Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST (2025) – Technical Review

Harley-Davidson’s name might be intrinsically tied to the idea of chrome-clad cruisers but in the UK the company’s foray into adventure bikes has proved surprisingly fruitful – the Pan America 1250 Special has become a firm fixture at the top of the brand’s sales rankings and easily outsells most of the more traditional models in the range.

The new Pan America 1250 ST should further entrench the model’s success, putting the emphasis on performance an on-road ability, with the promise of enhanced handling and less weight compared to the adventure model it’s based on, taking the fight to machines like Yamaha’s Tracer 9 and Kawasaki’s Versys 1100, Suzuki’s GSX-S1000GX or even BMW’s S 1000 XR.

Pros & Cons

2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST - Price & PCP Deals

The new Pan America 1250 ST essentially replaces the base Pan America 1250 – leaving the semi-active suspension ‘Special’ and hugely expensive CVO Pan America as the all-road version.

Price-wise, the new model is £1000 more than the old base bike, coming in at £16,995. For a company with a reputation for making expensive bikes that doesn’t seem bad. After all, it’s a 150hp, 1252cc V-twin sports tourer. Bear in mind that Yamaha’s Tracer 9 GT+ - higher-tech but less powerful than the Pan America – also lists at £17k, while the Suzuki GSX-S1000GX, which is close to the Harley in power and weight but arguably less exotic, is approaching £15k.

Colour options for the new model include grey, black or red.

2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST - Engine & Performance

Harley-Davidson’s ‘Revolution Max’ engine lives up to its name when compared to the traditional air-cooled engines normally associated with the brand. Not only is it liquid-cooled, but it’s got variable valve timing with cam-phasing on all four camshafts, plus hydraulic tappets and two spark plugs per cylinder.

With 149hp at 8750rpm, it’s substantially more powerful than even BMW’s latest R1300GS, and backs that up with 94lbft of torque at 6750rpm. A 60-degree angle means it’s more compact than a traditional 90-degree V-twins favoured by the likes of Ducati, but wider than the 45 degrees of Harley’s classic air-cooled motors.

The new model addresses one of our original criticisms of the Pan America by adding a Screamin’ Eagle quickshifter as standard, allowing clutchless gearchanges both up and down through the six-speed box.

2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

The Revolution Max isn’t just the Pan America ST’s engine – to a large extent it’s also the bike’s chassis. As on the other models in the range, the engine is a fully structural component, with a small front frame section bolted to the top to mount the steering head and a rear frame at the back to mount the swingarm, shock and seat subframe.

It’s a concept that reduces size and mass, although the Pan America is still a fairly hefty beast at 246kg ready-to-ride. That’s 12kg less than the top-spec Pan America 1250 Special, but 1kg more than the old base model Pan America 1250.

The essence of the suspension is shared with other variants, including fat, 47mm upside-down Showa forks with adjustable compression and rebound damping, allied to a similarly adjustable Showa monoshock at the back. Where the 1250 Special gets semi-active suspension and the old base model had fully passive kit, the ST splits the difference with electronic preload adjustment but manual damping control at each end.

The big change here, though, is the wheels. A new, slim-spoked, cast alloy design, they’re 17 inches at both ends, rather than the 19-inch front, 17-inch rear used on the adventure-style versions of the Pan America. Shod with Michelin Scorcher Sport rubber, there’s no pretence at off-road ability here – the Pan America 1250 ST is intended purely for asphalt riding. Since many adventure bikes never venture away from tarmac, deep-treaded all-surface tyres and large, 19 or 21-inch front wheels usually do little more than slow their steering and reduce their grip. If you’re not going to venture onto dirt roads, the 17-inch front and sticky street rubber makes more sense.

Brembo provides the brakes, as on other versions of the Pan America, with 320mm front discs and four-piston monobloc radial calipers.

2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST - Comfort & Economy

While the ST retains its high ground clearance and the spacious riding position of an adventure bike, the change to a more street-biased setup means the seat is 25mm lower than before at 825mm.

Even the much more expensive CVO Pan America, with optional Adaptive Ride Height suspension, can’t quite match that, only dipping to 830mm at its lowest, with its adjustable seat in the ‘low’ position and suspension dropped.

The Pan America 1250 ST is a fraction narrower than its sister models, too, ditching the side cowls that flank the radiator, while the screen is lower but can still be adjusted vertically.

2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST - Equipment

The main equipment of the Pan America 1250 ST is the same as its predecessor and sister models, with a 6.8-inch TFT dash showing speed, gear, miles, fuel, temperatures and more.

There’s still cruise control as standard, and as we’ve come to expect, you can connect your phone via Bluetooth for calls, music and navigation via the H-D app.

2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST - Rivals

In terms of performance and specifications, the closest match to the Pan America 1250 ST is Suzuki’s GSX-S1000GX – with similar peak power at 150hp but a revvier four-cylinder engine and less torque, peaking at 78lbft. Kawasaki’s newly-updated Versys 1100 follows a similar formula, but it’s substantially less powerful at 133hp, while BMW’s S1000 XR goes the other way, power-wise, at 170hp, but doesn’t leave much change from £17,000. Yamaha’s Tracer 9 would also fit into the class, with the GT+ model also costing £17,000 but majoring on technology rather than performance, thanks to radar-based rider-assists and semi-active suspension.

BMW S 1000 XR | Price: £16,790

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Power/Torque

170bhp / 84lb-ft

Weight

227kg

Suzuki GSX-S1000GX | Price: £14,799

Read more

Power/Torque

150bhp / 78lb-ft

Weight

232kg

Kawasaki Versys 1100 S | Price: £13,649

Read more

Power/Torque

133bhp / 83lb-ft

Weight

257kg

2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST - Verdict

We’ll give the new ST model the full BikeSocial treatment soon enough, but if the original 2021 Pan America is anything to go by with its funky Adaptive Ride Height system and subtle power application, the new and more road-oriented Harley adventure bike might be a blow to the more established bikes in this category. We’ll see.

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2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 ST - Technical Specification

What is MCIA Secured?

MCIA Secured gives bike buyers the chance to see just how much work a manufacturer has put into making their new investment as resistant to theft as possible.

As we all know, the more security you use, the less chance there is of your bike being stolen. In fact, based on research by Bennetts, using a disc lock makes your machine three times less likely to be stolen, while heavy duty kit can make it less likely to be stolen than a car. For reviews of the best security products, click here.

MCIA Secured gives motorcycles a rating out of five stars (three stars for bikes of 125cc or less), based on the following being fitted to a new bike as standard:

• A steering lock that meets the UNECE 62 standard

• An ignition immobiliser system

• A vehicle marking system

• An alarm system

• A vehicle tracking system with subscription

The higher the star rating, the better the security, so always ask your dealer what rating your bike has and compare it to other machines on your shortlist.