[Selva k M]

The base denim variant with yellow paint-job and spoked wheels looks very good.

[surjaonwheelz]

The bike feels very well put together. There aren't any dangling or exposed wires, the paint looks good and the buttons on the stalks look solid.

This is good news!

The Harley-Davidson X440 comes with a standard warranty of 5 years / 1 lakh km. There was no indication that there'd be an Extended Warranty when you go past this time / km interval.

5 years is a strong commitment.

The X440 gets KYB USD 43 mm dual cartridge forks on the front and gas-filled twin shocks on the rear that are 7-step preload adjustable.

You couldn't test it at any torture track or bumpy sections? I hope the basic suspension setup is not unsettling!

NVH is very good even at 100-110 km/h. The engine note makes its presence felt, and clearly, deliberately slow, but otherwise, the single cylinder doesn’t loosen your bones with vibrations

This is very impressive to hear, looking forward to ride and check this out

The key observation one is likely to have is that, this is not Harley's made-for-India bike, but rather Hero's version of a Harley. And this may be the bike's trump card, as well as its undoing.

I think it'll be its undoing! Harley snobs had already disowned the Street 750 riders in the past. Did Hero discuss any export plans for the 440X? Or is it only for India, as of now?
In short, is this a Global product or a Domestic market specific platform?

Lastly, are more bikes expected on this platform? If yes, which form will best suit this engine character?

We can discuss further on a breakfast ride!

Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by TejasV

Triumph wins this round I guess, it is more up market and aspirational than this.

Well, this has a Harley-Davidson nameplate and Harley has a fairly prominent brand awareness as well. While Triumph does indeed have a lot more brand equity, it may not exactly be significantly more aspirational than Harley. Especially in this segment.

the bike does not sound like a harley, Period. Not sure why you are trying to dance around it.

You perhaps missed the part where I specifically called out that this isn't and can't be a typical Harley?

Originally Posted by ajay0612

Thanks for the review. Very crisp and to the point.
One question: Did it feel heavy (as compared to CB350 or Hunter) when lifting off the stands?

Originally Posted by Cyber_Samurai

Though it is a relatively heavy bike with 190 Kgs (wet), it shouldn't be causing you issues lift it off the center stand.

This comes with a side-stand as stock, and we don't know yet if they have a centre-stand as part of OEM accessories.

The bike is fairly nimble to manoeuvre as you saddle up, or if you want to say, pull it out of a typical tight street-side parking spot.

Originally Posted by Chillout

Any idea on the heat dissipation on this, especially in city driving conditions. Lot of folks have only one bike and hence city driving also becomes an essential need for them.

This was one of the most important aspects of the bike that we wanted to check during the test ride, especially given how heat management has been an issue with Harleys in India.

In the hour or so that I rode the bike on track, cruising at speeds (~90 km/hr), quick up/down shifts while at the handling section (with lots of corners), heat did not seem to be a problem. I looked out for if my legs or thighs felt like being a part of a barbecue cookout, but it seemed like heat dissipation was quite effective.

The real test would be at Silk Board junction, Bangalore!

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

You couldn't test it at any torture track or bumpy sections? I hope the basic suspension setup is not unsettling!

Our ride track was limited to the high speed and handling sections, so sadly, we didn't get to test the ride quality on broken / bad roads.

Did Hero discuss any export plans for the 440X? Or is it only for India, as of now?
In short, is this a Global product or a Domestic market specific platform?

Lastly, are more bikes expected on this platform? If yes, which form will best suit this engine character?

No information on these was provided during the event.

Thanks!

[Urban_Nomad]

What is absolutely murdering the look of this bike is the tail section. I am 100% sure that the plastic monstrosity at the rear is all Hero's doing. Its on literally every single bike of theirs. And they insist on maiking the removal of the same particularly tedious. For instance, just removing that god awful black plastic extension would do wonders for the way the bike looks (and a shorter, cleaner looking exhaust would be nice too)... but that would involve drilling holes in the bodywork (or even some fabrication) to make space for the indicators & mounting the number plate

I am fairly certain that pleas for a cleaner rear design from the Harley designers would have been shushed by the Hero suits. Why these bozos at Hero do it; I'll never know!

[Baristyro]

Thanks a lot libran1987 for the sleek and concise review!

What I feel could work in the favour of Hero-Harley in their fight with Triumph-Bajaj and Honda is that they've allowed a number of Hero showrooms to sell the bike. Whereas the Speed and Scrambler 400 are being sold by Triumph alone, and Honda sells their 350s exclusively from their scanty BigWing network. Reasons could be the following:

- Not everybody looking for a new set of wheels spends hours and hours on the internet researching for their next vehicle. I imagine Hero showrooms have a solid footfall of 2-wheeler shoppers and an eye-grabber Harley 440X in the showroom will surely pull in a lot of spot bookings and sales.

- Triumph as a brand is still only relatively known in big cities, coupled with the fact that Speed 400 will only be available in Triumph showrooms(and CB350 in Bigwing showrooms), will hurt their exposure in semi-urban and rural districts.

- The bike may not be perfect from an enthusiasts perspective, but being a well built all rounder with high exposure could just be enough to get good sales figures.

Remember, before these new bikes could dream about "dethroning" the J-series Classic 350 and Hunter 350, they'd have to beat the UCE Bullet 350 Standard, which holds the #3 spot in the segment, a bike which could be considered ancient by TeamBHP standards.

