Harley-Davidson’s exploits in the Asian market have been making headlines in recent months. The brand’s partnership with Hero MotoCorp in India gave birth to the X440, a small-cylinder single-cylinder model that makes the brand accessible to a wider audience. Meanwhile, in China, MoCo has joined forces with prominent manufacturer QJ Motor.
Harley-Davidson and QJ Motor have been working together for some time to jointly develop a range of small-cylinder motorcycles. This became a reality with the launch of the X350 and X500, two models that draw heavily on existing models on the QJ Motor/Benelli roster. Until now, the two small and medium roadsters have been available exclusively in China, with a launch in Australia planned before the end of 2023. That said, the next country where these two bikes will be available is Japan, where they are expected to hit the market in October 2023.
Harley-Davidson claims that the X350 and X500 were created as part of the brand’s global strategy. Clearly differentiated from the brand’s models in their home market, the two bikes have much smaller engines in comparison, and abandon the brand’s famous cruiser style for a much simpler motorcycle design. In fact, the X350 has a lot in common with the Benelli 302S, while the X500 is essentially a revamped Benelli Leoncino 500 – both models are produced by QJ Motor in China.
In terms of performance and technology, the Harley-Davidson X350 has a liquid-cooled, fuel-injected 353 cc twin-cylinder engine. The engine is tuned to produce 36.5 hp of power at 9,500 rpm and 31 Nm of torque at 7,000 rpm. Power is sent to the rear wheel via a six-speed manual gearbox. Meanwhile, the X500 offers a little more power with a 500 cc liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, twin-cylinder engine. It delivers 47.6 hp of power at 8,500 rpm and 46 Nm of torque at 6,000 rpm.
Information on prices and availability of the two new bikes for the Japanese market has not yet been announced, although the bikes are expected to be officially launched in October 2023.