Harley-Davidson is planning to enter the 250-500cc segment motorcycle market with a brand new product. The new entry-level motorcycle is expected to boost the brand’s sales and volumes globally. The motorcycle will be introduced in the company’s growth plan called “More Roads to Harley Davidson”. The segment (250cc to 500cc) is emerging and has only a handful of manufacturers here in India. Harley-Davidson could make its footing in that segment as competition is not that high, as of now.
The new motorcycle is expected to be in a quarter-litre engine configuration with a ‘Street’ badge and likely to be similar to the Street 750 in the overall design department. The Street 750 is currently the entry-level model sold in India and the smallest engine in the company’s portfolio is the Street 500 which has an engine displacement of 500cc. However, the Street 500 is not sold in India.
Features on the new model are expected to be basic as it will have to keep the prices in check. The bike is expected to have conventional telescopic front forks, twin-sided shock absorber with coil springs on the rear, an analogue-digital instrument console, alloy wheels and is also likely to get a two into one exhaust.
The engine on the motorcycle is expected to be a 250cc, twin-cylinder with liquid cooling technology and the engine is expected to produce around 30 Nm of torque coupled to a 6-speed gearbox. Needless to say, the bike will be sporting hydraulically operated disc brakes on both the ends along with a dual-channel ABS system for safety.
The current entry-level Harley Davidson in India is the Street 750 and the bike is powered by a 749cc, V-Twin with liquid-cooling that produces 59 Nm of torque @ 3,750 RPM and is mated to a 6-speed gearbox. The brakes are hydraulic disc on both wheels and have an ABS system. The alloys on the bike are black 7 spoke cast aluminium with a machined finish. The Street 750 is priced starting at INR 5,33,000 ex-showroom.
The new entry-level bike is expected to be highly localised using the help of another local manufacturer and it is expected to be priced around INR 3 lakh ex-showroom. The bike will compete with BMW and KTM who already have motorcycles in this segment.