It’s a bit like my Thaiumph.....nothing these days is what it seems..
If it's not succesful they could always paint it Green and stick a Kawasaki badge on it ;; I personally hope it stands on it's own 2 feet and succeed's ;
It’s a bit like my Thaiumph.....nothing these days is what it seems..
I must say I'm liking this machine and seriously considering one for my US trips.
Can't get a decent test ride at the minute but it will certainly be tempting if it rides well.
Had a sit on one today - No good for me - it’s one of those sit in not on adventure bikes designed for short arses - the seat / peg ratio was no good ... too angled.
Why do bikers "need" a quickshifter? We've managed quite well without them for decades and I'm sure we are still quite capable of changing gears without the use of a gizmo that only adds expense and something else that is complicated and liable to go wrong. Another solution to a question that was never asked.
Stopped in the local dealership today, first time in a couple years, and they had a orange and white Pan Am demo (that couldn't be ridden until they fixed the coolant leak) and 2 Livewires with"sale tags" hanging off them. Pan Am looked nicer in the flesh than the images I've seen. It felt a little cramped but after raising the seat it was fine and that's about all I could determine by just sitting on it. I was approached by "Debbie" a saleswoman who had been through Harley's training so had ridden it and knew about it to an extent. She answered a few questions but had no idea when I asked what was the strength or resistance to damage difference between cast and spoke wheels? She said "the spokes are more for off road". Yes, yes I understand this but how "much more"? In other words "how much tougher or stronger are the spoke wheels, 10%, 50%,..... ? She didn't know that, I wonder if anyone does?
Jeez mate, don't say things like that in the 1250 section as there will be tears and tantrums
To be fair that is probably not a question that comes up too often.
I imagine Harley knows the answer. It'd also be nice to know the difference in weight. Some years back BMW described "the cast wheels on a GS were designed for off road use because they are heavier duty than the regular cast wheels on our street bikes. But for more extreme off road use we offer optional tubeless spoke wheels." Just a statement like that would assure riders like me that the lace wheel option isn't necessary for typical dirt roads and moderate trail riding. The only reason I ask is because I far prefer cast wheels for the advantage of being easier to clean and never shifting out of true. But I bent the front rim on my RS pretty bad hitting a pothole on the (so called) paved road leading to the dirt road I live on. All the holes were filled with water and what I thought was a shallow hole turned out to be one of the monsters. Had to send it off to be repaired which cost $400 with shipping. Of course BMW road bike wheels are soft.
Looking closely at the Pan Am's cast wheels they "appear" to be quite stout, but only $100 more than the wheel repair cost would paye for laced wheels.
Debbie has texted me already this morning asking if I got the phone message with the price quote she left yesterday? Her quote was $1,100 over Harley's suggest retail price "plus fees of course". It's a shame Harley brings out an all new motorcycle that's competitively priced in the attempt to gain market share only to for their dealers to drive interested buyers away.