They’re Here
Harley-Davidson revealed some new bikes at EICMA. They were the Pan America and the Bronx. Both motorcycles featured Harley’s new engine, and this all marks a serious turning point for the company. The engine comes in two different displacement sizes, but both engines are 60-degree V-twins.
The Pan America and the Bronx are highly anticipated machines and are part of Harley’s new strategy to build less traditional motorcycles than it had in the past. Here’s a look at the two new bikes and what they offer.
Pan America
The Pan America gets the 1,250cc version of the new engine. The motorcycle is an adventure bike and hits the segment when it’s arguably at its hottest. The motorcycle looks the part and offers plenty when it comes to accessories and styling. The engine appears to be no slouch either, putting out 145 hp and 90 lb-ft of torque.
It will be interesting to see where this bike falls in terms of weight. That sounds like a lot of power but if the thing weighs a ton, I’ll be less impressed. Another question is the price. Harley will have to compete here. The company is entering new territory and putting out a wildly expensive bike won’t cut the mustard here when people can go with a trusted model for less or the same dollar amount.
Bronx
The Brox is a different animal completely. The bike features the 975cc version of the new V-twin engine. The bike features a kind of naked streetfighter look. The engine is said to put out more than 115 hp and 70 lb-ft of torque. Harley is keeping things pretty close to the vest at this point, and it’ll be interesting to see the full spec sheet when it is available.
The Bronx could be the revival of the sportbike for Harley. While the pieces all look to be there, it’ll really be down to how this thing handles a twisty road and where it falls in terms of price. It could be a real winner for the company if it’s as good as it looks.
Both are ugly.
Why on earth would anyone buy a Bronx over a Z900 or similar? The price needs to be lower than the competition because Harley’s track record is garbage, pun intended.
Also, these new bikes need to be competitive on weight and features like suspension and brakes. A heavy bike is a fail in this segment.
Also, it better have abs, traction control and a decent dash. Even the cheaper middleweights have this now.
A Harley sportbike? Colour me confused… and interested.
Looks better than I’d expected. It probably would have been better if they had a whiz-bang engineer with a solid track record of making exciting sports bikes using a V-Twin plant on the payroll. Not sure where they’d get one of those though
I saw what you did there.
Right on track. In my late forties and itching for another canyon Carver. Looks like Harley has something kire aggressive than the indian FTR and would definitely make an American sport bike an option
If they could be judged on appearance, I would give either one a chance (Bronx looks awesome) but not a coffee shop on Sunday kind of guy. My bikes need to perform in their role. Let the tests begin.
Why put this out under the Harley name? Buy or build another brand for these.
Also, I’m puzzled by the horsepower and torque numbers. Get your calculator and follow along with me: foot-pounds times RPM divided by 5252 equals horsepower. We have the torque, we have the horsepower, so we can derive RPM. To have only 90 foot-pounds of torque and make 145 horsepower, you’d be at *ahem* a rather high RPM. The numbers would somewhat make sense if reversed, but only if this is a “monster truck” type setup with massive torque down low, but loses power quickly as RPMs climb.