Harley Davidson Officially Confirms new 500cc Harley for India

'A new affordable Harley Davidson bike for India', this news has been doing rounds for a year now and for the first time something official came out. Harley's COO Matthew Levatich has announced on company's 110-year anniversary celebration in Milwaukee, that a 500cc bike is in the final stage of development and he has already ridden it. Speaking about the bike he said "nimble, light weight, has a low seat height and supple throttle and braking. I’ve ridden it – it looks great, sounds great, it’s a Harley, and it’s priced right. We want to get it out as soon as we can, but it’s got to be right. New engines are complicated, and we’ve got to get everything right from a durability, reliability and confidence perspective. On the other hand, chassis and other things are a lot more straightforward.”

Now what makes us understand that the bike is targeted to Indian market is because he said, "The American qualities of a Harley are very important to people. The literal ‘where does that shock absorber come from’ part of it is less significant, but it has to have the spirit and soul of America. We have Harley-Davidson factories in India and Brazil – can we leverage those facilities and expertise so it can get to the, for example, Indian consumer, faster? These are things we are becoming more open-minded to, but we understand the importance of ‘made in America’ – the American quality, spirit and integrity that matters to the customer."

The 500cc Harley Davidson has been spotted in India several times, and it seems like it is going to be unveiled at the upcoming 2014 Auto Expo in Delhi. The bike is based on the Harley's G-Platform and will get it power from a 500cc twin-cylinder engine. The power details are unknown, but we are expecting it to build a maximum power output of around 45 BHP  and 45 Nm of torque. The pricing will be a key factor and we are expecting a price around Rs. 4.5 to 5 lakh. So, it will be a win-win situation for Harley fans in India.

Source: Gizmag