It doesn't make sense at almost 8k. It's too similar to a trident or a cb650r or an fz07. I get that there is a Harley tax, but those other bikes are competitively priced and featured. Especially initially there won't be many options for 3rd party customization which is a big deal in American Harley culture.
I would think so, I'm still in shock that after your admitted love for harley, you ended up with a triumph. I could have pictured you with a street bob or heritage classic. that seems your style. either way, I enjoyed my street 500 for my MSF course, but wouldn't want one, it did change my mind on cruisers though. I am going to be getting a harley soon.
They need it in their line up. They have nothing remotely close to an affordable entry level bike to give people a reason to walk in the showroom floor. But not at Harley-Davidson prices. It just won't happen if they try to get greedy with the MSRP. Specially as soon as people catch wind of it's origin.
Do you see Lamborghini or Rolls Royce making cheap cars for the poor? No. Harley aint doing it either. If you don't got pockets! go buy an Indian Scout Bobber 😂
Spite did a journalism for us! I would totally consider an X500 if the price was in line with other higher end bikes in that class. It probably doesn't need to be under $6,000 like a ninja... but it can't be 10k either IMO. I own 4 Japanese bikes including a metric cruiser. HD has nothing to offer that fits in my line up other than I get to say I have one... which is not really enough of a motivating factor to cause me get one.
I think the Chinese harleys look cool and all but im not sure what id do with it. Rebels, vulcans , royal Enfield work just fine for the smaller bike market.
And to your point, if Royal Enfield is selling a 350 for $4,500, Honda is selling a 300 for $5,000, and Triumph is selling a 400 for $5,500, Harley will attempt to sell a 350 that is at most the equivalent of one of those bikes, save for the Harley sticker on the tank, for $8,000.
A Leoncino 500 clone...oh dear. Good luck with that. I owned one for a year, and very happily traded it in for a Yamaha Tracer 700 as soon as my husband decided to go for a Ténéré (we mostly ride together). My fancy screen did not work until the bike saw the shop three times, and the rear brake froze shortly after the 1000 km check. As I modified the seat and got the see the seat shell - I was shocked. About the thickness of a yoghurt cup, it tore when I removed the staples (had to patch it with resin). Thusly I was really not interested what lurked beneath that seat. Hopefully, Harley orders better quality. The devil is in the details, as they say. But yes, it was a really handsome bike. Just was not curious to find out how long it would last.
My first motorcycle was a Buell Blast I bought from the rider course. HD can only play the lifestyle brand for so long with their core market aging out of riding and not offering anything to younger riders. Eventually you have to make interesting motorcycles.
@@firefighter1c57 A sub brand is a great idea, but they would also need an alternate retail channel. Harley dealers aren't interested in selling beginner bikes, unless they can figure out a way to ask 20k for them. On another issue the Buell Blast was unmitigated crap. Erik Buell hated it so much that he crushed one, and posted the video on RUclips. If the guy that makes the bike thinks it's a POS, he's probably right. However, for those folks that want Harley DNA . . . .
@@martymcfly1776 Erik didn't crush a Buell Blast, he crushed all of the 2010 models. Yes, he absolutely hated the bike. Building it was forced upon him by HD to have a beginner bike in the dealership. Erik spent so much HD money on R&D, that Harley actually lost money on every Blast sold. Shortly before that, HD had tanked what was supposed to be the Buell liquid cooled engine. The engine that ended up in the VRod. Buell brought the engine to HD and said tada, and HD got pissed because it didn't look Harley enough. So, they sent Harley engineers over to Porsche with the engine, reworked it, it gained 40lbs and lost 12 horsepower... Erik worked around that by building the Blast engine. It is essentially the Thunderstorm engine without the rear cylinder. So, Erik got an engine that was improved over the Sportster engine he'd been using even if it wasn't liquid cooled, at the expense of HD and having to build the Blast. Now, all of that said, the Blast was a decent beginner bike, because that is what it was, a beginner bike in the same realm as a Ninja 250, or Suzuki GS500...
