Harley-Davidson has passed a new milestone in developing a small-capacity motorcycle for Asian markets.
The 338cc parallel-twin-powered ‘baby’ Harley has completed its design phase, and is now headed for production.
H-D and its Chinese partner Qianjiang signed off on a final design at a signing ceremony, however, it has yet to reveal the sketches to the public.
At this stage, all we have to go off are the illustrations that Harley released earlier this year, which all but confirm that the bike is based on the Benelli 302S naked bike.
Benelli is a subsidiary of Qianjiang, so the partnership would make sense.
If this is all true, the baby Harley will be powered by a 338cc engine, using components from the Benelli 302S, and from the larger TRK 502 and Leoncino.
Benelli is set to change the 302S name to ‘350S’, which is unlikely to be a coincidence.
It is unclear what the new Harley-Davidson will be called, however, it is currently referred to as the HD350 Project.
At this stage, it is believed that the small-capacity Harley will be primarily targeted at China and India, and will not be made available in Australia.
Spencer has a keen eye for hard news, and does some of his best living on deadline day. He loves more than anything to travel on his motorcycle, and is adamant that Melbourne Bitter is a world-class lager. He also knows how to operate the big computery thing in the office. By night, Spencer plays guitar with Melbourne punk outfit LOUTS.
