BREAKING: Here’s Your 1st Look At The Affordable Made-In-India Harley-Davidson

Hot on the heels of the debut of the QJ Motor-developed Harley-Davidson X 350, images of another small-capacity Harley-Davidson have leaked online. The bike has been jointly developed with Indian two-wheeler giant Hero MotoCorp, and is expected to debut as early as July 2023.

The images show the bike bearing “HD 4XX” license plates, hinting at the engine displacement which could be around 400cc. Interestingly, this engine bears no similarities to the Harley-Davidson X 350. Unlike the liquid-cooled parallel twin unit on the Sino-American bike, this appears to be an air-/oil-cooled single. This is very strange, considering that the XPulse 400 and the Xtreme 400S sported liquid-cooled units. Another giveaway that this is a different engine is its 8000rpm rev ceiling which confirms that the bike will have a different bore and stroke compared to the upcoming 400cc Hero bikes. 

Even though this Harley-Davidson bike dons the roadster styling like the X 350 inspired by the XR1200X, there are major differences between the two. The Hero MotoCorp-made motorcycle sports a unique LED headlight with a DRL bar bearing the Harley-Davidson branding. There’s also the TFT console which looks minimalist and crisp and it comprises basic info like speedometer, odometer, tachometer and fuel indicator.

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The underpinnings on this Harley-Davidson include a USD fork and gas-charged dual shock absorber setup, with braking duties being taken care of by axial ByBre calipers. Interestingly, the bike uses CEAT Zoom Cruz tyres seen on the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. The front tyre is a 100/90 unit, likely with an 18-inch alloy while the rear is a 140/70-17 one.

Going by the images of the bike, the upcoming Harley-Davidson HD400 appears to be production-ready and could be in the final stages of testing. While the closest rivals to this roadster would be the Royal Enfield Hunter 350, Yezdi Roadster, Jawa 42 2.1 and the Honda CB350RS, we expect the HD400 to cost Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 2.70 lakh (ex-showroom) which would position it closer to the KTM 250 Duke and the Honda CB300R. Harley-Davidson will gain massively from its partnership with Hero MotoCorp, and thanks to the heavy localisation, the bikemaker will be able to price the bike very competitively.