Well who would’ve thought that a bit of gossip could gain speed with idle speculation, but in a world where one plus one equals three, here we have the tale of a brand new Chinese Harley Davidson that is supposed to be a ‘Baby Pan America’
So earlier in the week, it was started to be reported in some websites and press agencies in the Far East, who were also quoting some European media sites as well, that Harley Davidson in conjunction with their Chinese partner: QJ Motor would be releasing a smaller sized adventure bike for the Asian market.
The partnership already has given birth to the X350 and the X500 motorcycles but it was being reported that the another variant of the X350 would be the adventure bike as it was designated the X350 RA.
However, this is where it starts to get a little thin on fact but layered with a whole load of cream cheese.
X350RA already is being shipped to the USA for the H-D Riding Academies hence the RA suffix. Now the RA is also used for the Pan America 1250 prefix in the model code: RA1250 or RA1250S for the Special variant.
So this is where the confusion has stemmed from. The RA is purely coincidentally used here and serves no other purpose especially where the Chinese H-D bikes are concerned.
However there have also been growing rumours from both China and India that Harley Davdison are looking to release more motorcycles for 2024. H-D and Hero Motocorp for India are planning more motorcycles beyond the X440 and the first one being a new Scrambler model.
H-D and QJ Motor are also looking to release more models too and both partnerships are eager to tap into the mini adventure off road market in the 400-500cc segment.
QJ Motor already have Benelli in their ranks and also produce a popular 500cc small adventure bike: TRK 502 X. However they are not alone. In fact there are numerous other smaller manufacturers who have been producing these popular bikes with smaller engines for some time. Even going down towards the Sinnis 125cc Terrain bike which is ever popular on a budget price.
However all eyes are on Royal Enfield who have been leading the way with small adventure bikes with their Himalayan. They have just update the Himalayan with a brand new bike with a 450cc liquid cooled engine. They are setting a new benchmark not only in the engine size but also at price point too.
So it is no surprise that the like of Harley Davidson with these two regional partners would be looking to produce similar motorcycles to capitalise on the enthusiasm for smaller go anywhere bikes.
However, it does indeed look like the X350RA is still only the standard bike with some slight differences for the American market and the riding schools only, and there are no plans to make an adventure bike based on the 350cc.
That being said the idea is not dead and we wouldn’t be surprised if the Chinese H-D collab did indeed release a new Benelli-esque small ADV in 2024 but presumably this would only be for the Asian markets once again.
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