[Sudarshan42]

Originally Posted by AnAntinspired

For better or worse, my impulse got the better of me and iv booked the 440x at 540 sharp.

Impulse is pun intended, given my impressions of Hero have always been good from the Impulse which began my association with them to the Xpulse that took it forward.

While I dislike some angles of the bike, the price point and some of its specs make me overlook both aesthetics and the fact that it may be a Hardly Davidson.

2 amazing puns in a row, and the 2nd one so aptly describes the bike! (not that I mind it, I'm no Harley purist, so a Hardly Davidson is perfectly fine by me). And big congrats! Hope you enjoy this along with all your other bikes.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by AnAntinspired

For better or worse, my impulse got the better of me and iv booked the 440x at 540 sharp.

Luckily I waited till 540 and when navigating the site realised that there were 5 other Hero dealers apart from the sole Harley dealer of Bangalore in the fray to take the booking. And all of them were registered and willing to accept the booking at 5k via the Hero website! Needless to add, my choice of dealership wasn't the Harley one.

This forum has for long lamented about the money muscling techniques by sole franchisees of premium motorcycle brands. I'm relieved Hero seems to be pitching in their bigger dealers in every city and not convert customers into business investors of dealerships.

Now to wait for the Triumph Bajaj launch and book that as well if there is similar value to be had even if the final decision to own will be both, either or neither!

Thanks for that note. I also had multiple messages and emails from Tusker Harley Bangalore, asking to book by paying 20k. Since I am not even sure if I will buy it, did not want to block 20k for several months.

Based on your post, headed to the website (https://www.harley-davidsonx440.com/) and booked paying INR 5000 selecting a Hero dealer not too far from my place. As you mentioned, Hero seems to have selected a few of their premium dealerships. This one looks large and has a Google Rating of 4.7 which is fairly high for a mass market 2 wheeler showroom.

Booking site says a rep will reach out before August 15th with deliveries starting in October. Smooth process with immediate confirmation via WhatsApp, SMS, Email with all details of booking and the terms and conditions. Have booked the S variant Matt Black

So have booked both the X440 and the Triumph Speed 400. The booking of both has been an impulsive decision. Not sure if I will buy either, but on paper both look to be meeting my requirements with a slight preference towards the Speed 400. Awaiting the reviews and test rides.

Overall as someone already said, with the aggressive price and Hero expected to leverage it's immense dealership to the max, this will probably be seen as a rich man's Splendor as opposed to a poor man's Harley, but I guess I can live with that.

[AnAntinspired]

Originally Posted by Sudarshan42

2 amazing puns in a row, and the 2nd one so aptly describes the bike! (not that I mind it, I'm no Harley purist, so a Hardly Davidson is perfectly fine by me)

Hehe. I'm from a generation fed Uthappam as Pizza until globalization redefined it, only to realise I preferred Indian pancakes to American ones so I'm drawn to the practical merits of the Hero in Harley rather than idolize Harley as the Hero!

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I also had multiple messages and emails from Tusker Harley Bangalore, asking to book by paying 20k. Since I am not even sure if I will buy it, did not want to block 20k for several months.

Tch Tch Tusker...upto their reputed tricks, maybe THIS is the Haathi one must not paalo!

[AtheK]

The pricing gives me the scare on this one, this might turn out to be another Nano story. Look at OLX how many BMR 310R are for sale, people will buy it thinking with different level of expectations and will soon realise that this is not they wanted.

Personally I would rather buy the top end bike from likes of TVS, Hero or Bajaj rather then buying the lowest what Harley has to offer (Which is ideally not even Harley)

[Dressellian]

I hastily remembered the booking slot for the X440 S was open today. I logged in. Chose my dealer. Filled in the details on the form. Even referred the OTP. Then, it struck me...
My friend rode a Roadking from Kerala to my place on his way to the sprangled North. That motorcycled screamed Harley.
HOW MUCH OF A HARLEY WILL THE X440 S BE?

[itsMridul]

Contrary to what some of our esteemed members had opined above, I think this bike may give Harley some foothold in India selling in good numbers. With a few Harleys roaming around, the not so enthusiastic bikers will surely give a thought to Harley before picking their next bike. Also this will increase the footfall in their showrooms as well as visitors to their website. It will also keep the cash flowing in their direction.

[Sebring]

With RE gnawing at its heels, Harley had no choice but to enter the lower segments. Its not too bad for the price, I feel

[Torino]

Saw some reviews and its all praises for the 440X's engine, suspension and chassis. I think HD & Hero have a good platform at hand to cater the attention gaining adv and scrambler segment. A lot is happening in 350-450cc segment which I think has the right amount of power and weight to handle both on and off the road riding in our riding conditions as well as the potential A2 license category in Europe. Its clear that premium brands are exploring the 350-450cc segment and some recent examples being BMW now Triumph and Aprilia. I think HD made the right move from a business point of view and noteably the alliance with Hero Moto Corp.

Interesting to see the engine similarities between the 440X and Himalayan 411, representing the character of the 440X's engine.
Engine 440cc air cooled SOHC vs 411 air cooled SOHC
Power 27@6000 vs 24@6500 rpm
Torque 38@4000 vs 32@4000-4500
Bore stroke 79.6x88.4 vs 78x86
Compression ratio 9.5:1 for both

[nasirkaka]

My thoughts:

I wonder why folks are bashing the 440x as not a true blue 'Harley'.

I also wonder how many of them bought a Harley when it was a 'Harley'. If some of them would have bought, may be Harley did not have to conceive a so called "bigger splendor" 440X.

