Harley’s Made-in-India X440 roadster unveiled ahead of launch on July 3

After much anticipation, the new heavily localised Harley has been unveiled. Meet the X440, a roadster made in collaboration with India’s biggest motorcycle company Hero MotoCorp. This naked roadster will be launching soon in July. Yes, there are some core Harley features missing. For example, the engine is a single-cylinder unit instead of a V-twin and there is a chain drive instead of a belt. But, these cost-cuttings will ensure that this Harley will be priced very aggressively. 

Let’s talk about the engine: it is a 440cc unit which is also oil-cooled, but the power figures are not disclosed yet. We expect the mill to put out as much as 35bhp and 40Nm of torque. In the real world, we can expect the X440 to offer better performance than the Royal Enfield Hunter 350 and the Honda Highness CB350. 

As for the aesthetics, the X440 looks like a Harley, at least from the front, thanks to the round LED headlamp with a horizontal DRL in the centre. Also, one of the front shots shows the single instrument pod, which could be a fully digital unit. The X 440 has round-shaped indicators and a flat handlebar. The long exhaust is kept simple and is reminiscent of the Street 750 from yesteryear. The front gets 18-inch alloys as opposed to the 17 inchers at the rear— both are wrapped in MRF tyres with a retro tread pattern. In addition to that, the front gets USD forks, and the disc brakes will be equipped with dual-channel ABS as standard. 

The X 440 is Harley’s first motorcycle in India which has co-developed with Hero. As for the price, we can expect it to hold a sticker price of around 2.5-3lakh ex-showroom. It will go up against Royal Enfield, Honda with the CB350 series and BMW with the G310R and it will be interesting to see how the Royal Enfield dominated market will take to this Harley-Davidson X440.