American bike major, Harley-Davidson, are all set to launch a new, more affordable bike in the 250-500-cc category, if word on the street is to be believed.
With the current competition growing more intense in the market, Harley-Davidson plan to launch a bike for the Asian market that may just be priced under the Rs-3-lakh mark, making it the most affordable bike that Harley-Davidson will have on sale. The production of the bike will likely take place in India.
This plan was announced by Harley-Davidson in their first quarter update of 2019, under their ‘More Roads’ initiative. There are two bikes that Harley-Davidson plans to bring to the Asian market. One is a 250-500-cc bike and the other will be in the middle-weight category (750-cc) model. Harley-Davidson have started working on both these motorcycles, however, the 250-500-cc bike is specifically being developed for growing markets such as India.
Harley-Davidson’s cheapest offering at present is the Street 750, which is sold from Rs 5.25 lakh. Reports state that the American bike maker is having problems with the new competition it is facing and sales have been declining over the years. The new twins from Royal Enfield are being offered at such a competitive price point, we can understand why Harley-Davidson are having problems. Harley-Davidson have partnered with a local company, that they have kept a secret. We believe they will be producing the bikes in India, which will then be exported to the rest of the world. The bike that is being produced could have a single-cylinder engine.
Besides the smaller engine model, Harley-Davidson will also be producing a few middle-weight bikes which will probably be a street-fighter and an adventure tourer. The bikes will be around 600-750-cc and we might see them in Harley-Davidson’s Indian line-up. We hope that Milwaukee giant will showcase the bikes that they are working on soon.
Story: Azaman Chothia
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