Compass Expeditions

Ride it. Drive it. Live it - Discover South America with Compass Expeditions

Some destinations are simply visited. South America is experienced.

It is a continent of incomparable landscapes, extraordinary cultures and unforgettable adventures. From snow-capped peaks and mighty rivers to ancient civilisations, spectacular wilderness and vibrant colonial towns, South America rewards those who venture beyond the ordinary. It is where towering mountains meet roaring rivers, immense forests give way to colourful cities, and reminders of the Inca and the conquistadors are woven throughout the landscape.

Whether you dream of exploring from the saddle of a motorcycle or the comfort of a four-wheel drive, Compass Expeditions has spent years developing a collection of journeys that showcase the very best of this remarkable continent.

We're also incredibly proud that our Patagonia Explorer was recognised by National Geographic Traveler as one of its prestigious Top 50 Tours of a Lifetime, making Compass Expeditions the only motorcycle touring company ever to receive this recognition.

That said, not everyone dreams of South America from the saddle of a motorcycle.

Our Small Group Driving Adventures offer the opportunity to experience the same spectacular destinations from the comfort of a premium four-wheel drive, sharing the journey with a small group of like-minded travellers while exploring some of the continent's most remarkable landscapes.

Patagonian Fjords, Forests and Glaciers, for example, is a stunning way to experience Chile & Argentina - discover dramatic fjords, ancient forests, magnificent glaciers and some of Patagonia's most spectacular natural scenery on this remarkable tour: https://compassexpeditions.com/tours/patagonian-fjords-forests-and-glaciers/

Down to the last few spots, this is a firm favourite and sells out every year - so don't delay if 11 days across Australia's spectacular south-eastern coast sounds like your idea of a good time!

Ride Tasmania and Victoria's High Country with motorcycle adventurer Charley Boorman: 14th Feb to 25th Feb 2027.

https://compassexpeditions.com/tours/tasmania-and-the-high-country-with-charley-boorman/

Big news coming soon with a new tour to be launched!

Let's just say that MotoGP fans should pay particular attention...

Can you guess where we're going?

An incredible journey through Southern Africa that has it all, from epic wildlife experiences in renowned national parks to evening gatherings of wildlife at waterholes within private game reserves.

We experience the world’s oldest desert and visit towering mountains of sand that glow red at sunrise, we ride breathtaking coastal roads that hug the cliffs above the shoreline and meet cultures that defy belief, so removed from our own.

If remote empty tracks, endless star laden skies, incredible wildlife experiences, unique African cultures and diverse stunning landscapes are your thing, then this epic 14-day ride is your ride!

Tour Highlights:

• Big 5 game drive at award winning Aquilla Game Reserve
• Southernmost tip of the African continent
• Overnight at the Papkuilsfontein Homestead
• Fish River Canyon
• The incomparable desert scenery of Namibia's Deadvlei
• Working farm stay at Burgsdorf
• Private game reserve at Omaruru
• World renowned Etosha National Park & game drive

Departs May 2027/ 2028: https://compassexpeditions.com/tours/safari-africa/

With our 2026 Compass Family Reunion two calendar months away from today, we're getting excited to catch up with old friends and new when we meet up on 14th Nov!

Regardless of whether your most recent tour was just a few months ago or not since a half decade (or more) ago - indeed, even if you're still considering your first trip with us - the annual Compass get-together is always a great way to hear about new adventures, strengthen connections and experience some of the most beautiful riding in the world that just happens to be on our very doorstep.

This year we're in Walhalla, the tiny historic gold-mining town nestled in a steep forested valley of Victoria’s Gippsland region. At just $380 including Saturday lunch at the Wally Pub, a special surprise Walhalla experience, 1 Nights Accommodation at the Century Inn Traralgon, a choice of road or adventure return route from Walhalla to Traralgon, plus Saturday night buffet dinner, Sunday breakfast and supported rides on the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, it's a great deal.

Book here: https://compassexpeditions.com/tours/compass-expeditions-reunion/

BORN IN THE USA: 2026 HARLEY DAVIDSON PAN AMERICA 1250 SPECIAL REVIEW by Pete Vorst.

Powerful, comfortable and capable on road and off, the Harley-Davidson Pan America remains one of the most compelling adventure tourers on the market.

