I am considering picking up a Pan America for my planned ride to Prudhoe Bay next year. I have a few questions. I am 5'4" with a 28" inseam. With the ARH will I be able to reach? How reliable are these bikes? I only sat on one a few weeks ago in a showroom but really need to ride one. I seen there was a lot of problems pre 2024 but are the post 24's better?

 

I have a 30" inseam and can flat foot my 2024 CVO on both sides. You might not have that luxury. If I were you I would go on a test ride and see for yourself. It is an extremely comfortable bike. But I would recommend a shorter adventure bike for shorter legged riders. I almost did not buy mine because of having to get on the pegs to get in the saddle. It is reliable. I won't get a new one until production comes back to the USA though. Try to find a used 24 special or CVO and you will be happy. So far 10K miles no issues beyond tires being punctured and cleaning .Oiling and adjusting the chain. Otherwise I would consider a Yamaha or royal enfield at your height.

 

With your height, I'd push the dealer to install a low seat (-1 inch, if I'm not mistaken) and a Kodlin height reduction kit (-1 inch) for the rear suspension (also move the front bars to compensate).
Of course, ARH is mandatory. (-1 inch when stopped)
With all that, the seat height should lower 3 inches, from 34" to 31".
There are other reduction kits if the Kodlin is not enough. Mizu offers -4cm (-1,5"), for example.
Not a big issue, in my opinion.

 

Bad thing about that ride. Thousands of miles of pavement where you enjoy a bagger and few spots where you could use some thing else. I only rode haul road to artic circle. But did it two up on ultra. There was one bad spot north of yukon River where they sprayed near helicopter pad that I dumped.

 

No.

You're going to have to do mods, like others have said. At the bare minimum you'll need ARH and a lower seat (and make sure it's set in the low position). That might get the very tips of your toes to touch the ground. You will also need some riding boots with very thick soles, which are a life hack to making you effectively have longer legs.

I've got a 30-inch inseam, and I tried a Pan Am with ARH and could barely get my toes down on the ground. I could, but just barely.

Also, keep in mind that it's not just the height of the seat that's the only problem, short-legged riders also have to contend with the width of the seat. The wider it is, the more comfortable it is, but the harder it is for your legs to reach the ground.

Go to your dealer and find an ARH model and sit on one, and you'll see how far you have to go and how many mods you'd need. If you need off-road capability, you'll have to do a lot of modifications to get it low enough that you can comfortably control it. I've done the "barely reaching the ground on my tippy toes" thing before, and it sucks bad, especially when you're talking about controlling a 600-lb motorcycle. Not so bad on a 200lb dirt bike as a kid, but barely being able to reach the ground on a $20,000 motorcycle is just not fun.

If you just like the Pan America for its many awesome attributes, but don't really *need* off-road capabilities, the Pan America ST should catch your attention. The seat height on the ST is almost 2 inches lower than the ARH on the regular Pan America! At 29.4", you'll still need some thick boots, but you should be able to control that well. With some 50/50 tires on it, you'd have a road-oriented adventure bike that could still tackle some offroading, it just wouldn't have the same ground clearance. Depends on how hard-core you want your off-road to be; the Pan America Special is a really, really capable adventure bike. But if you're doing 90% on-road and only 10% off-road (and not intense super-technical off-road), the Pan Am ST deserves a look.

And here's a totally left-field idea: If you're only doing occasional off-road and you just really like the high-revving, super-quick revolution max, then there's the Nightster, which is dramatically less expensive and has a way way lower seat height -- at 27 inches, it's almost 4 full inches lower than an ARH Pan America(!!) It's half the cost of the Pan America, so with that cost savings someone could build a pretty good scrambler out of the Nightster, get some good tires, upgrade the suspension, and still have a bike that's easily controlled and easily reach the ground. People have been turning Sportsters into dual purpose adventure bikes for decades, so why not do it with a Nightster?

 

I will amend this advice to include "sit on one with ARH" but add with the ignition on. If the ignition is off it will not drop down to the low position. Moving it around with the ignition off will pump the suspension back up.

I will also add that when you sit on it make sure to try to put the side stand down. If you are having some difficulty getting your feet down it will feel a lot different leaning it far to the right to get the stand down. If you put someone else on the bike at the same time it would be a good simulation of having the bike loaded up for a trip. Then try to put the side stand down.

And then the ultimate final recommendation is to test ride it. This is the last thing to do because when you do you will want it!

As far as reliability is concerned, I watched a YT video today about all the things wrong with a BMW F900GS which is supposed to be one of the top recommended bikes out there. Be careful when exploring other's opinions. As a data point, I have a 2021 Pan America with 15k miles on it. This is supposed to be the worst of the worst model year and to avoid it at all costs. I would not trade it for anything else! I would not even hesitate to buy another 2021. I hope this helps!

 

I have been interested in GSs for years and curious about PA. Height is concern.. I have rode tall jap bikes. Sometimes we put to much into being flatfoot. With a lighter bike is not as big of deal.

 

I am 5’7” and had no issues but I think I was pretty close to min required on it, it was actually surprisingly comfortable.
This week is actually demo week at all dealers, HD is giving out free hats, or search out the next Demo truck coming around the area.

 

A couple years ago, I rode from NC to Dawson Creek BC, Alaska Hwy, Fairbanks to Coldfoot and back. 9K miles in 21 days. Suzuki V-STROM 1050XT. It can be desolate and reliability is a must. No way I would trust a European bike. PA maybe. All things considered, I would choose an Africa Twin Sports.

Some notes. Plains crosswinds can be brutal, carry heated gear, auto parts and Walmarts are good places for oil changes, carry tools to remove both wheels, Liard Hot Springs is a must stop, Canada has great campgrounds, ToK has a good restaurant and motel, gas can be scarce, consider shipping a rear tire to Fairbanks ahead of time.

Time of my life. Have fun.

 

thanks for all the input from everyone and tngarren your pictures are awesome! I started out looking at Tiger 900 GT's but I love my HD and keep coming back to the PA. Just concerned about the height, weight and reliability.