@@firefighter1c57 The main point of it was that it was a poor effort. I was actually thinking of buying one at the time, but after I saw the video I thought yeah, antiquated motor, styling that could, kindly, be called quirky, poor finish quality. Then I thought "Yeah, that describes the entire Buell lineup!" I think the first law of marketing should be that you never diss your own product.
I can't imagine why anyone would want to pay $1000 more for a rebadged Chinese manufactured bike just to get a Harley badge with it. It's not a Harley in any true sense despite the badge. It might be a good bike but if the original is $1000 cheaper you'd be crazy not to buy the original.
i did my msf at HD and we had something similar i thought- i know the instructor said something about 350 when i asked. I remember thinking' why dont they sale these - theyve been trying to sell me but no way im spending that much on a bike for my first bike
A FB friend teaches beginning rider courses at his dealership and he has already said how much he wishes HD would bring that bike to the US, if only to use in the classes. It would be far and away much better as an option than anything else in the HD lineup, and that alone would help drive sales of the 500.
Senior re entering motorcycling here , finished getting bike course last month. I looked at what Harley had , I bought a Cfmoto CL-X 700 , $6087.00 new out the door price . Why buy a bike that costs more and gives you less ?
From my experience, if HD brings out a Chinese made bike in the States they risk hurting their image with their existing customer base. Even if a lot of their existing customer base is spending $30k on their bikes to turn them into trikes. Or trading them in for Spyders. They people that want to start on a Harley will buy whatever they think looks cool, and is within their price range. If they were concerned with starting on a "beginner bike" there's a whole range from them to choose from. That doesn't involve taking away p much the only selling point of a HD.
@spitescorner the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the squeaky wheel will be the Boomers complaining bout, "Mu Murican made" along with the Unions that represent the US Harley work force screaming, "Mu Jobs". The potential new rider that might buy a Harley as their first bike isn't going to fight those two groups about it.
Quite frankly, the deal breaker for me would be the fact it's a ChiCom product. I don't even care if it was made in another country, but a hard pass on commie anything if I can avoid it.
I’ve actually picked one of these up last week from my local dealer in Australia and I’m going to say it was the best choice I’ve made. Have always wanted a HD and the price has always been prohibitively high compared to other bikes I own. Being AU$10k cheaper than the next HD offering was what finally made me pick one up.
I look my MSF class on those X350's. If they released a X500 for a decent price I know a lot of people from the class were genuinely interested in it but what little information we did find on their website while hunting it was priced around $8.5K for the X350. They'd have to put that pricing on a 500 to probably garner any kind of interest in the bike as there are a lot better options out there for that price point.
I have had a few harley davidsons, great cruising motorcycles. The brand is already watered down. They are more worried about over priced clothes than motorcycles. I am not impressed the last year and bought a kawasaki this year.
It's my understanding that USA doesn't have, what we call, a LAMS system. There is not a licencing requirement to start on beginner bikes. Is this the case? If so you will never get the full suite of beginner bikes because they just won't sell the volume that these machines have to sell at to make money from low cost machines.
The USA doesn't control licensing, it is controlled by each state. Oklahoma has a 14 year old motorcycle license that when my daughter had her's limited to 250cc, can't ride on interstate highways, can't carry passengers, can't ride from 2100 to 0400, and maybe some more restrictions. Most states have something similar. However, at 16, all restrictions disappear.
I don't really care where a bike is made, but when you compare this attempt at a beginner bike to Triumph's new 400 series, HD's laziness is really galling. Triumph actually bothered to design an entirely new engine and chassis. HD just plastered some orange paint, some stickers and a new fender onto an already cheap feeling Benelli Leoncino 500 and substantially upped the price. A pathetic effort
That motorcycle won't be anywhere near 7k in any country that has a "high displacement" tax, environmental laws, and other import fees. In south America we'll be probably paying like 14k for it. For reference, in Uruguay and Argentina, a Leoncino 500 will set you back at least 11-12k.
