Pan America vs. The Tiger
The world just got a lot tougher place for Harley-Davidson with the launch of three new entrants into the crowded ADV market.
Way more convincing than the prior iterations, Triumph's 2024 Tiger ADV lineup - the 900 GT, 900 GT Pro and 900 Rally Pro - come after BMW's new flagship ADV offer - the massively updated GS 1300 - already raised the bar for 2024.
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| Honda's XL750 Transalp brand comeback |
That is without factoring in upgraded Suzuki V-Stroms (two 800 cc models for USA in 2024); the increasing success of the Yamaha Tracers and, especially, their fast-expanding Ténéré lineup; plus, a hugely hyped U.S. market entry for Honda's XL750 Transalp brand comeback - at a remarkable domestic US $10k sticker price.
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| Tiger 900 Rally Pro |
If Harley does finally have plans (sooner or later) to add to the 1250 cc Pan America lineup in 2024 and beyond, with the expected mid-capacity versions of the modular Revolution Max V-twin platform, then they will need them to be a compelling offer if they are to reach beyond the traditional 'Bar 'n Shield' brand footprint and take the battle to the mainstream 'metrics'.
This all comes after Harley's Q3 financial data revealed an alarming reality for the Pan America - namely that, although their spring/summer production suspension may have had a lot to do with it, the fact is that after only a couple of years in the ADV market, their reported unit sales are in decline already.
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| Tiger 900 GT |
Although retail data is not broken down by model segment, shipments are. Harley's data report Adventure Touring segment shipments as being 8,743 units for the nine months to September 2022, but down to 4,445 units for the first nine months of 2023. For Q3, 2022 saw 2,058 units shipped against just 1,243 units shipped for Q3 of 2023.