Harley Davidson Street 500

Overview

Harley-Davidson Inc. or Harley or H-D is a world famous American motorcycle manufacturing company which was founded during the first decade of the 20th century by William S. Harley, Arthur Davidson, Walter Davidson and William A. Davidson. It has its current headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. and had almost 6000 employees by the end of 2011. H-D has survived from a fair deal of disastrous elements like Great Depression, poor quality control and increasing competition from Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. It is well-known for its heavyweight motorcycles, heavy customization and classic Harley designs and also has a big brand community which is active through a museum, events and clubs. Harley-Davidson India was established as a subsidiary in 2011 in Gurgaon and has a plant in Bawal, Haryana.

Recently, Harley-Davidson announced to launch their first all-new motorcycle platform in 13 years, in the form of a pair of stylish cruisers, Street 500 and Street 750 at EICMA, Milan in November 2013. These cruisers will be assembled at their plants in Bawal, Haryana, India and Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A. Street 500 will be the cheapest Harley bikes since the inception of Harley-Davidson.

Design and Style

Harley-Davidson Street 500 has a blacked-out theme which includes a typically cruiser type front end and a rounded bikini fairing, a flat, wide and masculine metal tank, black pullback handlebars, an all-black 2 into 1 exhaust, nice fenders, a lot of chrome accents, a small round headlamp, comfortable riding saddles for rider and pillion, steel frame, a large wheelbase of 1511mm to seat riders in great comfort, feet-set-forward rider footrests, a distinctive and smartly finished rear with LED tail lights and mini bullet turn signals and Michelin tires of 17-inch at front and 15-inch at rear with alloy rims. It has a wet weight of about 218kgs with easy lock-to-lock sweep and mid mount controls. It has a fairly positioned instrument console with a round and simple speedometer and digital display for other details.

Engine and Gearbox

Harley-Davidson Street 500 will have a 494cc, 4-valves per head, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, SOHC, rear-wheel drive via toothed belt drive, 60-degree V-twin, Revolution X engine with brilliant power and torque values. It will be mated with a 6-speed gearbox transmission with one-down and rest-up shift pattern. It has a specially tuned suspension system which consists of a Telescopic Fork with Smart Reflectors at front and Dual Shock Absorbers with Rectangular Section Steel Swing-arms at rear. It also has single-calliper ventilated disk brakes at both the front and rear wheels.

Price and Shades

Harley-Davidson Street 500 will be available in a single variant in Black and Red shades at an expected ex-showroom, Delhi price of INR 4 lakhs which may vary. Overall, Harley-Davidson Street 500 will be aimed for younger customers of emerging markets with a mouth-watering price tag and it will be a huge success if it provides the same feeling, performance and thrill which makes H-D a formidable competitor.

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