Well, I walked into my local Harley dealership today and lo and behold, there sat a 2022 PA Special in the new Fastback Blue and White Sand. Only thing it didn't have that I want is laced wheels.

When the girl asked if I wanted to take it for a spin, I immediately responded with an enthusiastic "yes!" After the sales dude walked me through my orientation and the settings, we hopped on our bikes and took off. First thing I noticed is how light it felt. Clickable lightweight. Combine that with the new engine, and let me tell ya, this bike screams! I know I'm preaching to the choir in this forum, but it bears repeating.

During the test ride, I was able to put her through her paces and the power of this machine is just off the damn charts. I mean seriously, I'm coming off a 2020 Road Glide Limited (which I love, BTW). When I switched over to Sport Mode, I was a little apprehensive for the first couple of miles because I could really feel the power coming on, and I was still getting accustomed to it. Once I got settled in and began learning the layout, I could really open up the throttle and let her fly. 85 in 3rd gear? Nothing to it. Zero to 90 in what seemed like just a few seconds? Easy day. Even pulled hard from
60 to 90 while rolling on in 6th gear. I'm 6'5 and I felt like I could easily live with the ergonomics of this bike. With the windscreen at its highest setting, I had good protection from the shoulders down. There was some buffeting around my head, and the wind noise was considerable, but nothing a full face helmet couldn't resolve.

Of note: Although I don't own one yet, I've been following along with a few of the complaints. The radiator hose has not been rerouted this year. The TFT screen has been updated with a larger font display, but best I could tell, it's still mounted in the same location . Which means that if a rider installs risers to bring the bars higher (as I will definitely need to do) a portion of the screen will be blocked and not visible unless the rider leans forward to peer over the bars. Not a deal breaker but kinda disappointing. The adjuster for the windscreen looks the same as last year and I guess it may have felt just a little bit flimsy, but it still worked okay with just my one hand.

Overall I'm very impressed with what Harley has done with this machine. Now that I've ridden it, I can fully understand and appreciate the excitement surrounding this bike. The verdict? I love this machine! I will definitely be purchasing a new PA within the next 12 months. I'm not crazy about the colors this year, and I really wish they would bring back the Deadwood Green. I'll likely end up with a Gauntlet Grey with the laced wheel option. Really looking forward to adding this girl to the herd.

 

FWIW A1 risers do not block the screen

 

I saw the blue yesterday and really like it. That said, I am glad I own Gauntlet Gray. The taller Harley risers do block a little of the screen, not a big deal to me, mainly the clock and fuel gage.

 

I'm not sure if they fixed the glitchy clock for 2022. The display on the bike I rode was incorrect, but that could just mean it hasn't been set.

 

I picked up my 22 Vivid black just over a week ago and have around 700 miles on it. So far the clock has kept time without being synched to the HD app on its own, will see how it does long term. If the risers do end up blocking a portion of the bottom of the TFT, it is programmable to move info to one of the other 3 sections that surround the main tach/speed section. You could just move something not important to you to the area that is getting blocked.

Biggest complaint I have so far is the no start/starting growl that has been well documented, but just after waiting around 10 seconds it has started clean every time. Will see what the dealer says when I take it in for the 1000 mile check in a few days. Otherwise I absolutely LOVE this bike!

 

Well if your clock is keeping the correct time with out syncing to the H-D App then the software update to fix the 2021 clock should be out pretty dang soon.

 

I also test rode a 2022 PA Special on Friday. They had it set to Rain or Off-Road mode, unknown to me and the sales guy, and it was terrible. Only figured out the problem once the tech trained on the PAs came out to take a look. IT was too late to ride again on Friday. Going to test ride again Tuesday.

 

Sad the sales guy did not know about modes and how to change them.

Harley demo trailer this fall had the Sportster S set up so sport mode was not an available option. Because I already owned the PAS I knew how to enable it for my demo ride. Guy running the demo was not happy, and disabled it before the next rider took off.

 

Yes, its got all the good tech, yes its powerful and super fast, yes I want it!
However it didn't "feel" solid or complete to me, perhaps needs a break-in period.
Next year I'll test ride other competitors, like BMW, Tiger ect and see how they "feel"

 

If you think the SPORT mode is pretty fast, go for another test ride and create a personal ride mode based on the SPORT mode. Increase EVERYTHING possible on it and then go for a ride. BE CAREFUL ! WOW !