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-   -   Harley-Davidson X440 Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/267826-harley-davidson-x440-review-13.html)

Test ride slots have opened for Mumbai dealership , from tomorrow till 14th Sep.

This HD app needs to fine tune in lot of places, firstly it congratulates with name, phone, booking id already available.



But when clicked on 'Book Your Test Ride', no information is carried forward from page 1 and it starts to ask the name and mobile number. Once provided, a OTP is sent and upon validation of OTP it then goes to next page.



Here user has to select the state and city, I selected 'Telangana' and only one city is available which again can be auto populated but no, user need to select the option.



Here comes the interesting and final page where we one can select the date of test ride as per user choice but none of the days selected were available to book for a TD. Slots are open 1 week in advance and we need to be 'fastest fingers first' mode among the prioritized customers to book the slot.

Which app is this? The H-D app i downloaded from the play store does not even have X440 listed. So i am wondering how you are able to check your booking and select test ride dates. Is there any other app or should i dig around in the H-D app itself? The app shows me rides in Singapore, Jeddah etc!

Install the HD Connect App that should work. (Harley-Davidson Connect)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...p.harley&pli=1
For me the OTP is not coming to my number, not sure maybe some network issue with Jio.

Same with me on my Airtel, OTP is not coming at all, must be HD server issue.

Yes it did come for me after trying later on after an hour. But same challenge persists. Its showing calendar till 15th for Bangalore Tusker but all slots are booked. So the wait continues to book a test drive. Hoping folks who have already done this week, post some details and reviews. Waiting for any new test drives reviews to be posted on YouTube as test drives have started.

This is crazy, they might have kept 1 bike for test ride , so seeing all slots booked, unlike Triump which had almost 5-10 TD bikes.

So was finally able to do a Test Ride of the Harley X440. Short summary below

The 'Fastest Finger First' Test Ride Slot booking.

As it is known, Harley-Hero are following an approach of having to book a test ride slot. Fortunately, I was online on WhatsApp when the message came up with the link to the booking form. I immediately attempted to book and first tried for a slot this weekend which already showed full. Was able to book for a slot today. Was not sure if I would be able to go, but booked it anyway and fortunately was able to make it.

The Good

• Having a booking system helps obviously helps streamline the test rides. I had to go 15-20km to Tusker Harley, so knowing I would get the test ride was a plus
  
• Got a message from Tusker reminding about the test ride the previous day. My slot was between 2pm and 4pm, told that I would be there only by 5 and that was ok.
  
• No crowd at the showroom, not much waiting for the test ride.

The Bad

• Obviously the whole system is flawed. Only one dealer offering test rides in spite of the Hero Network being ready hence limited slots.
  
• Being slot based, I expected a longer test ride. No such luck, it was a regular 3-4km test ride.
  
• Test Rides only for those who have booked till 25th September. Probably against the basic ethos of a test ride. Also Dealer has no way to offer walk in test rides if you have not booked.

Overall, while Hero Harley started well with the launch and publishing the Hero Dealer network for the X440 and even the booking process, post that it has been a lot of mis-steps. Ideally by now, like Triumph, all the Hero Dealers should have got multiple test ride bikes and the delivery schedules should also have been published. Looks like this will take some time to settle down and become streamlined. Expected better here considering that Hero churns out and sells 10-15 Lakh motorcycles a month.

The Test Ride:

• 2 Bikes available for the test ride. Both were the mid variant. Typically test ride vehicles are always the top variant. So this was a little strange
  
• SA was welcoming and completed the formalities quickly, he was the same person I spoke to when I went to see the bike. A friendly patient person and was continuously talking to customer and clarifying the questions.
  
• The SA rides pillion on one of the bikes and leads the way, again pretty strange, luckily when I was riding, he was pillion on the other bike.
  
• I had not liked the color scheme of the mid variants. So this put me off a little.
  
• The bike definitely looks large out on the road. Fairly long and you feel you are sitting on a substantial bike unlike the Triumph which is more compact.
  
• Seeing the top end variant inside the showroom, the quality and finish looked ok to me. Outside the showroom, some of those finishing issues seem more obvious. The cables are more neatly managed in the test ride bikes, but overall the Triumph 400 is way better.
  
• Nice sounding exhaust. Last time it was within the confines of the showroom, out on the open road also it sounds nice. Not loud for the sake of it like some of the other bikes.
  
• The bike is definitely heavy, coming from a fairly heavy bike myself, did not find it difficult to manage and once you get going, you do not feel the weight. But again, I don't think it is as beginner friendly as the Triumph 400.
  
• The seating position is more upright than I am used to on my Pulsar NS. So initially felt a little uncomfortable but got used to it soon.
  
• Felt quite comfortable on the bike from the get go. Most of the test ride was in traffic and did not face any issue maneuvering through the traffic.
  
• Due to the short test ride and heavy traffic , got very little chance to open the throttle. While it felt good in the small chances I got, could not ride enough to reach a conclusion about it.
  
• Clutch felt light and easy to manage, gear shifts were also precise and sharp. All of the ride was on smooth roads and hence no chance to test the ride quality also.
  
• Display looks good and lays out all the info neatly. Along with all the connected features, definitely scores over the Triumph here. Being the first ride, the gear change indicators were useful.
  
• Did not feel much of a heating issue although the bikes had been running back to back in heavy traffic. In the Triumph 400 the heat was very obvious.
  
