When I first heard about the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250, I was slightly scared of how an ADV bike, from a company that specializes in low-slung cruisers, would fare on tricky terrain and under low-grip conditions. And having never ridden a full-sized ADV, this sure was not my cup of tea.

However, I recently got a chance to swing a leg over the Pan Am 1250 and I’m happy to report that the bike felt like Bruce Banner rather than an angry Hulk waiting to Hulk-smash the life outta you.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Pan America, with its 150 horsepower, 1252cc engine, has more than enough grunt to throw you around if you get a lil’ too liberal with the throttle, but the bike feels so smooth and poised that you can almost predict when it’ll go into Hulk-mode. Additionally, the throttle calibration is on point, which makes life even easier in tricky terrain, especially for an inexperienced off-road rider like yours truly.

Couple this with the bike’s excellent ability to mask its weight and the Pan America feels simply ’easy’ on the go. This becomes even more impressive when you think Harley has only made cruiser bikes to date, all of which aren’t all that great at masking their heft.

Another thing that makes the Pan America 1250 a breezy ride is its roomy cockpit. In the saddle, the tall windscreen, big TFT, and wide handlebar all make the bike seem massive (which it actually is) but as soon as you stand up on the pegs, you shift into a commanding riding position, as if you’re aboard a 150-horse chariot, ready to go all out. Meanwhile, all needful controls such as the rear brake, gear lever, clutch, and front brake are all handy too.

Finally, thanks to all this, the Pan America 1250 inspired so much confidence that I could easily manage to get some airtime with it, and this was on more than one occasion (check out my video below).

To sum it up, Harley-Davidson has truly outdone itself with the Pan America 1250, creating a fine and easy-to-ride adventure bike that is right up there with the competition.

Here’s the video of me jumping around, in case you’d want to watch:

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