Harley is a sinking company and would do anything to stay afloat. They have tried a few tricks in the past starting from a totally new engine on nightrod to electric concepts to their modern 750s which are a gem of an engine. Heck they have even tried their luck at an adv. pan america 1250 which is so much not their forte. This 440x is another attempt by Harley to stay relevant and alive.

Poster of Arnold on a fatboy as T2 adoring walls of most housed in the 90s is history. And so is their legacy products in big Vtwin vibrators of the 70s. RE was in a similar boat in early 2000 and they rose from the ashes based on development of new engine platforms and products. They would also be dead if relying only on their legacy.

Harley was hardly selling any numbers. European and Japanese counterparts had move miles ahead interms of technology. The studded leather jackets and half bandana helmets replaced by modern multi-material riding gears and full faced safer helmets. the HOG rides and lifestyle is so passe and todays generation lives and rides on multiple riding groups on whatsapp. Check out the re-sale prices of Harleys on OLX and we would get our answers to their sorry state of affairs.

So Harley has done the right thing by partnering with Hero which has a good know how of cost effective/ mass market production. And its not the first time. KTMs did it with Bajaj and came up with nice little single in 150, 200, 390 dukes, does not dilute the superduke 1290. BMW did it with TVS and the resultant 310GS is a gem of a bike, well respected abroad for its capabilities even amongst the 1200gs riders. Triumph and Bajaj collaboration is resulted in nice and well finished 400s. I guess a lot of us just share our prejudice without even experiencing these products.

Coming back to the actual bike, the 440X is very well priced and thats half the battle won. The Hunter from Enfield is selling so well as it ditched its RE heritage of all metal body, and made a bike which is small, light weight, and feels like any other commuter bike with a pleasant exhaust note. 440X is tried to keep the configuration simple in air cooled, low revving but torquier engine which sounds decent on paper. Lets see how it fares in real life. The Harley sound is something which they have stressed on and the bike does sound like a harley. I am sure it would not have been an easy task getting that aural note from a single cylinder, and in do so, they have snaked the exhaust pipe all over the bike. The exhaust note won over the aesthetics on this one.
The bike has decent tech and features in USD fork, dual channel ABS, USB, modern tft console with most required info, connectivity, etc. The riding posture from the pics look upright. The weight is not too bad either, but less is always desired. It would make a good torquey bike to ride around on the likes of a CB350/RE classic / hunter/ ronin, and the likes. As we know some premium Hero outlets have been roped in for sales and service, which will have a much larger reach.

Lastly, i feel the bike does not look very aesthetic as a whole. All elements do not come together in a cohesive manner. Proportions are not very appealing, and there seems to be a lot of clutter around the engine bay area, be it the horizontal bar on trellis of the wire managements. The tail fender looks too chunky compared to the tank and rest of the bike. Not to mention that exhaust can which looks so much out of tune. The silhouette of the bike is still close to a Harley than any other but over all the bike could have been more cleaner and visually appealing.

Will it sell? I think it will do decent numbers esp if hero is involved in sales and service. They have wide reach. The bike is priced well. It sounds nice. Specs are decent. Although it may not be a true blue Harley of the yore but definitely a step in right direction in my books.

Presenting a modern day scenario where all bikes be it big or small, Harleys or xpulse, or anything in between ride together for the fun of riding.

[Senotrius]

Agree with your thoughts brother. I think we can give harley/hero a break. They have got the pricing good atleast.

[jaaz]

Pricing looks good at least on paper, credit goes to Hero group. Now, we've to see how the Cost of Ownership works out which may take at least a year. Looks more of a commuter bike, but I may be wrong unless we see it in flesh.

Reviews and testing is done in Hero's test track facility and the real world testing will be done only next month. Modifiers will be happy to go with a contemporary silencer, although it might sound differently.

[BlackBerry]

Looks are subjective. This is a new age motorcycle (smallest one from the HD stable) and would have it's own plans of the target owners/riders. IMO, this is primarily a city motorcycle and also can double up as a tourer. Only gripe is the low power and torque figures from a 440cc mill. A trial run would prove it's worth.

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

After looking at more and more pictures of this bike - I'm starting to admire the TVS Ronin!

From proportions to ungainly elements - this bike just looks so wrong to my eyes. Not to mention the complete lack of a Harley identity.

Will be sad for our market if it succeeds on the price factor alone.

Unfortunately Ronin is very underrated bike. When I drove it for the first time, I couldn't believe that TVS has made such a wonderful bike. It sounds really great & you will feel it's a premium bike. Quality of the bike is really good. It has good power and surprisingly it's priced well too, specially the single tone color model. My cousin got it for 1.83 OTR Pune and is really happy with it. It looks really hot in Red color.

Not sure why but TVS is doing hardly any marketing for Ronin. It deserves more advertising so that it will sell more.

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by marcussantiago

Put another way: this is like if Tata, who owns Land Rover, took the Punch and just stuck a Land Rover badge on it and called it a Land Rover. Would the kind of person who wants a Land Rover be fooled? Seriously, imagine that scenario, and apply it here.

Buying a Harley (or any superbike really) is a special moment in your life. Buying this would feel like buying a washing machine or toaster.

What about BMW 310 bikes co-developed with TVS?
Harley is on sales decline spree and they need a few high sale products to revive. What will they do with the brand , if they don't survive?
Remember HM Ambassador ?

[Senotrius]

Originally Posted by Senotrius

Agree with your thoughts brother. I think we can give harley/hero a break. They have got the pricing good atleast.

Now that the Triumph 400 price is out I feel sad for the HD440. Close to impossible for both the HD440 and Bajaj's own dominar400 to thrive.