AMERICAN STREET FIGHTER

How evil can a Pan America be? 

As of October 15, 2024 –> Available for sale! https://go.harleysite.de/streetfighter

You have to be a little crazy to radically modify a Harley-Davidson Pan America and unleash the maximum power of the H-D Revolution Max engine. 

Sascha Körte is a salesperson at Harley-Davidson Weser-Ems / Börjes American Bikes in Augustfehn. And he's a little crazy too. He's a passionate Harley-Davidson rider and always rides at full throttle. He actually rides his Harley-Davidson E-Glide Police across the asphalt of the North German lowlands. This bike has been completely rebuilt and, of course, tuned at the Börjes Tuning Center for maximum torque and plenty of power. 

In the fall of 2022, Dynojet tuning professional Marco Gertje was locked in the tuning cellar in Augustfehn by his colleagues „for a weekend“ with a Pan America. The goal was to optimize the mapping of the Pan America. The aim was to fix the cold start and acceleration problem that had occurred intermittently on some models.

In addition, there were suspicions that Harley-Davidson's Revolution Max engine was capable of much more than the factory specifications allowed. This is quite a challenge, as the Pan America has different riding modes, each with its own program. After countless rounds of testing 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 is no longer as loud. 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 on his face. He had achieved exceptional mapping and a significant improvement in performance and drivability. 

Sascha Körte was then asked by the Tuning Center team to test drive the new mapping for the Pan America, Sportster S, and Nightster and to report back to Marco Gertje with his experiences and suggestions for improvement. 

It began with the relatively harmless tuning of the Pan America 1250 Special, which culminated in an escalated maximum tuning. 

The test ride immediately led to a change of heart. Sascha wanted a Pan America for himself. After the test ride, he ordered one right away and couldn't sleep peacefully for a while. In addition to tuning, a radical conversion had to be devised. The idea of a streetfighter, the absolute opposite of his E-Glide Police, had always been buzzing around in his head. 

The Börjes Werkstatt team rebuilt the entire rear end and had a rear fender specially developed for the Pan America. The fairing with windshield and headlight was removed and replaced with a round LED headlight with a small mask. The crash bars, radiator covers, and hand guards were also removed.

There are many small details to discover.

The standard exhaust system was replaced with a Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde valve exhaust system, part of which was custom-built by Börjes Schmiede. This system originally belonged to a Sportster S. Kellermann supplied the brand-new Jetstream LED turn signals for the rear, 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 homemade bracket was used for the display/speedometer. The handlebar end mirrors and front turn signals come from Ricks. Many other details were changed, too numerous to list here. And because Sascha is a little crazy, he urged his tuning colleagues to deliver full power—but still keep it drivable. No sooner said than done.

The result was an American streetfighter with a radical design and unbridled power from standstill to top speed. And I had the opportunity to test this bike extensively at the spring meet in Augustfehn. 

My Streetfighter test ride and first impressions

I have ridden many different Pan America 1250 Special models. It is certainly not slow in the series, and its new character in terms of power delivery in combination with Harley-Davidson is a real revolution.

Sascha took the Pan America with its powerful 1250 cc Revolution Max engine and converted it into a streetfighter, which initially makes you wonder whether that's even possible. Yes, of course, it works really well. At 1.83 m tall, I sat on the streetfighter like a glove, leaning slightly forward with my hands on the widely spaced ends of the custom-made V-Team handlebars, which felt really cool.

When I rode it for the first time, I immediately noticed that everything was just waiting for the right command from the rider. It responds very precisely and you can feel that it's full of power. A slight twist of the electronic throttle and it wants to take off like a rocket.

Everything geared towards grip

I wasn't ready yet and had to check out the situation first, because the tires and grip felt completely different when steering. I was driving at around 15 degrees and had full grip, which was a good sign, but I hadn't expected that.

Sascha has the AVON SPIRIT ST tires Once fitted, the Michelin Anakee is easier to steer and certainly lasts longer, which is not a priority for the Streetfighter—here, it's all about grip. Let's summarize: excellent seating position despite the wide handlebars, excellent starting performance, very precise throttle response, mega grip, and the most striking feature for me was the gearshift.

An extraordinary switching experience

The Streetfighter has installed the Quickshifter, but that alone is not enough; through mapping, they have produced a shifting experience that I have never experienced before. The gear doesn't just slip in; there is an indescribably good and smooth feeling when the gear is shifted.

It's very noticeable—anyone who has made the comparison will immediately notice the smooth and precise shift into the next gear. From that perspective, everything was already perfect, but there was still something to discover in terms of power delivery. It takes off like hell, in third gear the front still lifts up, and I'm by no means a lightweight.

You can see it very clearly on the performance diagram: it starts at 2000 rpm, about 300 earlier than in the series. At 2500 rpm, the curves meet again briefly and then it takes off. It pulls hard, and at around 6800 rpm you get the feeling that there is more thrust, but you can't see that on the performance curve. In the series, this is felt at 6300 rpm, but by then the Streetfighter is already gone.

At 8000 rpm, the series becomes a little quieter, while the Streetfighter pulls through to 9200 and screams for the next gear. What comes out of the engine is hellish, and even that's not the end of it; it would rev even higher, Sascha told me. You really have to pull yourself together if you want to take the curves in a legally compliant manner. Accelerating out of the S-curve with load change, I'd say that many burners only see her taillights.

The longer suspension travel is no problem; the upside-down fork does a very good job. When braking, you can feel the Brembo dual disc brake system at work up front. It pulls you back down from the spinning inferno when needed.

The American Streetfighter is the perfect cornering machine

This is a pure streetfighter; it's not about top speed, it's about sprinting and cornering, and with its top tuning, it does that perfectly. With streetfighters, appearance plays just as important a role. The rear has been modified and various parts have been painted; you can achieve a lot with a good paint job.

The seat has been shortened, but it's not finished yet. Sascha is still working on his streetfighter; it was more by chance that I rode the bike. I'm pretty sure that this could be the start of a new trend. There are enough crazy people out there who, like Sascha, want to let off steam with projects like this, and who would have thought it, but the Pan America is actually the template for it.

To date, Harley-Davidson has let the Streetfighter and BRONX themes fade into obscurity, even though they already have the basic foundation on the shelf. The water-cooled Revolution Max engine has incredible power and can be brought to the road with different characters.

The Sportster S is designed more for torque, but is still very sporty on the road, and the Pan America, with its 152 hp, goes even crazier at the top end when you push it. 

If Harley-Davidson can't manage to put a streetfighter on the road, you just build it yourself. For Harley bikers, that's probably the least of their problems.

Image credit: Harleysite