Would much rather see the the Indian made 440x not a fan of China. Worker rights and humanitarian issues are less with Indian companies with not much price difference.
HD awakened to different kinds of riding with the Buell. Original bikes were wonderful. The Blast(!) not so much. Rider safety courses didn't sell too many, either.
What Harley needs to do is what ATK did in the 80s and develop innovative, competitive bikes to sell on their own merit with domestic motors (Rotax monsters, btw) and engineering owners can be proud of. No one can be that proud to own a six year old, rebadged Benelli Leonchino built in China. We all know their reputation for crap metallurgy and "economical" manufacturing. They could have done something excellent in house, but they obviously lack the skillset. It seems they've gone the AMF Aeromacchi route again.
Two things: First off, H-D learned the hard way with the Street 500 and 750 that people shopping for a Harley will not accept a motorcycle made abroad, especially from India or China. Don't get me wrong, India and China are producing some world-class bikes, but one part of what you're paying for on a Harley is the ability to say it was made in (North) America. Next, going all the way back to the days of the Buell Blast (not a bad bike, just laughably overpriced at the time), Harley has proven time and again that they are incapable of producing and selling an affordable, desirable, entry-level bike for new riders. And that is going to be their downfall. Meanwhile BMW has the 310s, Triumph has their new 400s, Husqvarna has the 410s, Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki have their sub-500s, and Honda has about 87 starter bikes if you're counting the mini-motos. Oh, yeah, and Royal Enfield has everything in their lineup. These entry level bikes will build brand loyalty and cost Harley lots and lots of potential lifetime customers.
I’ve owned a couple of Harley’s in the past. I would consider the x350 but there’s no way I would buy the x500. It makes my eyes 🤮. There are plenty of other options in that price range including used Sportsters that I would consider first
The problem is that harley's whole identity is based around their vtwin engines, and these have parallel twins. Triumph I feel is doing a better job at it, the 400's may be thumpers, but they absolutely nail the aesthetic and fit right in with the bigger speed twin/scrambler visually, and triumph did build singles back in their glory days. Then ofcourse, they have the Trident that also acts as a good entry point for riders who aren't limited to an A2 license. The best entry level harley would be something similar to the Super Meteor 650 in style and displacement, but with that classic harley vtwin engine. Sell it at a similar pricepoint as the triumph 900's / moto guzzi v7 and it would sell like hot cakes.
They started with Singles. V twins came after. I wouldn't mind they doing a big thumper like KTM at 700cc or more by using one jug and head off the the M8 114 OR off the 1250 Revolution Max engine for modularity and amortization of production costs. Just throwing 💩at the wall and seeing what sticks. 😁
HD`s base love the old tech V-Twin air cooled, big, heavy, road bikes. Most of all they love them & the Motor Co. BECAUSE they are an AMERICAN company. HD employees are I.A.M. (International Association of Machinists) & are an AFL-CIO Labor Union. When HD announced they would be expanding manufacturing into Asian markets to make machines affordable to those markets they also promised those units would not be sold in the U.S. Right now U.A.W. members are STRIKING for better working conditions, wages & benefits. I agree HD needs an entry level bike or two as well as a downward price adjustment on ALL their machines, parts & practices. I disagree with announcing THAT bike to be brought here at this time or in any near future. I don`t know specifically what their bargaining agreement contract with the I.A.M. says, but I wouldn`t be surprised if that bike is currently outlawed & would exceed the cost of building it here, in penalties if imported here, to ensure they don`t undercut their U.S. Labor. They can sell it here...IF they build it here. HD has made a tremendous amount of tremendous mistakes, but lets hope they won`t make this one by bringing that bike here. It`s not worth it & it`s a bad idea.
