Buy Or Hold: Royal Enfield Hunter 350 vs Harley-Davidson HD400

Let the thump wars begin

There was a time when thumping Royal Enfields were looked at as affordable Harley-Davidson substitutes. As a friend once famously said, "bhai, dil mey hai Harley, par jeb hai khali, toh hamari Royal Enfield pyaari." But that was true when the biggest Enfield was 500cc and the smallest Harley was 750cc. With the upcoming HD400, the clash between these two iconic brands is inevitable. So what should you consider? Waiting for the HD400 or buying the Hunter 350?

Pricing:

Both motorcycles are/will be the most accessible motorcycles of their respective brands, but the HD400 will be the more expensive of the two. Prices for the Hunter 350 start at Rs 1.49 lakh and the HD400 is likely to cost somewhere around Rs 2.5 lakh (all ex-showroom). If we assume Harley-Davidson does manage to offer such competitive pricing then paying the extra one lakh for the HD400 can be justified for a few good reasons.

Features:

For starters, the hardware on offer on the HD400 is more premium. While the Hunter 350 gets a telescopic fork, halogen headlight and an analogue instrumentation with a small digital readout, the HD400 is seen sporting USD fork, LED lighting and a TFT instrument console. That said, both can be had with disc brakes at either end and both get twin shocks at the back. Even in terms of features, expect the HD400 to be as Spartan as most entry level bikes. If that isn't enough, it also gets a bigger motor and most importantly - you get a 'brand'.

Design:

Both bikes are slightly different in flavour. They're both retro-modern in theme and both get single piece seats with some retro flair on the tank and body panels. While the Hunter dons a outright neo-retro design, the HD400 looks similar to the bigger XR1200X Sportster. 

Powertrain:

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While exact details on the HD400 are still under wraps, it's clear that it will have at least a 400cc (if not more) air/oil-cooled single cylinder motor. Meanwhile, the Hunter gets the likeable 350cc motor (making roughly 20PS and 27Nm) you find on the Classic 350 and Meteor 350. Hence, with the bigger displacement of the HD400, you should get a bit more punch sportiness than the Hunter 350's relaxed power output.

-Check-out Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Price 
-Harley-Davidson HD400 Spied
-Here Are Upcoming Royal Enfield Bikes

Summing up:

The Harley-Davidson HD400 has just been spied for the first time; and by the looks of it, it's almost production ready and should be here sometime between June-July '23. That said, the key takeaway here is that if you're tight on a budget, just go for the Hunter 350. However, you feel if Harley-Davidson manages to price the HD400 smartly and do not mind stretching your budget, then why not? Get yourself a Harley-Davidson! Either way, both bikes will help you get into the world of lifestyle motorcycling as the two companies not only sell a product, but also organise different tours.