You have to be a bit crazy to convert a Harley-Davidson Pan America so radically and unleash the maximum power of the HD Revolution Max Motor.
Sascha Körte is a salesperson at Harley-Davidson Weser-Ems / Börjes American Bikes in Augustfehn. And he's a little crazy too. Passionate Harley-Davidson driver and always on the last track. He actually works the asphalt of the northern German lowlands with a Harley-Davidson E-Glide Police. This bike has been completely rebuilt and was of course tuned for maximum torque and plenty of power in the Börjes Tuning Center.
THE AMERICAN STREETFIGHTER HAS CAUSED A LOT OF EXCITEMENT ON THE NET!
The image has fueled plenty of speculation, from the brand's renewed demise to the two-wheeled dream, at least for those still waiting for the Bronx today.
In autumn 2022, Dynojet tuning professional Marco Gertje was locked up by his colleagues “for a weekend” with a Pan America in the tuning cellar in Augustfehn. The goal was to optimize the mapping of the Pan America. The cold start and starting problem that occurred intermittently on some models should be resolved.
American Streetfighter Harley-Davidson
In addition, there was suspicion that the Revolution Max engine from Harley-Davidson could be capable of significantly more than what it was given at the factory. That's quite a bit of effort, because the Pan America has different driving modes, each with their own programs. After countless tuning runs on the test bench, he managed to give the Revolution Max engine a really clean cold start.
The interview with Sascha Körte on YouTube
The entire starting behavior has changed, even the starting noise no longer rattles as much. He couldn't resist modifying the S-Mode a little. After a few days of concentrated work, Marco returned from the basement with a big grin. An extraordinary mapping and a significant improvement in performance and drivability were achieved.
Sascha Körte was then asked by the Tuning Center team to test drive the new mapping for the Pan America, the Sportster S and the Nightster and to report back his experiences and requests for improvements to Marco Gertje.
It started with the comparatively harmless tuning of the Pan America 1250 Special, which culminated in an escalated maximum tuning.
The test drive then suddenly led to a change of heart. Sascha wanted a Pan America for himself. After the test drive, it was ordered immediately and he couldn't sleep peacefully for a while. In addition to tuning, a radical conversion also had to be thought out. The idea of a street fighter was always buzzing in his head, the absolute opposite of his E-Glide Police.
The Börjes workshop team rebuilt the entire rear and had a rear fender specially developed for the Pan America made. The fairing with windshield including headlights were removed and replaced with an LED round headlight with a small mask. The crash bars, radiator covers and handguards were also removed.
There are many small detailed solutions to discover
The series exhaust system was carried out by a Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde flap exhaust system replaced, which is partly self-made by Börjes Schmiede. This system originally belonged to a Sportster S. Kellermann also supplied the brand new Jetstream LED indicators for the rear area and a license plate holder was added. The remaining plastic parts were painted. A K&N air filter now ensures sufficient air supply and the bike handles well with a V-Team handlebar.
A home-made holder was used as a holder for the display/speedometer. The handlebar end mirrors and the front indicators come from the Ricks forge. Many other details have been changed, the list of which would go beyond the scope here. And because Sascha is a little crazy, he asked his tuning colleague to please use full power - but still drive well. Said and done.
The result was an American streetfighter with a radical design and unbridled power from standstill to top speed. And I was able to test this part extensively at the spring meeting in Augustfehn.
DynoJet Mapping Revolution Max 1250 American Streetfighter
My Streetfighter test drive and first impression
I have ridden many different Pan America 1250 Special models. She's certainly not slow in the series and her new character is a real revolution in terms of performance development in combination with Harley-Davidson.
Sascha took the Pan America with the powerful 1250 cc Revolution Max engine and converted it into a street fighter, which at first makes you wonder if that's even possible. Yes, of course, that actually works really well, with my 1.83 tall I sat on the Streetfighter like a glove, slightly leaning forward, my hands went to the widely spaced handlebar ends of the specially made V-Team handlebars, which felt really cool.
When I drove off with her for the first time, you immediately noticed that everything here was just waiting for the right command from the driver. A very precise response and it is noticeably full of tension. A slight twist of the electronic throttle and she wants to go brutally.
Everything trimmed for grip
I wasn't ready yet and had to check the situation first because the tires and grip felt completely different when I turned the steering. I was driving at around 15 degrees and had full grip, but I didn't expect that to be a good sign.
Sascha has mounted the AVON SPIRIT ST tires , the Michelin Anakee is easier to steer and certainly lasts longer, which is probably not a priority with the Streetfighter, it's all about grip. Let's keep in mind: seating position is great despite the wide handlebars, starting behavior is great, throttle response is very precise, mega grip and the most noticeable thing for me was the gears.
STREETFIGHTER WITH AVON TIRES
AVON SPIRIT ST
An extraordinary switching experience
The Streetfighter has the quickshifter installed, but that alone doesn't do it. Through the mapping, they have produced a switching experience that I have never experienced before. Not only does the gear just fall into place, there is an indescribably good and soft feeling when the gear is shifted.
Very striking, anyone who has the comparison will immediately notice the precise and smooth entry into the next gear. Seen from that point of view, everything was perfect, but there was still something to be discovered in terms of performance development. It goes like hell, in third gear the front still goes up and I'm by no means a lightweight.
You can see it very well on the performance diagram, it starts at 2000 revolutions, about 300 earlier than in the series. At 2500 rpm the curves meet again briefly and then it goes away. It pulls hard, at around 6800 rpm you have the feeling that more thrust is coming, but you can't see that on the performance curve, in the series it feels like it's at 6300 rpm, but then the Streetfighter is already gone.
At 8000 revolutions the series becomes a little quieter, the Streetfighter pulls through to 9200 and screams for the next gear. It's hell what comes out of the engine and even that's not the end, it would turn even more, Sascha told me. You have to pull yourself together if you want to go through the curves in accordance with the law. Accelerate out of the curve through the S-curve with load changes. I would say that many burners only see the taillights from it.
The longer travel is not a problem, the upside down fork does a very good job. When braking, you notice that Brembo music is playing in the double disc brake system at the front. She pulls you back out of the shooting inferno when it's needed.
The American Streetfighter is the perfect corner chaser
This is a pure street fighter, it's not about the top speed, it's supposed to sprint and steal corners, with its top set-up it does that perfectly. When it comes to street fighters, appearance also plays a role. The rear was changed and various parts were painted, a lot can be done with good paint.
The seat has been shortened, but not finished yet. Sascha is still working on his Streetfighter, it was more of a coincidence that I drove the device. I'm pretty sure that a new trend can emerge here, there are enough crazy people like Sascha who want to have fun with projects like this and who would have thought it, Pan America is actually the template for it.
To this day, Harley-Davidson has let the Streetfighter and BRONX issue fizzle out. And this despite the fact that they actually have the basics on the shelf. The water-cooled Revolution Max engine has incredible power and can be put on the road with different characters.
The Sportster S is designed more for torque, but is already very sporty and the Pan America with its 152 hp goes a little crazier when you drive it.
If Harley-Davidson doesn't manage to get a streetfighter on the road, they just build it themselves; for Harley bikers, it's probably the least of their problems.
