It’s not a secret that American motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson has joined hands with Qingjiang Motors from China, the result of which is the development of small capacity Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the Chinese as well as emerging markets. Earlier pictures of a parallel-twin cylinder Harley-Davidson dubbed ‘338’ emerged on the internet, but the motorcycle is likely to be on the shelf for now and the brand could be developing a small capacity V-Twin machine.
The new Harley-Davidson motorcycle will be marketed as the SRV300 which was earlier revealed in China under the QJ Motor branding, Qingjiang’s premium motorcycle vertical in China. The small capacity air-cooled liquid-cooled motor is likely to have a displacement of 296cc and produce 30 Hp of power and 35 Nm of torque. A new media report also suggests that the cruiser style motorcycle will come with a wheelbase of around 1400mm, tip the scales at 163 kg at the kerb and will be quite agile and peppy. Speculations are that the new motorcycle will also be able to do a top speed of around 130 kmph.
The motorcycle features typical American-Cruiser styling that reverberates with the Sportster design language and comes with a large almond-shaped fuel tank, 15-inch rear, 16-inch front alloy wheels, a small front fender, a rounded headlamp with LED cluster elements, a wide handlebar, slightly forward footpegs, a sleek tail, contoured seats for the rider, a sleek tail section, twin stacked exhaust pipes.
The motorcycle is likely to be brand-engineered for sales in other markets than China. Speculations are that the motorcycle will compete against the Harley-Davidson range in the international market as well as the Indian market if Harley-Davidson brings it to India. Harley-Davidson/QJ Motor SRV300 is likely to make its debut in the next year. But there are no reports of any timeline when the brand programs to launch the motorcycle in India.