Harley Davidson X440

The Harley-Davidson X440 is the American manufacturer’s attempt at reaching a new set of customers by making their product lineup more accessible. So how does the baby Harley fare in retaining that iconic Harley-Davidson appeal while finding its own footing in a whole new segment for the manufacturer? Let’s take a look:

The Harley-Davidson X440 has a muscular design language, a beefy-looking tank and an overall commanding road presence. The round LED headlight with the small headlight nacelle complements the retro aspect of the bike quite well. The rear-end sticks out though, as it doesn’t go with the design flow of the front-end. The plain looking straight tube exhaust design doesn’t look quite appealing but Harley-Davidson has said that the shape helps in creating the distinct Harley V-twin thump in a single-cylinder bike.

The Harley-Davidson X440’s 440cc, single-cylinder, air/oil-cooled engine produces 27.4PS and 38Nm and gets a 6-speed gearbox. This results in a brisk acceleration from the motor and the roadster can reach speeds of 120-125kmph quite quickly. It feels quite smooth when you are cruising around the 100-110kmph mark with little to no vibrations. But, if you start revving the bike, post 5,000rpm, vibrations can be felt at the handlebar and footpegs. 

The motor is quite tractable as you can ride the bike at 50kmph in 6th gear without any issues. But to overtake a vehicle, you’ll have to shift down a gear or two. The sixth gear is perfect for when you want to cruise on the highway at about 120kmph for long periods of time.

The Harley-Davidson X440 gets agile and sporty handling characteristics. Whether you are riding fast in the mountain twisties or just going around long, fast bending roads, the roadster tips in fairly easily and inspires confidence by how it holds the line. 

With a ground clearance of 170mm, the Harley-Davidson X440 is quite approachable for riders of all heights. The mid-set footpegs and the flat handlebar setup translates to a comfortable riding posture, which should be good for long distance touring. But during our tests, we found the seat to be a bit on the softer side. So, that might be a slight annoyance during those tours. The suspension setup does a decent job of absorbing the impact of the speed bumps and potholes.  

The Harley-Davidson X440 comes equipped with a minimalist TFT instrument console that shows DTE (Distance-to-empty), clock, real-time mileage indicator, gear indicator, battery health and more such readouts. The top-end S variant gets Bluetooth connectivity with turn-by-turn navigation, music control, call and SMS alerts and more. It gets a USB 3.0 port as standard. This extensive list of features makes the X440 one of the most feature-rich bikes in the segment.

With its package of commanding road presence, engaging performance, good handling dynamics, comfortable ergonomics, extensive list of features and an attractive price tag starting from Rs 2,39,500 (ex-showroom), the Harley-Davidson is a good option to consider in the sub-400cc roadster segment. If you are in the market for such a bike, then the baby Harley should be on your list.