These look worse then the Street 500 and 750.
At this stage if you wanted some brand heritage, I would have updated those models and sold those as entry level HD.
Since 1) they look as a Harley 2) that motor is entirely HD unlike these HD350 and HD500 abonimations.
Literally since Zeitz came aboard, the MoCo has been going from bad to worse.
It is true that just after he was in office, a pandemic stuck, but seeing the facts, other manufacturers have been reaping record sales with this.
The only good thing from HD from Zeitz was the Low Rider ST and the Pan America this really coming from Levatich (Zeitz actually delayed it by a year or so).
God help the MoCo, as Zeitz is really running HD like a shoe company. Ah yes he succesful with Puma....
Well, like shoes, HD will end up with a size for everybody at this rate.
Looks like they are aiming these at the China/Asia market where smaller bikes are the norm and there is a whole different sense of aesthetic.
But then again, the Street series was supposed to take India by storm. Last time I looked they were all still riding their Royal Enfields and Yamaguchis.
All about as successful as the Italian made Sprints and little two-stroke trail bike Harleys in the 1970s. Or the 350 flathead "Pup" of the 1920s, or the 500 Sport Twin of 1919.
Didn't they tell Zeitz when he moved to America, "Bigger is better"?
Removing the brand from the equation, seeing Harley-Davidson on these introduces too much bias and/or expectation, I think stylistically the 350 is a cool little bike. They lost it on the bigger brother 500, though, as the trim looks incredibly cheap. Notice the differences between the front fender, exposed radiator, massive tank, seat, and rear fender. Lastly, the 500 has that stupid license plate mount that bolts to the swingarm and wraps around the rear tire. To my eyes that's got to be the ugliest design on any motorcycle I've ever seen. All that said, it's a different bike for a different demographic. I wouldn't have a clue as to what it does for that market. Could be the best thing since sliced bread over there. I wouldn't ever know.
But then again, the Street series was supposed to take India by storm. Last time I looked they were all still riding their Royal Enfields and Yamaguchis.
The XG500/XG750 Street was a big flop in India. Harley has acknowledged that, shut it down, and entered into a partnership with huge Indian motorcycle maker Hero, to produce a joint venture bike similar to the ones above, but designed by Harley and made by and distributed by and sold by and serviced by Indians for the Indian market.
So, near as I can tell, there will be actually two different Harley 350's made and sold overseas, one by the Chinese for Asian markets, and an entirely different bike made by Hero for the Indian market.
Point being, now they're trying to give the world's biggest motorcycle markets what THEY want, instead of trying to cram the XG Streets or giant unwieldly touring or softails into a market where the roads and price tags simply can't justify them.
In effect, they're licensing the Harley name out. Not really all that different from them making T-shirts overseas and sticking the Harley name on them, I guess. And that's, if I'm not mistaken, the most profitable segment of their business, so I see this as a win all around: Asian customers in the world's biggest markets get bikes they can actually use and afford in their countries that (presumably) appeal to them, and Harley gets paid every time one is sold. Consider that QianJiang and Hero make and sell millions of bikes every year, they know what they're doing and they clearly know their target market. China makes over 15 million motorcycles every year, India makes over 20 million. Harley makes a couple hundred thousand. Seems like an intelligent approach to breaking into the world's hugest motorcycle markets, to me.
Last edited by FatBob2018; 12-18-2022 at 04:29 PM.
Sounds like Harley is whoring out their name for short term profit.
Kinda like Coleman, Stanley, Craftsman, Maytag and a bunch of other American companies.
Let the Chinese stamp your name on their junk until your name is worthless.
12-17-2022, 10:17 PM
HD350 and HD500 models coming to China