Five years ago, in the year of our Lord 2021, the world was a very different place. Trump was between shifts, and Sleepy Joe was president of the US of A. AI wasn’t really a thing for us regular folk, and the big-bore adventure bike market was in a state of flux.

BMW’s ageing and soon-to-be-replaced R 1250 GS was still top of the pops, KTM had just reinvented its 1290 Super Adventure, and Ducati was ushering the Multistrada into a new era with the V4 Granturismo engine, while new bikes from Triumph and Suzuki were just around the corner. Then, out of the blue, Harley decided to crash the party with a clean-sheet adventure tourer that looked like it had been designed by a bloke with a ruler, a bad attitude and a ready supply of psychedelics.

When the Pan America first landed, it certainly turned heads. The square headlight and slab-sided styling reminded many people of something you’d find sitting in the corner of a lounge room in the 1970s pretending to be a vacuum cleaner.

Harley-Davidson ignored convention and built something that looked unlike anything else on the market. As someone once wrote of Cold Chisel’s lengthy career, you can’t go out of fashion if you were never in fashion, and I reckon the Pan America is living proof of that. Five years on, I’ve come to genuinely appreciate its unapologetically industrial styling. It still looks tough, it still stands out in a sea of increasingly vanilla adventure bikes and, perhaps most importantly, there’s absolutely no mistaking what it is when one rumbles past.

Looks are subjective, of course, and you can have a bike as distinctive as you like, but that doesn’t mean squat if it doesn’t do what it says it can do on the tin. But, Harley’s first attempt at giving unto the world an adventure tourer yielded a machine that was every bit as capable as its rivals. The question is, five years on, can it still do the business?

In short. Yes, yes it can.

A big part of the Pan America’s appeal, and why it not only works but works well, comes down to the thing between your legs. No, not that, you filthy animal. The Pan America’s water-cooled, VVT (variable valve timing)-infused Revolution Max engine.

The Revolution Max revs far harder than any traditional Harley twin, and it isn’t all p**s and vinegar either. There’s 150 horsepower on tap at 9,000 rpm and 127 Nm of torque at 6,750 rpm. Serious numbers for an oversized chook chaser. It still has enough V-twin character to remind you it’s from Milwaukee, but it’s a completely different experience. If you’ve only ever ridden traditional big-twin Harleys and think you know what you’re in for, you don’t.

There’s torque en masse for when you’re punching it up a dirt hill, enough mid-range punch to cause grey nomads to have conniptions over the ferocity of your overtaking manoeuvres, and enough top end to have you leaving stains on your underwear.

It’s an engine perfectly suited to its adventure tourer remit. Whether you’re punching out touring miles, carving back roads or tackling fire trails, it’s a gem of a powerplant.

The six-speed gearbox is a peach (I didn’t think I’d ever say that about a Harley box). Shifts are positive and slick, unlike the agricultural-feeling and -sounding standard Harley fare. The standard bi-directional quickshifter works beautifully, and the clutch action is light enough that your left hand won’t be screaming after a day in the saddle.

The whole powertrain is smoother, sharper and more refined than anything wearing a Bar and Shield since the V-Rod.

Harley has wrapped that engine in a great chassis that’s good both on and off the sealed stuff. With its long 1,585 mm wheelbase and relaxed steering geometry, the Pan America feels planted and reassuring at speeds ranging from “oh, this is lovely” to “hello, officer”. Point it at a fast, flowing piece of road and it tracks through corners with an almost unflappable confidence and ruthless speed. It is brutally good as a backroad weapon and, in the right hands, will cause sportsbike riders to weep into their lattes.

Much of that prowess is courtesy of Showa’s electronically adjustable semi-active suspension, which is constantly monitoring and adapting to conditions by altering damping on the fly. There is a healthy 191 mm of travel at both ends on offer, and the 47 mm fork and rear monoshock work very well whether you’re traversing the Hume, hammering along a corrugated fire trail or mixing it up with the sportsbike brigade.

One of the cleverest tricks up the Pan America’s sleeve is its Adaptive Ride Height function, which automatically lowers the bike as you come to a stop before returning it to its normal ride height once you’re rolling again, so there’s no compromising ground clearance on the move. For a 260 kg-plus bike with an 850 mm seat height, it’s a big selling point for shorter riders and those less confident on a big, heavy adventure rig. It’s a feature seen on a lot of big adventure metal these days, but Harley was first to the party with it.

