A few days after we reported the news that Harley-Davidson is working on two small capacity street bikes, the company has released details of the bikes, the Harley-Davidson Street 500 and Harley-Davidson Street 750. This is the first time in 13 years that the company has launched a whole new platform in its bike lineup, a new lineup of bikes (with the ‘Street’ suffix) will follow, these bikes are also the first to receive Harley-Davidson’s new ‘Revolution X’ engine.
The Harley-Davidson Street 500 and Harley-Davidson Street 750 were launched at the EICMA motor show in Milan, and will be manufactured at Harley-Davidson’s assembly plants in Kansas City, Missouri, USA and in Bawal, Haryana. The street lineup will be easier to buy, maintain and ride than any other lineup in the company’s stables. These bikes will be primarily targeted at those who spend most of their time in urban areas than those who want to ride their bikes on the highways but want to associate with the Harley-Davison brand, and will have specific design and technical features related to city riding.
What’s New?
The Street series of bikes from Harley-Davidson will feature similar styling themes. The bikes have taken their inspiration from cafe racers of the yesteryears and a few signature design cues from Harley’s own cruisers. Unlike many other bikes from their stable, the Street 500 and Street 500 will feature more upright seating position for the rider, mid-mounted pedals and normal handlebars for easy city riding. The steering column design and short wheelbase of 1511mm are meant to aid riders handle sharp maneuvers in the city easily. The new ‘Revolu Talking about mechanics, the Street 500 has got a 500 cc engine, while the Street 750 runs on a 750 cc engine. Theretion X’ engines are designed to handle the stresses of city riding; higher capacity bikes are known to overheat easily when driven in stop-go traffic or when kept on idle for a long time and Harley claims that the engines on the ‘Street’ range will be able to handle the same without any trouble. The bikes feature two-into-one exhaust systems which will sound similar to other Harley engines while showing a character of their own.
Specification
Engine: 494cc / 749cc liquid cooled, 60° V-Twin petrol engines
Transmission: 6-speed manual (one-down and five-up pattern), belt-driven
Brakes: Single caliper discs front and rear
Tyres: 100mm section front, 140mm section rear
Wheels: 17-inch front, 15-inch rear
According to Autocar India the Harley-Davidson Street 750 will be the first bike to be revealed in its production guise in India at the India Bike Week in January 2014 at Goa. The Harley-Davidson Street 500 will be launched later in the year. Prices for the bikes in India have not been announced, the prices for the same in the USA have been though. The Harley-Davidson Street 500 will be priced at about $6700 (about Rs. 4.15 Lakh) and the Harley-Davidson Street 750 will cost about $7500 (about Rs. 4.64 Lakh). It is expected that the bikes will cost significantly lower in India as they will be locally manufactured. When launched, the Street 500 and Street 750 will significantly increase the lead Harley-Davidson has in the large-capacity bike market.
What do you think of the Harley-Davidson Street range of bikes? Let us know in the comments below. We will keep you posted on news of these bikes as they come in, keep tuned in to Car Blog India.
