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PAS RA1250S Deadwood Green Spokes & ARH
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Discussion Starter · #1 · (Edited)
Why do you? What's wrong with you? Don't you know how many other fantastic motorcycles are out there from all corners of the globe, even Italy, we're living at the absolute peak of the internal combustion engine, this is it lads and it's all down hill from here, mark my words and yet you ride a Harley. What's that all about? :confused:

Thanks. Dirtglide. [I will give my reasons later, but I'm genuinely interested to appreciate yours] ☮
 

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2021 Deadwood (OD) Green PanAm, 2007 Pearl Yellow RK Custom
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280 Posts
I'm brand loyal, dealer network, and when my butt landed on the PA seat and wrist throttled the throttle, SOLD! I also love the looks (and color, green not the other ones😂) of PA compared to all others!

Plus I can't own the beemer, buddy does so I got something to rip him on!😁
Pretty much in a nutshell and up to 2615 happy happy happy miles!

Yeah it's sad that the elites are gonna shove electric down to everyone. But that's all I will say.
 

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PAS RA1250S Deadwood Green Spokes & ARH
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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
Here's my opener, as it didn't just happen, overnight. This is a snipit of a review what I wrote, after test-riding my first ever Harley-Davidson, you join us, with my wife and I, mid-ride on the A1 (freeway) heading South towards Dunbar.


Why do I ride a Pan American?

It all goes back to Feb 2015, in preparation for a US tour, I’d arranged to test-ride an Electra-Glide Ultra, thanks to Edinburgh H-D.

Around this time, I got slightly carried away with the experience, low traffic and the urge to see how quickly it could go north of 3 digits & with an earth rumbling & yes quite glorious chatter 100mph was duly dispatched and we hurtled along enjoying the straight wide road that a bike like this was designed for and I have to tell you it was pretty bloody enjoyable!

But then comes the Yang to the Ying. I couldn’t help but notice blue flashing lights way off behind us but closing. Speed right down to 65 and hope they pass? Nope it’s me, the king of the highway they’re after alright. I flick a left signal to acknowledge I have well clocked them, and my mirrors go less blue as we tick off the 500m to the layby up ahead. It’s like they planned this you know.

Marnie off, sorry dear, so very sorry¦ WPC approaches from her BMW and suggests I was speeding? Err, well, not sure about that, I reply sheepishly.

Come and have a seat in our nice warm car, she offered. Clocked me at 85mph over distance of 450m by radar. How do I plead to £100 fine & 3 points? Accepting the offer, I did confess that due to the empty road and glorious noise from the stage 1 exhaust that I might have gotten a little carried away as it's a lovely bike. To which they agreed. What is it? Harley Davidson Electra-Glide (in Gold).

Printer error! meant they couldn’t issue the ticket at the roadside, but the report to the procurator fiscal shall reflect that I did cop at the first request and I 'don’t want to go to court! Turns out I’m the first Harley Davidson Electra Glide (in Gold) rider they’ve had in their warm car, which was nice and with that we were allowed to resume our journey the last 15 miles to Dunbar, will we make it? Now back on the road at a much more legal speed, we pass the police heading back north to reset their cunning trap.

It was an interesting conversation when I got back to the dealer and fessed up about getting caught speeding; they were somewhat surprised, but cool with the whole thing in a very decent way, which I did appreciate.

For that brief moment in time, I was a slightly taller, Robert Blake, on an Electra Glide in Gold - not Blue, it was just the mirrors that were blue. :oops:

TBC.

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I knew as soon as the concept art was released and they started to drop hints about the engine I was going to be buying one. I've had close to 30 bikes in my life and better than a dozen have been Harleys. I was sold on the PA from the start. I truly hope this engine makes it into more models or variants than the PA and Sportster S. I love old air cooled V-twins but these adventure bike really are swiss army knives of the motorcycle world.
 

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Previously owned a Stage 4 FXDX frame up build, Ohlin's suspension, Brembo brakes, the lot. As great as it was, it just didn't tick the boxes for me.
It is also the biggest heat score on the road haha.

I tried the Pan America a year ago and loved it for the 2000KM I borrowed it for.
Then I was asked to do a work trip riding one in the Mojave desert in November. This sealed the deal for me, it's a bike that can do all I ask of it. As I want to stay brand loyal to H-D.

So for 2022 I had my eyes firmly on a Black PAS with Spoked rims and the full Electronic suspension. 3 weeks ago today I took it home and 2500 KM later I'm still stoked!

It's not absolutely perfect but I knew that when I bought it, but man, she rips, not a single one of my buddies can keep up anymore, no matter the road and conditions. I flick between soft and hard suspension to match the road and speed and it just makes the bike a beast.
 

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PAS RA1250S Deadwood Green Spokes & ARH
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Discussion Starter · #10 ·
I knew then I was hooked.
I live in smallsville, Scotland, so while I can get it, it remains to be seen how it will be in its natural environment. 4 weeks later we picked up a rental Glide Ultra and rode that sucker East to West from Orlando Fl, up through the Gulf, Texas, Vegas, San Fransico and back to LA. Just over 4500 miles in 11 days flat and we had time to party in Mississippi with Denny and the boys from Pineville, as it turned out. Lost a day in Austin Tx, as well I got a hair cut and a beer and then two and then, we lost a day.

Trip of my lifetime, maybe, hope not. I could a done it on a Honda, but would we have been accepted in the same way, probably not and it was nice to adopt that culture and bond with fellow human beings, that and the change of scenery is the best bit about travelling and it doesn't really get much better than travelling on a motorcycle.

I'm sharing photos of that trip; you'll note they start in Russia, that's because we had to catch a flight there before flying onto New York and then Orlando in a 24hr mammoth stint, thanks to Norweigian Air dumping us in Olso, but that's another story!


