Most Affordable Harley-Davidson 350 All Set To Enter Production!

The American bikemaker has finalised the design of the motorcycle

The upcoming Harley-Davidson 350 will be the brand’s most affordable motorcycle. Harley’s Chinese partner Qianjiang Motorcycle Co. will manufacture the bike in China. The bike is planned to be launched in China by late 2020. Expect Harley to launch the bike in India by 2021.

Harley-Davidson and its Chinese partner Qianjiang Motorcycle Co. recently concluded the design freeze signing ceremony for its project “HD350” in China. It is planned to be launched in late 2020 in the Chinese market, so expect Harley to bring the motorcycle to our shores by 2021. 

Now that the design freeze is done, the next step will likely be bringing out the pre-production spec model for further testing. Expect the design of the upcoming motorcycle to look more or less similar to the render which Harley revealed when it announced the project back in June this year. The roadster will pack a 338cc parallel-twin liquid-cooled engine. 

Interestingly, the one shown in the rendered image looks similar to the Benelli 302S' motor. That’s because Harley’s Chinese partner also owns the Benelli brand and it is easier for Harley to just use one of Benelli’s engines as the base and move things forward. This will save Harley both time and resources compared to building a brand new engine from scratch.

With this motorcycle, Harley-Davidson will be eyeing developing markets like China and India where small-capacity premium motorcycles are gaining popularity at a rapid pace. Even Triumph seeks to capture a pie of this lucrative segment by teaming up with Bajaj to make a small capacity affordable motorcycle. 

Coming back to the HD350, even though it will be the most affordable Harley-Davidson, the brand is still likely to maintain its premium image. So expect Harley to price the bike between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh (ex-showroom). If we’re lucky, Harley-Davidson could unveil the prototype at 2020 EICMA. Stay tuned for further updates!