Despite its outwardly stretched-out proportions and Sportster-esque tank shape, standing on the Pan America feels like a perfectly natural place to be. The stubby screen, which lacks some touring prowess, makes sense when you’re on the wide pegs, and it feels less likely to throat-punch you than the screens on some adventure bikes.

Despite its unconventional adventure bike styling, it’s easy to move around on, and you can point the Pan America at some pretty nasty terrain and it’ll lap it up, within reason.

But it always does one good to remember what one is aboard before s**t gets out of hand.

Start ripping out those fat powerslides or threading the Pan America through tight, technical terrain, and you’ll soon be sweating like a turd in a vinyl handbag. At a claimed 258 kg ready to ride, it’s a big old rig, and if you send it for a lie down like I did, you’d better have eaten your Weet-Bix before trying to pick it up.

Harley has done a bloody good job disguising the weight while it’s moving, and it’s a very well-balanced motorcycle, but physics is physics, and sooner or later you’ll be reminded just how much motorcycle you’re dealing with if you get silly.

Adventure tourers live and die by how you feel after a long day in the saddle, and this is another area where the Pan America scores very highly. When you first sit on the Pan America, the 21-litre tank looks long, and the TFT dash appears miles away. But somehow, the riding position just works. There’s a deceptively comfortable reach to the bars, generous legroom and a seat that’s as comfortable as any, you’ll find in the adventure touring kingdom – it’s like a bloody lounge chair. I’d put it right alongside BMW’s benchmark GS when it comes to all-day comfort, yet apart from its stepped design limiting some rearward movement, it still allows you to move around on it with ease.

My only real criticism is the windscreen I mentioned above. It is not vast in its dimensions, and at 186 cm tall it funnelled turbulent air right at my helmet. If you’re doing big kilometres, which is arguably the Pan America’s strongest suit, you’ll want to pick yourself up a more voluminous screen.

Overall protection from the elements is very good, and its trellis-style subframe and large, flat arse area mean lashing luggage to the back is about as easy as it gets.

The Pan America’s electronics suite is comprehensive enough to give a Harley purist an aneurysm. There’s a crisp 6.8-inch TFT display that provides access to multiple ride modes, cornering ABS, cornering traction control and engine braking control settings. There are also such luxuries as cruise control, Hill Hold Control and tyre pressure monitoring as standard. Good news for hoons and the off-road crew: Harley has fitted a dedicated traction control button, allowing you to disable traction control instantly without having to dive through menus every time the bitumen gives way to dirt, or you need to show off with a burnout or wheelie.

There are five preset ride modes: Sport – all the power, all the time; Road, which offers full power but with a smoother throttle response; Rain for, well, rain; plus Off-Road and Off-Road Plus. There are also three customisable modes available for your tinkering pleasure.

Both on road and off, the electronics never feel overbearing or intrusive. Instead, they quietly work away in the background just the way you want them.

Stopping power comes courtesy of Brembo, with twin 320 mm front discs gripped by radially mounted four-piston monobloc calipers and a 280 mm rear disc. Braking performance is exactly what you’d expect from the masters at Brembo and the opposite of what many would expect from your typical Harley—powerful, progressive and with more feel than Trump at an Epstein party, which is a must when you need to brake down an ugly dirt descent. Despite the Pan America’s considerable mass, the braking package never feels overwhelmed or overwhelming and inspires plenty of confidence whether you’re belting down a mountain road or hauling the bike up on a steep dirt descent.

The bike I tested rolled on the optional tubeless laced wheels, which will set you back an extra $1,995 on top of the $28,995 starting price. I spent a good portion of my time off-road on the Pan America, and if you plan to do the same, then it’s a worthwhile upgrade. My test bike was also fitted with Michelin Anakee Wild rubber, which improves your chances of not dying off-road over the standard road-biased rubber by roughly a light-year.

Five years on, the Pan America looks and feels as fresh as it ever did and, in the pantheon of adventure tourers, it holds its unique mug high.

It’s not an off-road-focused missile like KTM’s 1390 Super Adventure R, but that was never what Harley intended it to be. What it is, is an adventure tourer of some brilliance, with serious off-road ability and touring comfort to spare. The engine is a glorious scallywag of a thing, and the Pan America is an absolute demon as a backroad scratcher.

If someone had told me ten years ago that one of the most entertaining big adventure tourers to powerslide down a gravel road and around a tarmac hairpin would have a Bar and Shield on the tank, I’d have laughed them straight out of the pub.

