preview ride – Mel Lapid

Taste Test: 2022 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special

Almost every mainstream bike manufacturer wants to take on the bestselling benchmark: the BMW R12xx GS series. Heck, at one point (2017-2019) Honda had TWO ‘Premium Full-Size Adventure Touring’ bikes!!! One was CRF1000L Africa Twin [https://youtu.be/nVTOezii9QA], and the forgotten VFR1200X Crosstourer [https://youtu.be/xXcbOC0rnqo].

Now, at its R1250 GS form; BMW did not expect this…A HARLEY-DAVIDSON ADVENTURE BIKE!!! Almost everyone went speechless when it debuted in concept form back in 2018. Now here we are!

This time I get to ride the fully-loaded, top-spec model 1250 Special. This spec has an adaptive suspension the lowers itself on standstill, crash bars, skid plate, and a center stand all standard in this trim!

Since I’ve ridden the Standard model [https://youtu.be/nVTOezii9QA] as a baseline, will the higher cost and added toys make a bit of a difference between the two PanAms? Either way, I am very excited I get to ride the PanAm!

Event:
– Pan America Demo Tour – Las Vegas, Nevada (USA)
https://bit.ly/2VBYTxq

Host Manufacturer / Distributor:
– Harley-Davidson Motor Company (USA)
https://www.harley-davidson.com/
https://www.facebook.com/harley-davidson/
@harley-davidson

Host Dealer:
– Las Vegas Harley-Davidson (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
https://www.lasvegasharleydavidson.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lasvegasharley
@lasvegasharley

Dealer / Distributor (PH):
– Harley-Davidson of Manila
https://harley-davidsonofmanila.com.ph/
https://www.facebook.com/HarleyDavidsonOfManila
@Harley-Davidson of Manila

Taste Test: 2019 Kawasaki Z400 ABS

The budget-middleweight naked motorcycle (300cc too low-500cc) market is really getting fiercer by the day!

It also comes on all fronts too! With Ducati Scrambler SixtyTwo 400, KTM 390 Duke, Harley’s Street 500, CF Moto 400NK, Honda’s CB400SF & CB500F, Bajaj Dominar 400, Loncin LX300-6 CR6, Zongshen’s Cyclone RE3 400, BMW 310 R, Voge YF300 300R, TVS Apache Bristol Classic 400i, Benelli’s TNT300, 302S, & Leoncino 500, & Husqvarna Vitpilen 401. It’s getting really crowded here!

I’ve been waiting to get an opportunity like this ever since I’ve ‘Taste Tested’ the Ninja 400! That Ninja-4 was impressive, I always imagined how will the Z400 ride like!? And it’s finally here! I simply can’t wait!!!

I even begged Kawasaki USA to take this last ride for the day! And here we are now! What would I think of it? Is it a squared-on rival to the KTM Duke 390? Much different is the riding experience compared to the Ninja 400? We’re about to find out!!

Aside from different skin colors, the 2020 model year Z400 ABS and this 2019 model are exactly the same.

2019 Kawasaki Z400 Prices:

US MSRP = US$4,999 (+taxes & fees)

PH SRP = PHP279,000 (+regs & fees)

Event:

– Long Beach International Motorcycle Show

https://www.motorcycleshows.com/longbeach

Host Manufacturer:

– Kawasaki Motors Inc. (North America)

https://www.kawasaki.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kawasaki/

Dealer / Distributor (PHI):

– Kawasaki Motors Philippines

https://www.kawasaki.ph/

https://www.kawasakileisurebikes.ph/

https://www.facebook.com/KawasakiMotorsPH/