Harley Davidson is on the offensive in India, again. The company has just showcased the Street 750 at the India Bike Week 2014 and will be launching the same at the Auto Expo 2014 next month. 2015 will see the launch of the Street 500 which will be cheapest offering from the company. Amidst the budget motorcycles, the company plans on keeping the buzz going around its other range of motorcycles. Apparently, the company is considering launching the Harley-Davidson Softail Breakout premium cruiser in India.
The Harley-Davidson Softail Breakout is your ‘typical’ Harley Davidson that sits lower and is inspired by ‘gasser’ drag bikes found in the US from 1950-60. The bike is pretty heavy too, it tips the scales at 308 Kg (dry). It is pretty long like its other siblings at 2,445 mm. It gets generous amounts of chrome and gets 130-mm section tyre up front and the rear unit is a pretty massive 240-mm tyre. It comes with 10 spoke cast aluminium wheels that complement the bike in all its glory.
Propelling the giant is a 1,690 cc air-cooled motor that churns out 130 NM of peak torque at just 3,000 RPM. The maximum power figure stands at 74 BHP @ 5,010 RPM. This engine gets mated to a 6-speed Cruise Drive gearbox that is expected to be quite a smooth unit and will aid cruising conditions. The company claims that it will deliver a fuel efficiency of 17.85 KMPL but would you really care about the efficiency when you are getting such a level of performance.
The tank capacity stands at 18.9 litres so the bike will be good enough for about 300-320 kilometres on a single tank in real world conditions. Expect the bike to be priced in the Rs 16-20 lakh price bracket when it hits the Indian roads. Triumph, the British bike manufacturer is the only real competition for Harley-Davidson in India and it will surely have a launch up its sleeve every now and then to counter Harley’s efforts. Indian Motorycles launched its range of bikes recently, but the bikes are way more expensive than the Harley-Davidson range and pose no real danger to it.
Indians have started appreciating what leisure biking actually is and the motorcycle giants are all ready to help them out. Expect the Harley-Davidson Softail Breakout India launch in mid or late-2014.
