Hey there been riding a road glide special for 8 years. Want an adventure bike. Found a guy that would trade me his pan america. It is a 21 that had an engine failure, has been rebuilt with 23 parts. Have done all the updates so basically a new bike. About 4k on the new engine. I have confirmed this with the dealer that did the work. Now I've been reading through the internet and kind of getting cold feet. In your guys experience are the majority problem free and it is the ones with the issues scream the loudest? Thanks for any input. Excited to possibly join the club!
How bad are the issues?
MTadventurer
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Hey there been riding a road glide special for 8 years. Want an adventure bike. Found a guy that would trade me his pan america. It is a 21 that had an engine failure, has been rebuilt with 23 parts. Have done all the updates so basically a new bike. About 4k on the new engine. I have confirmed this with the dealer that did the work. Now I've been reading through the internet and kind of getting cold feet. In your guys experience are the majority problem free and it is the ones with the issues scream the loudest? Thanks for any input. Excited to possibly join the club!
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Unfortunately the issues were bad on alot of bikes, and non-existent on others which makes the PA a bit of a gamble some times.
There's definitely a check list of things to look for now, so I'd say odds of getting a good bike now are higher than they've ever been.
There's definitely a check list of things to look for now, so I'd say odds of getting a good bike now are higher than they've ever been.
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587 Posts
Just make sure to get an extended HD warranty on the bike worked into the price if you are buying from a dealer. I would buy a new one before buying a used one with no warranty. I love My PA, but I have not been one of the lucky ones. She has spent way to many months in the shop with problems almost all electrical.
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I love my '22 PAS.
Can be difficult to get replacement parts for it though.
Can be difficult to get replacement parts for it though.
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No (major) problems with my new '22 PAS. Knock on wood but i always keep the bike on the tender and made sure it had all the latest firmware updates before taking delivery. I'll say there a few users here and on facebook that are making it thier personal quest to deter anyone from the PA because they had major issues. It makes it seem like most PA's have issues, which in my talking to other owners has been the opposite.
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I have been noticing the quest to deter people. The more I looked around I think I'm going for it. Found alot of people saying good things about them. Obviously the 21s had there flaws but seems like alot of the issues are getting figured out.
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75 Posts
I would say the most common issues in the early days now have real fixes ..
Burnt radiator hose - redesigned hose
Failing fuel pump - replacement fuel pump (again, some have seen repeat failures so I'm hoping a higher quality pump becomes available one day)
Starting issues and battery drain linked to failed Starter clutch - replaced starter clutch
Cold start issues / ride modes disabled / ARH not working / screen shutting off / random fault codes - software updates
I'd say if a bike has had these matters taken care of, then it's going to be a good bike. Unfortunately alot of people had to deal with every single issue as they came up, and this compounded with bad service techs / departments really did some damage to the bikes reputation. I can completely understand why some people got rid of their bike.
And of course there's been some random catastrophic failures ... mostly from poorly installed or defective internal components, but I don't think they really count as endemic to this bike as that happens to all brands / models etc at some point.
Burnt radiator hose - redesigned hose
Failing fuel pump - replacement fuel pump (again, some have seen repeat failures so I'm hoping a higher quality pump becomes available one day)
Starting issues and battery drain linked to failed Starter clutch - replaced starter clutch
Cold start issues / ride modes disabled / ARH not working / screen shutting off / random fault codes - software updates
I'd say if a bike has had these matters taken care of, then it's going to be a good bike. Unfortunately alot of people had to deal with every single issue as they came up, and this compounded with bad service techs / departments really did some damage to the bikes reputation. I can completely understand why some people got rid of their bike.
And of course there's been some random catastrophic failures ... mostly from poorly installed or defective internal components, but I don't think they really count as endemic to this bike as that happens to all brands / models etc at some point.
I just bought a 2023 Special, no electrical issues however my handlebars/risers are "crooked" and I have full faith in Harley fixing it under Warranty during the first service. I have been totally happy with my purchase so far and find that it is a breeze to work on. Handles like a really big dirt bike on gravel, the torque and power is out of this world.
I would not have bought anything prior to a '23 model just based on them working out the kinks.
I would not have bought anything prior to a '23 model just based on them working out the kinks.
Easy fix for you.
When riding, if your handle bar is a little off center, stop the bike and turn your handle bar to the stop.
Apply turning force until it aligns, it may take a couple of tries.
The dealer will do the same, I'm sure.
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This happened to me too. It got off kilter when i almost dropped the bike in loose sand. I got it back myself as Dettfly described. Not sure why this happens on the PA but not a major problem.
It happens due to the weight of the PanAm.
If you picked your bike out of soft send, you know what I'm talking about.
In my experiece, I had my PanAm fully loader, still wondering to this day how I was able to pick my bike up.
High center of gravity worsens the issue, and there is a lot, a lot of force into the handlebar.
All that torque will twist your bars.
Maybe I’m just not understanding, don’t I need to loosen the top handlebar nuts?
Nope, trust me.
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427 Posts
Interesting.
Mine is also a little caddy wampus from a hard drop on the WYBDR.
Will check that out later today
So Dettfly what your saying is turn the handlebars to steering lock one way, and keep going until you get them aligned? My issue is that the bars are "off center" while I'm riding but the bike tracks straight, strangest thing.
Appreciate your help.
Appreciate your help.
Steering detent(stop)
The handle bar support is a little twisted and when you ride, you can see the handlebar a little or a lot off center if you compare to the display case (for example).
A little twist in the handlebar in the opposite direction will fix it.
The handlebar support is off center, nothing else, from the upper triple clamp to the bars.
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44 Posts
Absolutely 100%. Hit the nail squarely on the head. đź‘Ťđź‘Ť
I have a 2021 PAS no ARH no blown engine no issues that I would trade with you. Boise area. I miss my bagger.
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