[AutoDowntowner]

Nice review. Very useful for buyers.
Triumph Speed 400 seems to be winning the war clearly. But the mighty brand name of HD can pull many of the Triumph buyers. Just now read that Triumph has already secured more than 10,000 bookings for Speed 400. wow, this segment has got so much interesting suddenly.

[bblost]

Pretty cool looking bike but the silencer looks a little out of place for me.

Hopefully this partnership will prosper and we will get larger bikes with smaller prices out of it.

[aviator1101]

Originally Posted by bblost

Hopefully this partnership will prosper and we will get larger bikes with smaller prices out of it.

Absolutely. Why not something like a Baby Pan America with a 500 cc twin cylinder heart?
It will add spice further to the already hot ADV segment where HD is yet to taste success.
Competitive prices will be good for the Indian market and HD fans, and if a success, it will give much needed breather to HD.

[ani_meher]

Even though Triumph speed 400 has a terrific pricing, the lack of dealers is bit frightening. When I checked how many Triumph dealers are available in 500km circle from my city Pune, there were only four dealers! Mumbai - Pune - Hyderabad and Goa! Two of them aren't even the same state!

On the other hand, this Hero Davidson is being sold even from select Hero showrooms. In case something wrong, I don't have to take a day off to go to service center. The riding position as well as the early peak torque seems to be in favour of x440 than speed 400.

That being said, l hope we get to test drive the bikes sooner, before deciding which bike to go for. I had read that it would be October when the X440 becomes available. By that time, Bajaj Triumph would have sold the first 10,000 units and the Scambler would be readying to pick up whatever prospects X440 may have.

[AnAntinspired]

Thanks. Good to read review. My money is already on this, literally.

Harley's triumph, pun intended, over the speed 400 is to me -
Bigger pillion seat
Higher ground clearance
More torque lower down
Bigger tank in looks and slightly, capacity
Longer wheelbase
More vertical foot pegs position for relaxed riding
Better exhaust note, don't care about potato, anyway nowadays tomatoes are more valuable.
Substantially more showrooms involved as of today
Matt paint options, matt-ers to me
Spoke wheel option, matters to me

Now only hoping it continues getting sidelined by the Triumph 400 such that ownership exclusivity remains

[RD150]

People who will choose the the HD 440X :

1. Harley Davidson fans who always wanted to own one but couldn't due to budget constraints.
2. People who have had bad ownership experiences with Bajaj bikes ( Pulsars/Dukes/RCs)

Rest all will be going with the Triumph!!

[da3mn]

Looks like introduction of the Harley-Davidson X440 seems to have spooked the investors of Eicher Motors. Eicher Motors' stock price has fallen more than 11% in last three days.

[Deamon0508]

Originally Posted by RD150

People who will choose the the HD 440X :

1. Harley Davidson fans who always wanted to own one but couldn't due to budget constraints.
2. People who have had bad ownership experiences with Bajaj bikes ( Pulsars/Dukes/RCs)

Rest all will be going with the Triumph!!

Well, while I do get the amusement, but this product might actually be one of the upgrade options for people such as me.
My 2018 RTR200 is a bit long in the tooth now, however, the machine performs remarkably well for what I throw at it, it's cheap to run and ASS is fairly straightforward with no surprises.
I have been itching for an upgrade for about an year, but haven't found a worthy contender to spend 2.5 - 3.0 lakhs on.

• Usual RE's (Meteor, Classics) just don't cut it for me, 650's are too heavy for my liking, Himalayan too big for Bangalore and my usage and Hunter too stiff.
• KTM's are a different ballgame which I don't want to play, plus the gentry usually atop KTM's give it a bad rap.
• BMW's are out for being expensive to run and maintain, plus I'm not sure of the longevity of support. The latter being applicable to Jawa/Yezdi
• Honda does have a CB300R which is a compelling package, if not for the absurd pricing. (I was open to a used 2018-20 CBR250R a few months back, but service support put me off, plus the asking prices were insane)
• My experience with Access 125 has forever put me off Suzuki's

That brings me to the Triumph and HD X440, Triumph has horror stories when it comes to ASS all over the internet.
So assuming the Hero manages to put in a decent ASS network and the spares are not prohibitively expensive, an X440 might adorn my garage in the next few months. And this is for me, who doesn't give two hoots about the legacy of the brand.
And if my apprehensions about the ASS and spares turn out to be true, I'll probably still be content with the raspy engine note of the RTR for another few years

[inline4]

I spoke to someone who rode the X440 during their marketing shoot. His feedback was that once people ride this motorcycle they wont need to be convinced. Apparently the ride experience is class leading by far. They rode it all over Zanskar for two weeks.


I guess we will have to wait till the test ride happens for a real world feedback. My pet peeve with all auto journalists is that almost everyone falls into the sport category of motorist and by and large they gravitate towards higher BHP.

Indian customers except for a smaller group does not fall into that bracket. So ill take all the auto reviews with a pinch of salt.

TBHP review was a very balanced one.

[Phantom 510]

That long stroke 440cc engine with it's 90% of its peak torque being delivered at just 2000rpm seems to be the star of the show. It's certainly gonna fill the void created by RE after they discontinued the Classic/Bullet/TB 500cc series of motorcycles. As there is nothing like a large capacity long stroke single. I am sure it will find many takers.