As India, and presumably the rest of the motorcycling world awaits the arrival of the brand new Harley Davidson/ Hero Motocorp X440…the company themselves have released audio samples of the exhaust tone coming from the machine. And it’s got he biking press all revved up wanting more!
Given that this is a single cylinder air cooled engine with some oil cooling too, barely pushing out 30Nm Torque and 30Hp, we can hardly expect it to sound like a fire breathing dragon on cocaine, however considering it is fitted with a hefty megaphone of an exhaust can, it does remarkably well to sound just like a plodding Royal Enfield…perhaps this was on purpose.
The X440 is really going up against the Royal Enfield bikes and the soon to be released Triumph/Bajaj bikes too which are revealed this coming week but launched in India in the first week of July. So it is no small coincidence that Harley Davidson have suggested the X440 will also launch around the 3rd July. Nothing like a bit of competition and grandstanding on somebody else’s parade…
The X440 will be hitting a sector that is heavily dominated by the Royal Enfield bikes for the cool retro feel and air cooled simplicity, which facing higher tech alternatives with the KTM and the BMWs. It would be hard to imagine that the X440 would be price matched with the Royal Enfield but may go toe to toe with the Triumph/Bajaj to take second prize in the overall sector but perhaps take top slot for the premium bikes of the range.
However, it does appear that the sound engineers or audio stylists…whatever their official job titles are, have done a fine job of making it dullishly meaty without attempting to make it sound beyond what it is intended for.
Stay tuned for more information and sounds coming soon from the X440…and other bikes from the collaboration between Hero Motocorp and Harley-Davidson.