knew Gainesville was out, so I headed south to Salt Springs (where I used to be stationed as a Firefighter/Paramedic).

The cruise control on the bike is awesome, and makes it real easy to set at the speed limit for a long straight cruise when a Putnam County Sherriff decides to tailgate you the entire 25 miles down 19 to Salt Springs (even though the last 9 miles are in Marion County).

With the road I was planning to take blocked with yet another crash, I stayed on 19 all the way to 40, and made it to Ocala for my meeting, a CrossFit workout to get rid of a bit of the irritation, and then struck out north. I figured if I ran up I75 to Atlanta I’d still be good. Well, about 100 miles south of Atlanta on a remote section of I-75 I decided to turn off my bike, stretch a bit, and take a little nap in the fast lane – since all three lanes were blocked (and the median unpassable) by a major wreck that took over half an hour to clear with heavy equipment, helicopters flown in, etc.
When we finally started crawling along in a single lane I jumped off at the first exit, refilled, and headed south to Lake City, JAX, Daytona, and Deland. I was just over 200 miles short, so hopped on my computer, figured out a route 40 to I95 south & back that would get the miles I needed and took off to make it back in time for work. For the first time in this whole SS1000 everything went exactly as planned. I looked pretty rough when I showed up to work, but everyone was more interested in checking out the Pan Am.

Bought it Friday, dropped it off Sunday morning for the 1000 mile break in service with 1110 on it. Showroom guys were amazed, service guys know me:

Sales (excited): He put 1000 miles on it yesterday!
Service (deadpan): Of course he did.

Had an amusing follow up call yesterday with a very polite lady as well:
Cust service: I'm just calling to see if you are satisfied with your experience (etc..)
Me: Yea, the bike's great, I'm bringing it back tomorrow morning.
Cust service: I'm sorry, is there a problem with your new motorcycle?
Me: Not at all, I put 1000 miles on it yesterday and it's ready for its first service.
Cust service: I'm glad to hea....wait....what?

The bike is amazing. But I really need to put my GPS on it, and the Spot 3 generously donated to me by Phil Ward, before my next IBA run.

Jim in FL
#61852
Nice ride report! All in a day's work! Ha! I've been eyeing the PA and have a test ride scheduled this month. I hear it pulls pretty hard above 6500rpm and can go very fast but has speed limiter set at 135mph. Fast enough for me.
 

cacomly

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#12
Thanks for the ride report. I know a few who work in dealers who have done the corporate demos which included also riding the GS, Multistrada, and possibly a third bike, KTM perhaps? All have said they like the PA better and gave me reasons for each so I don't feel it's simply because they want to sell them.

It is high on my list for my next rally bike
 

Shawn K

Professional Cat Confuser
Premier Member
#14
I really want to like this bike (honestly... and I'm not a Harley guy), but the chain drive rules it out for me as a true long-distance bike.

I'm not saying that it can't be made to work. I'm saying that I don't want to maintain a chain. I want my bikes to be as low-maintenance as possible.

I truly hope that this bike helps H-D to turn a corner (pardon the phrase).