Joan Pedrero will once again have the most powerful motorcycle in the field when the 2025 Africa Eco Race kicks off on December 28, competing on a Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250.

Pedrero made his AER debut in 2024, where his Pan America was the only bike with an engine displacement over 1000cc. He finished 25th among all bikes.

While most rally bikes are 450cc under FIM regulation, the AER—which is not overseen by the federation—permits larger and more powerful models. 19 of the 77 other riders entered are competing in Category 4 for bikes between 650cc and 1000cc, with the second largest bikes behind Pedrero’s being the three KTM 890 Adventure R Rallies (889cc) that Eric Bernard, Matthieu Brabant, and Michel Delaye will race. The Pan America uses a liquid-cooled 1250cc V-twin engine dubbed the Revolution Max.

Although its massive size prevents the Pan America from doing races like the Dakar Rally, the FIM allows adventure bikes over 600cc to compete in certain events on the FIM Bajas World Cup in the Trail and MaxiTrail classes. As such, Pederero has occasionally entered rounds like the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura and Baja Aragón, topping MaxiTrail in both races this year.

Harley-Davidson made its cross-country rally debut at the 2022 Baja Aragón with Pedrero.

Featured image credit: Harley-Davidson