As long as the wannabe pirates and Dyna Bros are around, H-D will find a way to screw up a bike that's under 850cc. Sportsters were called "girl's bikes" even though they were faster than anything else they made. If you walked into a dealer to buy a Blast or any Buell, you were told they "were a piece of shit," and "only a pussy rides those". They couldn't give the Street 500 and 750 away, because the dealers couldn't be arsed to sell them. You're talking about a company that bends over backwards aboout it's history or legacy, but they instruct the dealers not to work on older motorcycles; Flathead, Shovelhead, Panhead, Evo, they don't exist to the Factory. Would I own one? Yes, but I'd buy it used froma private seller or independent shop.
I'm not sure why they would bring it here. The last 500 and 750 didn't sell, so I doubt these will either. Who wants to be harassed by the owners of other Harley's?
Ignore the "Old Guard", they are a sour and dying breed. Buy what you want, ride what you want. Don't try to fit in their niche, don't try to be accepted. Look for other riders with your same ideas, build your own pack.
I don’t think HD wants to tarnish their image as a “premium” motorcycle in the United States by selling Chinese-manufactured motorcycles. Just my guess.
Honestly would rather buy from the Polaris owned Indian brand over anything newer than 2009 from Harley because then it has an excuse because that’s around when the brand just became a brand for midlife crisis guys that can blow $20,000+ on a motorcycle that’s slower and heavier than the competitors. I’ll always buy a Harley knucklehead or anything from the 60’s over what Indian produced, Harley is still going for a reason. This is just my opinion though so go ahead and lambast me here if you want.
Hardly davidsons.. nothing new.. amf... Aermacchi.. but personally cruisers are not good beginners bikes. Wrong rider triangle. You seated low with stretched out arms.. relaxed. . Terrible agressive or defensive position. Wich is the state a beginner should be in. Not relaxed waiting for something to go wrong. Got buy a small bore sport bike if your a beginner.
Qianjiang Motorcycle is a Chinese company they own Benelli Motorcycles, if the X500 is a Benelli as you say and it is, anyone who buys and X500 is not just buying a made in China motorcycle, they are buying a Chinese motorcycle, China is causing huge political problems with the West. The question is not do you want a inexpensive Harley Davidson 500cc, the real question is do you want cheap Chinese crap and contribute to the economy that is causing huge problems in this world, the choice is yours. Buy anything you want other than Chinese and Russian, that's what I always say. This is my opinion, its not any greater than anyone else, its only my feeling. Sorry for hijacking your vid.
How exactly is Harley making a mistake by not pulling a full on Bud Light? Harley is the quintessential "American" brand, bringing in products made in China would infuriate their core market demographic. Would these Chinese bikes suddenly gain them a meaningful new riding demographic? Probably not, the average American consumer does not trust Chinese manufacturing to have good quality control and this is an activity where bad QC could cost you your life. KTM's reputation is dirt because of their poor QC coming out of China. Harley could only lose by bringing these to the US.
I gotta disagree on your opinion with KTM! Maybe at one time a long time ago they had some reliability issues. There new bikes are flawless! I've racked up almost 20K miles on my KTM in just a year and a half. Bike hasn't skipped a beat runs perfect!
@@22smcrrider96 As a KTM 1290 owner, please do yourself a favor and buy a Quantum fuel pump kit to keep on-hand. You'll most likely need it before 50k miles.
Australian & not a Harley fan here. I've been following the news on the Harley Davidson X bikes since they were announced because they are the first Harley's I've genuinely been interested in. And when they said they were coming to Australia in January I immediately looked up where my local Harley dealer is. And then I saw the price. Yeesh! For the same money for the 500 I could get the Benelli, an exhaust & tune, an orange vinyl wrap & some Harley stickers & most people wouldn't know the difference. I'd probably also have some money left over to cover insurance too. I'm still going to visit a Harley dealer for the first time ever, but I'll be looking at the X 350, not the X 500. And they'll have to work really hard to talk me out of my money. Update: Triumph have just announced pricing on their new 400's. The Speed 400 is $8,990 AUD & the Scrambler 400 X is $9,990 AUD, right between the X 350's $8,495 AUD & the X 500's $11,495 AUD pricing. I guess I'll be going to the Triumph dealer in January instead.
