India-bound Harley-Davidson HD338 to debut in China in mid-2020

Harley-Davidson’s new entry-level model, codenamed HD338, is likely to arrive by June-July 2020, according to a leaked presentation that was published by motoring portal, Bennetts. Another report from the same source had claimed before that the motorcycle is ready to reach the production line.

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The motorcycle, as regular readers would already know, will be designed by Harley-Davidson, and manufactured by company’s new Chinese partner, Zhejiang Qianjiang Motorcycle. The newly developed product will target developing markets, and it is expected to reach the Indian market post the Chinese launch.

Harley-Davidson had revealed a sketch of the HD338 in June last year, and that image had revealed that this bike will be heavily based on the Benelli 302S. Thus, the HD338 will be built around a trellis frame and it will feature a tubular swingarm. It'll look very different with a retro design, though. We expect to see features such as full LED lighting and digital instrument console.

The shock absorption tasks, as seen in the sketch, will be handled by inverted front forks and an asymmetrically mounted rear mono-shock – a setup that looks identical to the Benelli 302S.

The Harley-Davidson HD338 could also share the engine specifications with the Benelli 302S, although with a revised displacement. Thus, the upcoming entry-level Harley-Davidson product should be seen with a parallel twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 4-valve, DOHC engine. The performance numbers should be marginally higher than the Benelli 302S. The roadster model from the Chinese-owned Italian two-wheeler brand uses a 300 cc parallel-twin, liquid-cooled, 4-valve, DOHC motor that churns out 37.5 hp of max power at 11,000 rpm and a peak torque of 18.9 ft·lb (25.62 Nm) at 9,000 rpm.

The braking setup on the HD338 would be different from the Benelli 302S. It will have a single disc on the front wheel instead of dual-rotor setup. Its rear wheel will feature a single disc as well. The safety net will comprise a dual-channel ABS.

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The new entry-level Harley-Davidson motorcycle, as mentioned above, will be launched in China first before it is rolled out into other Asian markets. We expect to see it on Indian shores by 2021.

[Source: Bennetts.co.uk]