Today?

I wouldn’t argue with them for a second.

Even five years after its debut, Harley’s Pan America is as good as any adventure tourer Europe or Japan has to offer.
Harley-Davidson Australia & New Zealand Arai Helmet Australia Cassons Australia Motorcycle

WORLD CLASS PEOPLE AND EXPERIENCE – Most of the Compass Expeditions team come from a tour guiding background, leading tours and training new staff for some of the world’s biggest tour companies for over 25 years... we know what it takes to run first class tours.

So much so, that Charley Boorman has asked Compass Expeditions to run his Australian tour and pre-Covid his worldwide offering.

Ten-time Dakar competitor Simon Pavey works only with Compass Expeditions to provide logistics and planning for his Australian training course and tours.

Extreme adventure company Max Adventures, who led actor Ralph Fiennes to the North pole, approached us to assist in his Road of Bones expedition.

It is this experience and unmatched network of contacts, a network that can only be developed over decades, that will ensure real value for money and a truly unique experience… the ultimate adventure.

We catch up with Compass guest Alan Eldridge via his daily blogs from our Wonders of Norway Tour, which concluded just a few weeks ago - it departs once more on July 25, 2027.

"Based on the ride today, I think this trip is going to remind me a lot of the Japan tour I did. A key theme is going to be… tunnels! I reckon that today we rode through around 20 tunnels, some short and other several kms long. In fact, we rode through the world’s longest road tunnel – the Lærdal Tunnel – which was 24.5kms on its own. So long, in fact, it has 3 rest-stops where you can pull over and reorient yourself.

We also visited the Borgun Stovkyrkje – a “stave church”. So named because their primary structure is based on large wooden staves. This church dates back to the 1180’s and is still a consecrated site.

Tonight we are in Gudvangen which is a small village in an absolutely stunning fjord. I’m sure we’re going to get more of this in the coming days… I’m going to try to put the drone up tomorrow morning and get some shots so wish me luck!

GUDVANGEN – FJÆRLAND

As we left the hotel, we retraced our steps from yesterday and turned straight into the tunnels again. Within 2 minutes we were in the 11km Gudvangen Tunnel, but this time we rode over the pass to Lærdal instead of taking the 25km tunnel. The road was beautiful and winding, however the busses and sheep kept things interesting.

The climb finished at an incredible lookout point called Stegastein. The viewing platform lead out over the edge like a bridge and if you know me, you know I was NOT comfortable out there. But I managed to get the drone up for some nice shots.

FJÆRLAND – GEIRANGER

OK, it’s official.

Norway is utterly, outrageously, offensively beautiful!

I mean, I shouldn’t be able to take a photo like this...
..click through to read more of Alan's account, and please do send your own Compass trip blogs to us if you'd like to see them featured.

https://compassexpeditions.com/blog/continental-drift-tour-of-norway/

Major Expedition time! Week 1: Leaving the lights of Nairobi behind we cross into Tanzania before arriving at the spectacularly situated Arusha, in the shadow of the volcanic Mt Meru. Arusha is also the gateway town for the iconic Serengeti National Park.

We will park the bikes and climb aboard our safari vehicles spending the next 2 days “on safari” in the Serengeti and the incredible Ngorongoro Crater, a virtual who’s who of the big 5 - Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leopard and Buffalo, all living in the caldera of an extinct volcano. This first week exposes us to the essence of Africa, being “on safari”.

Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa: This ride focuses on the quintessential African experience where we go on "safari" through iconic national parks seeing the Big 5, listening to the roar of lions, laughing of hyenas and trumpeting of elephants at night. We share time with the meerkats, walk amongst seals and watch whales breaching in the waters off South Africa’s stunning Garden Route.

We ride some of Africa finest mountain passes and ride to the southernmost tip of the African continent. This ride perfectly encapsulates all that has made the African continent so alluring!

At 40 days, Absolute Africa is the shortest of our life-changing Major Expeditions and the perfect way to explore an entire continent in the unique style that only our big trips allow you to do.

https://compassexpeditions.com/tours/absolute-africa/

Welcome home Canyons, Dunes & Fallsters!

We hope your trip through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe has been as fun for you to experience as it was for us to guide.

Runs again next year - here's the details: https://compassexpeditions.com/tours/canyons-dunes-falls-africa-4wd/