Thanks for the comment. That highlights the problem very well. It is not an easy market to compete in with a lot of great competitors which is probably the reason why Harley is reluctant to do it. Pricing is key and HD never did a good job in comprehensible and competetive pricing. With the exception of the PanAm. So probability is high that Harley is burning a lot of money by trying to enter the beginners market because they are pricing themselves out of the market...
In Oz , when I went to the HD dealership to inquire about the HD X440 (an Indian ,Hero , made single) , the Chinese parra. twins had just arrived . The sales team seemed completely unimpressed with the prospect of having to sell them.
I personally believe it would be a good idea to have a “beginner friendly” Harley on the showroom floor. The biggest problem is when you look at what happened with the Buell blast and later the HD Street 500. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Harley’s. But the first 4 years I spent on my XL1200C I got the question “how’s it like riding a girls bike” to which my answer was always “unlike you’re 107 that’s in the shop again, it’s been great”. Basically the problem with buying into the world of Harley Davidson is the owners of Harley Davidson’s. Other Harley riders are going to call an X350/500 a toy or a kids bike which will probably turn a few people off. Once all the videos come out on “how it’s a Chinese Harley and not a real bike” people are going to move over to a company like….. Honda. Purchase a shiny new rebel 500 (which have been reviewed favourably and at a close price tag) and not be bothered of the fact that they “Don’t have a real Harley”
I remember the badged Harley's from the 60's and 70's, those were never accepted as Harley's. I think Harley needs a smaller mid-sized bike for beginners and older riders downsizing but it needs to have Harley DNA. The market is there, just look how the Royal Enfield Classic 350 sells. I'm 66 and I've downsized from a big Harley to a Moto Guzzi V7 Special, I'd seriously consider adding a small Harley to my garage but it needs to be a real Harley.
I was thinking a new 750cc V twin that is water cooled but looks air cooled like what Triumph did with their twins. Easier to get it to meet European emission standards with liquid cooling. Put in a slick 6 speed gear box and get the weight down to around 450 lbs. HD could style it however they want, a new Sportster or a standard bike like a Triumph Speed Twin. @@GIGABACHI
"Look at how the Royal Enfield Classic 350 sells." The Royal Enfield bikes are good looking. 'Same with the new Triumph 400s. These new "Harleys" are surprisingly ugly. Stay with your Guzzi V7.
It woild make sence to sell these bikes here is they were made in Mexico or the States but to have a Chinese Harley at local American dealers woukd cause a complete freakout.
Benelli Leoncino - $6,799 Kawasaki Eliminator - $6,649 Honda Rebel 500 - $6,449 Is anyone buying this bike at it's current price if it was branded HD? At a ~14% markup of $7,750 just buy an SV650.
It gets worse. The SV650 is $505 AUD cheaper than the X 500 here in Australia. In fact, for less than the X 500 you can also get a Honda CBR500R, CB500X, CRF300 Rally, CL500, CB500F, CMX500 or CMX500 S Edition or either the CFMOTO 700 CL-X Adventure or 800 NK Sport. And Triumph have announced pricing on their new 400's. The Speed 400 is $8,990 AUD & the Scrambler 400 X is $9,990 AUD, right between the X 350's $8,495 AUD & the X 500's $11,495 AUD pricing.
Harley Davidson sells an X 440 in India. It's a 420 pound air-oil cooled under-square single. I don't know why they won't bring it to the USA. It would compete with the new Triumph Speed 400, Royal Enfield Hunter 350, KTM Duke 390, etc. The X 500 would also appeal to new riders. Liquid-cooled parallel twin. I think Harley is worried about its image. Beginner bikes from Harley would embarrass some traditional biker dudes. Harley markets image more than any other maker.