Hope they raise a smile. Ride safe. (y)
Dirtglide.
 

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2021 Baja Orange / White Pan America Special
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138 Posts
I was really wanting a Ducati, but the maintenance, and ridiculous costs make it more of a chore to own than anything. And a $2500 timing belt every 30000km?? No thank you... Plus valve adjustments and overpriced "required" services.....
BMW, I'm too blue collar to hang out with those boys and girls....
The Pan America is an ass kicking bike, and every journalist who laughed at it is now ckoking on their words. It has its own look and sound (especially with the TOCE exhaust 🤣) I LOVE this bike, found out it even works well in a spring blizzard a few weekends ago🤷🏼‍♂️👍😎
 

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I had a road glide, which I loved, then moved on to a newer Road Glide. That was an awesome tourer and I've done every cool road from the Pacific Coast Highway to Sturgis and from the Mexican Border and through British Columbia.

Another couple we ride with decided that big touring Harleys weren't for them. They bought a couple of Triumph adventure bikes, which they thoroughly enjoyed. My wife and I were watching their adventures and she became a little envious because we couldn't join them on the dirt roads. Also, there's the Baja and Alaska Highway on my bucket list, which are a bit less "Harley Friendly". I came across a killer deal on a KTM 1190 so we could join them on some of their dirtier trips and I could dip my tow in the adventure bike pool. Having two bikes was awesome, but insurance is stupid expensive here. Any time I wanted to ride the other bike I would have to go to the insurance agency and swap it over.

The thing about the KTM is that is was a serious kick in the pants. The power and handling of the bike was just way too much fun. What would happen for the next couple of years is that I would start by insuring the Road Glide, ride it for a month then switch over to the KTM and never switch it back. Dirt adds a whole new set of adventures, plus on the pavement the handling was incredible.

I had bought the KTM used and cheap. It was already a high miler, but was well maintained and a great bike, however it was getting up there in age and kilometers. My Road Glide was a 2010, so it too, was getting a tad long in the tooth. Switching back and forth was a pain, so I started considering one, newer adventure bike. Along comes Harley with the Pan America. I put my name on the demo lists, did my research, and for the most part forgot about it. Spring of 2021 arrives, and just for fun, demoed a KTM 1290 (Nice. Fast... But tall and felt awkward.) A BMW GS1250 (a very refined bike that almost rides itself. It takes up a LOT of real estate, and just didn't seem to be all that much fun.) Ducatis were even more expensive, Triumph or the Tenere 1200 didn't do it for me. There were still no Pan Ams available, which didn't really matter because they were probably going to suck anyway. I was pretty skeptical, however all the positive reviews were intriguing.

Finally in June of 2021 I got a call from a local Harley dealer. They had a Special in that was spoken for but they guy's financing fell through. I headed out to give it a go. This was no organized kiddie ride, so I actually got to take it around Chilliwack Mountain and give her a run for her money. As I was riding though the twisties, I was screaming like a kid on a roller coaster. What a blast! I fell in love. When I got back to the dealer, I asked how much I could get for a trade on my two bikes. They came in okay on the KTM, but the Road Glide was insulting, so we couldn't make a deal. I wasn't in any hurry so life went on. It was an unproven bike, I had two great bikes, I should just shut up and be happy. I did another kiddie demo at a different dealer, which I got to know the electronics a bit, but that silly group ride did nothing for me. Still, I couldn't get that other demo out of my head.

Summer comes and goes. No deals to be had. I figured I'd just wait until next spring to worry about it. Maybe try and sell the two bikes first, demo a few more... Save a few bucks and maybe get a leftover '21 in spring of '22. Of course, being the Craigslist and Marketplace junkie that I am I kept seeing this one Pan America Special, in black, with spokes at a dealer about 3 1/2 hours away, that was another location of one of the dealers I did a demo with. It was exactly the bike I was looking for, but I could wait.

Then I got a call, out of the blue from the dealer I did the kiddie ride with. They asked if I was still interested. I told them that there was no deal to be had, because they'd offered me a lowball trade on my Road Glide. They came back and said that winter was approaching and they wanted to move bikes, so what would it take to get me on a new Pan America? I said 'a lot more that you're offering'. They asked for some pictures, so I took them and sent them. There's another, third dealer right near where I work, so I decided to check in with them to make sure I was getting a square deal. Sure enough, dealer #3 came in with a $8500 trade. Plus they didn't have any with spokes, spokes were impossible to get, might not even have them in '22... Anyway, no deal.

Dealer #2, the kiddie ride dealer calls back. They said they would give me $12,000 for my bike.

"Mmmmmkay..." I start doing math in my head. Even though I might get $14,000 for my bike, I'm saving the taxes on the difference.

I told them the only one I would be interested in was the one in Kamloops, over three hours way. "Oh, we ship bikes between stores all the time. We could have it by Friday. Besides, that's the only black PAS with spokes left in BC.)

"Uh Huh." This is ridiculous. I DO NOT need a new bike! What the hell am I thinking??

"Bring your bike in, give us a deposit, we'll bring down the bike and if you don't like it, we'll refund your deposit"

"Ummm... Okay"

That was October. Everything just fell into place, almost like fate. Although it sucked having a brand new bike and not being able to ride it all winter, it was worth it. Now, this year, the bikes are $4500 more, without spokes. To top it off, as I'm researching luggage in April, they had a top box at another one of their locations. Great, order it in. As I pick it up they say, "Oh by the way, we have the side cases you want. A guy ordered them last August and he's so upset he doesn't want them anymore."

"I guess I'd better take them, then".

So, I managed to get the right deal on the bike I wanted. It all just kind of fell together. Plus I don't have to get rid of all my T shirts.
 
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