• The SA was promoting the mid variant to the customers who were asking, saying that the top just has some cosmetic additions and the additional connected features and mid variant is more than enough. I get a feeling that there maybe further delays in supply of the top variant.

Overall, I would say that the Test Ride was inconclusive for me. Primarily because it was a very short one in heavy traffic and was not possible to get a real feel of the bike one way or the other. The Triumph ride was much better as it was in the Whitefield area with more open roads. All folks going to do the Test Ride in Bangalore at Tusker Harley are going to face this issue, there is no day or time when that area has less traffic. It is the same issue with Keerthi Triumph also, but Triumph at least has few other dealers now.

Now the challenge is that if I need another test ride, I need to find a slot, book it and go again. Hoping the Hero dealers start test rides soon.

Some pictures that I took of the Test Ride Bikes

I haven’t seen the X440 in real life but in the photos it does have presence. The red looks good on this bike. The only sore point seems to be the silencer. Yes I’ve heard the reviews say it sounds good but couldn’t have Hero made that silencer a bit more better looking?

I saw in a video that this is a typical Harley design for most of its silencers. To keep up with that design language, Hero may have kept the silencer as it is.

Thanks. I was able to download it. Strangely, this app doesn't show up for me when I search for it. Only the main HD app shows up. Is anyone else able to find it just by searching on Play store? I got the OTP after some 3-4 hours and retries!

BTW, i have booked a 'planned' test ride for 13th Sep. Lets see how that goes. If its the same 3-4km ride inside cubbon park, it will not be all that better. Will check when longer test rides will be available. Still can't believe there are only 2 test ride bikes in all of Bangalore when Triumph dealers are brimming with Speed 400s! Hopefully, deliveries will happen in Oct as mentioned.

Has anyone got a breakup of the On Road price of HD 440X? Last time i visited Tasker HD, the SA said 3.64L. So Ex-Showroom price for the S model i have booked is 2,69L. Considering about 50K for RTO and about 30K for insurance and misc, where does the remaining ~20K go towards?

Bikewale Onroad price for Bangalore is 3.46L. This is a lot more palatable than 3.64L. Will check with the SA if he can share the price breakup when i visit next week.

Edit: Oh one way to get a test ride slot is to get to it at 12:00 AM when the next 'day' slot opens. This is how i got my slot at 12:14 AM. Hopeless situation but it is what it is!

It isn't allowing for 2nd time booking by tracking via the phone number. 3-4kms of TD is bit small though, I'm sceptical on what should one decide out of this short TD.

Did a test ride of X440 yesterday at HD showroom, Dehradun. It was for around 3-4 km on moderately busy road.

I am 5'5" tall, 68Kg. The weight distribution of bike is excellent. It feels similarly heavy CB350 when taking off the stand. The weight disappears when on the move and handlebar, controls, foot pegs feel easy to reach and you feel at home instantly.

The bike pulls up nicely at city speeds (0-70km) and in gear acceleration is good in 1-4 gears. 5th and 6th gears are a bit taller and appear to be meant for long highway rides.

Flick-ability is good (better than CB 350). Mirrors did not vibrate and showed clear view.

Didn't feel any heat on foot or legs at all (maybe ride was too short). Cables were now well braced by using zip ties. Overall experience was satisfactory.

Leg guard and engine guards are accessories, not standard fitments. Rear backrest is a necessasity.

I took the test ride this Saturday from Tusker, Bangalore. This was immediately after the Triumph Speed 400 test ride.

The test ride was very short. It was hardly 1.5 KMs. I really enjoyed the ride. As we have heard from many reviews so far, the engine was very tractable. I was able to go upto 70 kmph within a very small distance that too in 3rd gear. It pulled cleanly from 15 to 70 in 3rd gear.

The rear seat will need a backrest. I had a pillion (my friend) who was about to fall back when I accelerated quickly.

Only if it had been a good 6-8 KM ride, I would have confirmed to buy this. For now, I am hoping for a longer test ride. However I strongly feel this is the bike for me.

I asked for a longer ride but the dealer politely refused as they are swamped with test ride for the whole day. Also found it weird that the dealer came with us during the test ride. Maybe to prevent people from going for a longer ride.

Comparing with Speed 400:
I know these are different types of bikes and should not be compared. I am comparing only because I took back to back test rides and I have booking of both bikes.
I found the nature of the long stroke engine to appeal more to me. Also the Triumph looked small for me, whereas X440 suits perfectly.
The Speed 400 engine was very hot, but manageable. With X440, did not find any heat at all neither with the engine, nor with the exhaust. Have seen my friends H'ness exhaust starts to boil even on small rides, that I was scared when my son was going near their bike. We will get to know only on longer city rides if the X440 engine heats up.

The onroad price as per the dealer is 3.4 L for the mid variant and 3.65 L for the top variant. They did not have the split up handy to understand better.

Saw a red one being driven near the Harley Showroom in Kochi, as I passed the rider I realised it was the Hero-Harley, So it sure looked like a Harley to me when seen on the road. This wasn't the case with images in the media , sure I couldn't hear the exhaust nor would I know how tall the rider was but they have some work to be done in terms of the cabling and clutter.

The Triumph equivalent that I saw in Bangalore roads was well finished yet I felt like I could have missed noticing it in the traffic , it wasn't having the same sort of presence the X440 has. Just my observations sitting inside a car, I did notice that Triumph was driven like a Pulsar , a reborn in some way.