Harley Davidson are on the cusp of launching their brand new small engine motorcycle…but is this a little too late to be competitive?
Nearly 18 months ago rumours and more believable news began to emerge that Harley Davidson had been developing a new smaller engine motorcycle for the American and European market and this had been in development for two years already.
At the same time Harley Davidson had also released the X350 and X500 in China with a collaboration with Qianjiang and the X440 in India with Hero MotoCorp but only for those markets. Many would ask why those motorcycles never made it to western shores and the answer has proved to be elusive even to the steeliest of inquisitors.
The Sprint motorcycle is supposed to be a new design and a new concept but from the silhouette images that the company have teased us with already, it does look remarkably like the X440 and one would imagine having a similar if not the same engine and performance. So exactly what is so unique about this bike?
As the autumn motorcycle shows are just around the corner, it would appear logical that Harley Davidson would likely launch this new bike soon, but don’t be surprised if we have to wait further into 2027 until we get to see it in the flesh.
The only question to ponder now is whether there is even an appetite for this bike? Do Harley Davidson fans really want it and will it stack up against most other manufacturers who have successfully launched similar sized bikes in the last two years. Is this all a little too late?