2,000 kms on a Harley-Davidson X440 - Ownership Review

It's been more than 3 months and 2,000 kms since I took the delivery of the x440. I am fairly in a better position to word my overall experience and thought of sharing with all BHPians.

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Overall Experience - 2.000 kms

• Engine & Thermals: Both the engine and thermals behave the way you ride the bike. My commute on weekdays is mostly to office in peak Bengaluru traffic around noon. The engine feels more refined post the oil change in 1st service and the gear-shifting is now smooth. Initially, I was unable to find the neutral and now it's just a quick click. The low end torque is ample to drive you through the city without frequently changing between (1-2-3). However, with the temperature touching 37-38C, you will feel the heat in traffic on your legs. One Saturday afternoon, I was riding within city limits for long (around 2-3 hrs) in shorts and the heat was horrible. The engine and silencer was literally suggesting me to wear Denim/Shoes, if I want to ride in Bangalore dry heat this summer. Clutch is now smooth and always a two-finger operation. It feels good to lead immediately after the signal turns green, that's the level of torque it delivers. Now, the story is quite different in my weekend highway rides. The engine is quite calm with the 5th/6th gear at around 3000-4000 rpm. The calmness continues till 5500 rpm may be. Vibrations post 5500 rpm can be felt on mirrors, legs and handlebars to some extent. But who cares, you will be riding at 115 kmph before the vibration starts. I will never recommend touching those 120+ on Indian highways. Who knows when the stylish-auto sir, my bullock-cart bro, that smiling-uncle or some fast-furious tommy appears out of nowhere. The thermals are pretty well managed, when you are on highway at any speed. I never felt the heat on highways. The torque & power distribution is very well managed across the revv range.

One thing I would like to highlight on the cold-start of the engine and my experience/learning. I was getting unexpected engine cut-offs during my ride just after 30-45 seconds of the 1st start in the morning. I reported the issue to service executive and they have suggested to keep the bike idle for a minute before 1st ride of the day. And this trick seems working for me.

How can an Indian rider discuss about the engine, without discussing on Mileage? The mileage is in-sync with what was committed by the manufacturer. Bengaluru city ride in 1st, 2nd & 3rd gear with frequent operation of the clutch gave around 25 kmpl. The mixed city+highway ride returned around 32 kmpl. The highway-only rides with rpm maintained around 3000-3500 rpm returned around 37 kmpl and high revv highway rides returned around 33-34 kmpl. All mileage figures mentioned, are the figures from display console. The display console has error around ~0.5 kmpl from tank to talk method. The mileage error in display console is more, if you are taking more short trips (2-3 km trips). I observed that the mileage figures were much better after the 1st service.

• Suspension & Comfort: Wow- that's the one word answer. I loved the suspension setup and riding posture. The rear suspension is an adjustable one and was preset in step-2. I felt that too soft for my weight. The Headlight Dipper felt like the Upper with my pillion. Adjusted it to step-3 and it feels nice now. The front suspension is soft and travel could have been better for a bike of this weight (with a heavy rider as well). The suspension manages small potholes and speed breakers really well. I can easily ride over the regular speed breakers on 3rd gear. However, the story is quite different for large speed breakers or potholes at moderate speeds (30 kmph). I felt, the front suspension travel getting bottomed-out multiple times in moderate speeds. Better to reduce the speed and use 2nd gear for better ride quality. The straight posture is awesome for long rides. No pain on wrist, back or legs at all. However due to the straight posture, the wind-blast was horrible at higher speeds during highway rides. Installed a taller after-market windshield and the issue is resolved. Installed the OEM touring seat and it feels so good, specifically for long rides. Feels much more comfortable for rider and pillion both, than the preinstalled one. I would recommend everyone to switch to OEM touring seat and feel the difference. The thump is prominent, while accelerating. It gives a pleasant and calm feeling while cruising at 80-110 kmph in highways. The backrest is a necessity for pillion and I don't know why Hero-Harley has not yet come up with any accessory. Got one after-market and it's working fine for me. The OEM horn was the worst part of the bike. I felt, the exhaust sound is louder than the horn. I can recall the Hero-Honda CD100 horn was far better than this. Again, installed the Roots Smartone -dual horn and now it gives a big bike feel. The weight distribution is well managed and manoeuvring is okay for the size & weight of the bike. The display is small but crisp. Provides all relevant information and can be read easily in midday as well. Tyres have good grip on normal roads and I am yet to test the rainy season performance. The front brake has nice bite, but the rear one is weak. I always apply both the brakes simultaneously and experienced the emergency braking too, which works well.

• Build Quality: The build quality of x440 feels sturdy and reliable. Most of the parts are made up of metal, which makes it heavier. The machine-cut alloy wheels look premium. Paint quality is good. I have read a lot of negative reviews for the initial lot of x440. However, I don't find any major flows in my bike. The position of the throttle wire and clutch wire could have been better. The headlamp is powerful and gives good visibility at night. The all LED setup is a bonus.

I would like to highlight the issue, I faced for my fall-detection sensor. Somehow, I got a faulty fall-detection sensor on my bike. I was commuting to my office and suddenly the bike engine was cut-off. I rested it for few minutes and somehow managed to get the ignition. But it hardly lasted for 1-2 minutes and again was cut-off. I was worried as I was getting frequent calls from my emergency contacts. Later, I realised that the app triggered the fall-detection and accident alert to my emergency contacts multiple times. I called the service centre and they suggested to tow the bike to their centre. I was really worried and never expected, that I would have to tow a brand new Harley bike to service centre. My office was just 500m away and I preferred to push and park the bike there. Next day when I started the bike, it was all well. But I preferred to drive it to service centre and get it checked. The executive checked the bike and informed that the fall-detection sensor was faulty and have to replace it. It was sending misleading signal to ECU that the bike has fallen and that's the reason, it was not allowing the bike to start for safety reasons. The sensor was not available with the service centre and it may take 7 days to get it from factory. They suggested to leave the bike in the centre. I was not convinced and suggested for alternatives. I asked them to disconnect the sensor and try to start the bike. Hola! It started and ignition was stable. That day I realised, too much technology is not good. I came back home with my bike (without the fall-detection sensor). After 7 days, I called the spares executive and he asked me to come to the service centre to get the sensor replaced. It was claimed under warranty (1 year).

I am attaching few pics before and after installation of some after-market accessories and the day, I faced the sensor issue.

I covered multiple trips in and around Bengaluru and enjoying the rides with my x440. Will keep sharing my experience.

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