Harley to launch a 350 cc model for Asia

In June of 2019, the famous company Harley Davidson, a bike brand that many people want to own a bike of announced that they were targeting to make a small weight class bike for the Asian market. The company has partnered with a Chinese company to make the Harley Davidson 350 cc small weight bike come to life for the Asian market. And most probably they have even gone into production as in 2019 the Chinese company and Harley Davidson company said that they were ready to go into production.

As the giant Harley Davidson company had now taken a step to make such small weight class bikes, even companies like MV Augusta and Ducati seemed to have started to make such small weight class bikes. Though it is not determined when they will be announcing or releasing the news on their new small weight class bikes. Nonetheless, due to the step was taken by the giant themselves, even other companies that stayed away or rather did not cater to making small weight class bikes have started to get into the small weight class bikes. So, what does it mean for the Asian market? It means that the Asian market will be getting some of the most premium bikes in the world with their toned down versions in small weight class bike.

More on Harley Davidson’s 350 cc bike. Even though the bike is said as 350 cc, the bike will only have a displacement of 338 cc. Harley Davidson 350 is just a title currently and as the production completes, similar to its other siblings, it will also be given a unique name of its own when it hits the market. Harley is working with a Chinese company called “Qianjing Motorcycle” and they agreed on the final design for the bikes a while ago. However, the company are yet to release the final design to the bike. Harley Davidson plans to make sure that the bike embodies a distinctive look, sound and feel that will spark a powerful connection with the riders who get their hands on the bike.

The new Harley-Davidson motorcycle and engine will be produced in a Qianjiang facility in China and adhere to the rigorous quality standards and testing processes followed for all Harley-Davidson products,” their June statement said. This means that the bike will be having the quality and the same powerful and unique attitude a Harley Davidson bike has. Harley Davidson is one of the dreams for nearly every rider, even though recently people do seem to look at other bikes as well.

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“The new Harley-Davidson motorcycle and engine will be produced in a Qianjiang facility in China and adhere to the rigorous quality standards and testing processes followed for all Harley-Davidson products,” their June statement said. But for people who have the habit of riding a cruiser, or bikes such as a hot rod, the Harley Davidson bike will always be on their wish list. As per the statement of the Chinese company it seems there is no plan to export the bike except in the places in Asia. Which means the 350 cc bike will most probably not be seen in the western and European regions. Unless they do plan to export it out of Asia in later years. The Chinese company plans on having the bikes sold in china by late 2020 though it can be delayed, and by late 2021 in India as well. Which means for it to come to Nepal, it might take nearly 2 more years. Or if the Chinese production company does see any form of profit from the Nepalese Market, they will be sure to ship the bike at the same time as they do with India. Though the probability of this happening is rather low. 

The sub-500cc bike plan is included in the company’s ‘More Roads’ initiative, a strategic long-term plan, says Harley head honcho Matt Levatich.

He says the strategy hinges on making sales outside the US half of the company’s total.

“We’re excited about this opportunity to build more Harley riders in China, one of the world’s largest motorcycle markets, by creating new pathways to our brand,” he says.

“We are just over a year away from launching our first model that will help provide access to millions of customers in emerging markets in the region.”

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From these statements, we can be sure that the Harley Davidson company has looked into all the possibilities for the bike in the Asian market and are making sure that the bike they produce cater to every Harley Davidson lover in Asia. Moreover what else do we know about the Harley Davidson bike?, There is not much as the only specifications that we do know are the engine will be a 338cc engine, the bike will have double disc brakes, one on each tyre, the tyre type will be tubeless, and the braking system will have Dual-channel ABS in them. The standard for the bikes that have recently started to come into the market. As almost all the companies have started to provide their customers with the dual disc brakes and at least single-channel ABS.

As the bike is a Harley Davidson product and the looking at the branding itself, we can look into having to pay nearly 9-10 lakhs Nepalese rupees for the bike. It can be priced higher or lower considering Harley does look into making the bike more affordable within the Asian market.

So, Is the bike worth it? We can not be certain if the bike is worth it or not for its estimated price range yet, this is mainly due to the fact that many people in the Asian market have started to stray from the norm that the riders have to only ride the 150 cc bikes or the 200 cc bikes. The Asian riders are now looking towards more of the higher class bikes, due to which the Harley Davidson 350 cc might just make a good amount of sales in the Asian market itself. And if they do plan on having the bike be exported overseas, then the chances are a lot of new riders will be trying the bike out which will make the sales of the bike go even higher. We will update you about it, even more, when we do get more information on the bike. Until then stay tuned.

Also read: Nepal’s First self manufactured electric motorbike, The Yatri Motorbike (Project Zero)


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