I definitely agree that this would be a great way to lock in more riders into the HD shield. Specially if they're already taking the classes at a HD dealer on thise bikes, no new rider wants to spend a bunch of money on a "beginner" Harley to inevitably dump it soon after getting it. If every HD part was 100% made in the US, i would see ppls argument about QC. but with other chinese brands like CF MOTO Starting to bring better proces and descent bikes, it would be a dumb idea not to try to increase market share with a more economical, beginner offering.
Eh. As someone who took their MSF course through a HD dealer, they had the x350 for our training bikes, They are extremely uncomfortable, large seats, high seat heights, and not better than just getting a rebel or cb350/500r. I wouldn’t buy one, honestly. Not when Honda does starter bikes better than anyone. HD has their market and they still don’t seem interested in stretching out of it here in North America
Harley does not want entry level motorcycles. They think they will be the next Rolex, and only want to sell premium bikes, which is why they have gutted their lower end bikes in each category. They however still want a slice of the 3rd world market, so they created the x500 to do it. Harley is utterly delusional if they think they can be the next Rolex. The bad boy image of old does not mix very well with the premium market. Plus companies like Rolex do not chase pennies in the sofa (chasing the 3rd world market) as that would damage their brand.
The X500 is not a bike for me, but they absolutely need something that’s beginner friendly in their lineup and this fits that bill. The issue I expect to see is that it will be slandered by old guard Harley riders as “not a real Harley” or a “chick bike” or a “non-American piece of junk”. That’s how that went down for the Street series. I don’t expect this to be any different, which would be a shame.
Harley needs a USA beginner's bike but not if they are going to mark up a badged bike. They can gouge the buyers when they matriculate to the "real" Harleys. FWIW I basically grew up in a H-D shop, could get a discount on any bike I wanted. In HS I bought my first new Harley, an Italian made 125, followed by a 250 then a 350. Never bought a "real" Harley, Japanese motorcycles caught my eye and had way more bang for the buck. Never needed the ego boost that owning a real Harley offers.
I think it will draw some new brand loyal riders. I also feel like people will play the its not a "real" harley if it isn't a Vtwin. either way, I bet they sell enough for it to make sense.
@@JCrozier1 You said it wasn't a Harley because it wasn't a v-twin. I consider the Livewire a Harley because they developed it. The x500 could be a big v-twin but if it's just a rebadged bike developed by another brand then it would still not be a Harley.
I want HD to survive as a brand, and I enjoy the product that cane before. But without hyperbole, HD has not made a motorcycle in the last 10 years I would consider buying. My 91 FXRS is exactly what I want from a Harley. The closest I've come to being excited about a newer HD was the V-rod, but gaht-damn the thing is like an effing Indian. They want new prices for a used bike, and I simply will not pay 10k or more for a frigging bike. I paid $4,500 for the FXR & I feel that was a fair price. Brand new a bike should barely kiss the 9k range. Anything over that is paint huffing insanity. Long gone are the days where you could go down and the everyman could ride home on a new Harley without financing the cost of a kidney on the black market. And worse than anything, unless you are buying latest current thing, HD as a brand gives me a big fuck you when it comes to support for their past legacy. "Sorry you ride a 30 year old bike, loser! Buy a $50 t shirt and a $200 humidor!" Much like the bike I love, the HD I love is long gone.
They need something reasonable to put noobs on. BUT, a parallel twin doesn't seem like the right heart for a Harley. A big thumping single would be closer to the v-twin heart. I'm ok with whoever makes it as long as that 15% premium is BECAUSE IT'S CURATED BY HD and not just a sticker.
