Harley-Davidson Working On a New 500cc Motorcycle

We’ve been hearing about a small-capacity Harley-Davidson bike for quite a while now, but new spy shots suggest that we might see a 500cc model instead of the expected 300cc cruiser first. The American cruiser giant’s upcoming motorcycle seems to be based on the Benelli Leoncino 500.

The Harley-Davidson 500, despite sharing its platform with the Chinese naked has the typical Harley styling. From its lower triple clamp-mounted headlight to wide rear fender, the bike appears to be developed on the lines of the Harley-Davidson Sportster S.

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Underneath its American clothing, the upcoming Harley-Davidson uses Benell’s 500cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin motor producing 47.5PS at 8000rpm and 46Nm at 6000rpm. The cruiser company is unlikely to tinker with performance since it complies with the A2 licence class. 

The Harley-Davidson bike will use the same trellis frame, with the 50mm USD fork and monoshock setup. Braking hardware on the Benelli consists of dual discs up front and a single disc at the rear. While the 320mm/260mm is likely to be retained, Harley may use Brembo or Bybre callipers instead.

Harley-Davidson had the Street 500 in its portfolio before it was discontinued in 2021. With the new Benelli-based bike, the Milwaukee-based cruiser company not only can expand to newer markets, but thanks to its alliance with Zhejiang QJmotor Co., Ltd (parent company of QJ Motors and Benelli), the production cost and the risk of investing in new markets and products is greatly minimised.

The new Harley-Davidson may grace the Indian streets early next year with a price tag of Rs 4 lakh, especially since the Benelli Leoncino is already in our market. And with Hero MotoCorp now handling the sales and distribution, the American cruiser company has got a new lease of life in our market.