Harley-Davidson Pan America 975 Adventure is closer than ever

Harley-Davidson first announced plans to enter the adventure motorcycle market in July 2018. As part of Harley-Davidson's 'More Roads to Harley-Davidson' product plan, the Pan America was first revealed as a 1,252cc prototype.

Developed and announced by then-CEO Matt Levatich. It was part of an ambitious strategy to see Harley's name appear on new models in categories where the company had traditionally been out of the competition.

Levatich found himself out of Harley Davidson just 18 months later, in early 2020, before the new bikes hit the market. 

He was replaced by Jochen Zeitz, who scrapped the More Roads to Harley-Davidson plan and refocused the company on its core cruiser models. There were some models that "survived". 

A lightweight electric became the LiveWire Del Mar and a then-unknown design became the Sportster S. Others, like the proposed parallel twin and streetfighter, simply disappeared. Also preserved is Pan America 1250. Despite being a year late, it went straight to the top of the US adventure bike sales charts when it was released in 2021.

What about the smaller 975cc version of the Pan America? There was a clear strategy in the original More Roads plan. An initial 1,250cc model would be followed by a 975cc model a year later. There are plenty of signs that this moment isn't far off, even though the smaller one didn't make it to launch.

There is evidence that Pan America was planning to release its RA975 and RA975S models in 2022, a year behind its larger RA1250. A dedicated website has already been set up for the 2022 Harley-Davidson RA975 and 2022 Harley-Davidson RA975S by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is responsible for overseeing vehicle recalls in the US. 

In other words, Harley-Davidson informed NHTSA that there was a 975cc version of the Pan America and it would be available in 2022. Harley-Davidson itself proves the bike will be sold. When you search HD for RA975, it shows accessory pages that mention the bike, but the links aren't working. In saved versions of the Google pages, you can see that the RA975S is compatible with some of the Pan America accessories, so the 975cc will look like the 1,252cc. It's Pan American.

 There's still no word on when we'll see the RA975. It might be Harley's original Pan America, which debuted in production form in February 2021, that gives us a clue. It's been two and a half years since the original came out. The little Pan America should be unveiled early next year, so it makes sense to wait.

Source: Cycle World