There's too many good (even great) bikes from the Asian market at that price or less already. HD can never compete with entry level bike prices. Listen up Harley: If u ever want my money, MAKE THE DAMN BRONX
A small tracker/scrambler would be perfect for young/beginner riders. I remember when any 14yr old with a Trail 90 was King of the World!!! A cheap 125 and 500 would be like handing out crack rocks.
I thought I saw a lot of negative comments about the x500 a few months back and thought I must be crazy because I like it, at least the looks and the idea coming to the US. I disagreed with the negative views of it. Totally agree with Spite on this and appreciate the work to talk about it.
Long time HD owner here. Yes HD really needs to bring both these sleds to the states. As you said Spite, there is no way a Sportster is a beginner ride. Stock it will try it's best to kill you. With better shocks and a swap of the front setup internals, it's a blast to ride. That said though, I would buy a 500 for a daily rider for work in no time flat, assuming a price that isn't somewhere in low earth orbit.
I Hate any Chinese made motorcycle coming to the USA. If it was made in India or just about anywhere else in the world, I wouldn't care. China is an automatic no for me. And, my reason is based on politics. I really wish Harley could have optioned something like the Meteor or Super Meteor from Royal Enfield. IMO, both of those would have made better entry level motorcycles.
@@dracphelan What the American media said about China is as full of shit as what Chinese media said about US, most of them were fake.I lived in both countries long enough, seen many things myself, and seeing the peoples being dumb enough to trust the media is funny. Even if there are political bullshit involved in qjmotor, business is still about giving money and getting product, no other questions asked
People tell me the Iron 883 is a great beginner HD, yet I found the ye olde Street 500 to be more beginner friendly. Shame the 500 is gone. Why give a heavy 883 to a beginner???
EXACTLY 💯.🤷 Not to mention the chug-chug-chug power delivery and pulses and primary chain slack doesn't help anyone getting their toes wet for the first time with a motorcycle.
I just passed my MSF course with harley. They had the x350 there for the students. It's an okay bike but I will say the seat was very uncomfortable for me, I'm 5'11" 180lbs, 32" in-seam. Other than that I had a blast learning on it. I believe they were downtuned for training class purposes as well.
Because the X350 is heavily modified and restricted. IIRC it can't go above 30 miles an hour, and it's covered in all the crash stuff. Riding a bike in a parking lot doesn't tell you enough about the bike to be able to make an informed decision. You have to road test them
Let me know your thoughts! Do you want to see the X500 in the states? How much would you pay for it?
It doesn't make sense at almost 8k. It's too similar to a trident or a cb650r or an fz07. I get that there is a Harley tax, but those other bikes are competitively priced and featured. Especially initially there won't be many options for 3rd party customization which is a big deal in American Harley culture.
Id like to see more motorbike riding content, this is becoming more of a "news" and "talking head" channel... :(
I would think so, I'm still in shock that after your admitted love for harley, you ended up with a triumph. I could have pictured you with a street bob or heritage classic. that seems your style. either way, I enjoyed my street 500 for my MSF course, but wouldn't want one, it did change my mind on cruisers though. I am going to be getting a harley soon.
Just to nitpick: 16.2% increase from a Leo to get a HD, not 14%.
I think it would be cool to have it here but knowing HD it would probably be overpriced.
They need it in their line up.
They have nothing remotely close to an affordable entry level bike to give people a reason to walk in the showroom floor.
But not at Harley-Davidson prices.
It just won't happen if they try to get greedy with the MSRP.
Specially as soon as people catch wind of it's origin.
Do you see Lamborghini or Rolls Royce making cheap cars for the poor? No.
Harley aint doing it either.
If you don't got pockets! go buy an Indian Scout Bobber 😂
Spite did a journalism for us! I would totally consider an X500 if the price was in line with other higher end bikes in that class. It probably doesn't need to be under $6,000 like a ninja... but it can't be 10k either IMO. I own 4 Japanese bikes including a metric cruiser. HD has nothing to offer that fits in my line up other than I get to say I have one... which is not really enough of a motivating factor to cause me get one.
