There’s no better joy than riding a motorcycle on your favourite roads. The thrill involved along with the sense of freedom that it gives. A definite experience for sure. But then there are some motorcycle lovers who love to ride but they cannot achieve that due to certain physical disabilities. Talking of this, Hero MotoCorp, is recently in the news. The company currently handles Harley Davidson in India, and recently it showcased a Road King motorcycle made into a trike for one of its employees who is differently-abled.
We saw Harley Davidson India post a video on their official YouTube channel titled “Freedom on Wheels.” Last year we learned Harley had conducted a competition in India. In this, Chitra Zutshi, a Hero MotoCorp employee, participated. But, given her physical disabilities, she could only experience the event from the pillion seat. Thus, after the event, Hero took note of her. Now taking that into consideration they decided to help Chitra by riding a motorcycle all on her own.
Thus, this is the story of how the idea of a trike came into Harley Davidson’s mind. To bring up this product, Hero and Rajputana Customs worked together. They converted the Harley Davidson Road King cruiser into a trike. They achieved so by adding supporting wheels on both sides. First, they removed the side covers and boxes, thus creating more space to work on. Then, Rajputana Customs built a set of supporting wheels on their own suspension for a smoother ride. These wheels even benefit from a metal fender that matches the colour of the motorcycle.
Interestingly enough, Chitra was not at all aware of these buildings. Thus in the video, we see that riding a motorcycle on her own was quite an experience. Once the custom-made Harley was ready, Chitra was called up to come and test the motorcycle at Hero’s Centre of Innovation and Technology Centre in Jaipur. In addition to the extra set of wheels, the motorcycle also comes equipped with a suicide shifter that would help Chitra shift gears. Other than this, the rest of the motorcycles remain pretty much the same.
The Harley Davidson Road King mentioned here gets a 1,745 cc, twin-cylinder engine. This motor generates 84 Ps and 147 Nm of peak torque. It This engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox, and this motorcycle will cost INR 28.49 lakh, ex-showroom.
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