500 is a sweet spot, enough power, less weight
Exactly .own a vstar for same reasons
I think the Chinese harleys look cool and all but im not sure what id do with it. Rebels, vulcans , royal Enfield work just fine for the smaller bike market.
And to your point, if Royal Enfield is selling a 350 for $4,500, Honda is selling a 300 for $5,000, and Triumph is selling a 400 for $5,500, Harley will attempt to sell a 350 that is at most the equivalent of one of those bikes, save for the Harley sticker on the tank, for $8,000.
A Leoncino 500 clone...oh dear. Good luck with that. I owned one for a year, and very happily traded it in for a Yamaha Tracer 700 as soon as my husband decided to go for a Ténéré (we mostly ride together). My fancy screen did not work until the bike saw the shop three times, and the rear brake froze shortly after the 1000 km check.
As I modified the seat and got the see the seat shell - I was shocked. About the thickness of a yoghurt cup, it tore when I removed the staples (had to patch it with resin). Thusly I was really not interested what lurked beneath that seat.
Hopefully, Harley orders better quality. The devil is in the details, as they say.
But yes, it was a really handsome bike. Just was not curious to find out how long it would last.
$1000 extra for an HD sticker on the tank! So not worth it! I'd go buy the Leoncino and wrap the tank so its says Hardly Davidson lol!
I have said that too. Especially since I can get the bike new locally out the door for less than 6500.
My first motorcycle was a Buell Blast I bought from the rider course.
HD can only play the lifestyle brand for so long with their core market aging out of riding and not offering anything to younger riders. Eventually you have to make interesting motorcycles.
It almost would make more sense for them to make a sub brand for Chinese made Harley's (like ford Lincoln and mercury)
That's not a bad idea. Kinda like Livewire for the electric bikes
Interesting... a sub brand you say... with an entry-level 500cc you say... I wonder if that would work... cough cough BUELL BLAST cough cough...
@@firefighter1c57 A sub brand is a great idea, but they would also need an alternate retail channel. Harley dealers aren't interested in selling beginner bikes, unless they can figure out a way to ask 20k for them.
On another issue the Buell Blast was unmitigated crap. Erik Buell hated it so much that he crushed one, and posted the video on RUclips. If the guy that makes the bike thinks it's a POS, he's probably right. However, for those folks that want Harley DNA . . . .
@@martymcfly1776 Erik didn't crush a Buell Blast, he crushed all of the 2010 models. Yes, he absolutely hated the bike. Building it was forced upon him by HD to have a beginner bike in the dealership. Erik spent so much HD money on R&D, that Harley actually lost money on every Blast sold. Shortly before that, HD had tanked what was supposed to be the Buell liquid cooled engine. The engine that ended up in the VRod. Buell brought the engine to HD and said tada, and HD got pissed because it didn't look Harley enough. So, they sent Harley engineers over to Porsche with the engine, reworked it, it gained 40lbs and lost 12 horsepower... Erik worked around that by building the Blast engine. It is essentially the Thunderstorm engine without the rear cylinder. So, Erik got an engine that was improved over the Sportster engine he'd been using even if it wasn't liquid cooled, at the expense of HD and having to build the Blast.
Now, all of that said, the Blast was a decent beginner bike, because that is what it was, a beginner bike in the same realm as a Ninja 250, or Suzuki GS500...
@@firefighter1c57 The main point of it was that it was a poor effort. I was actually thinking of buying one at the time, but after I saw the video I thought yeah, antiquated motor, styling that could, kindly, be called quirky, poor finish quality. Then I thought "Yeah, that describes the entire Buell lineup!" I think the first law of marketing should be that you never diss your own product.
I can't imagine why anyone would want to pay $1000 more for a rebadged Chinese manufactured bike just to get a Harley badge with it. It's not a Harley in any true sense despite the badge. It might be a good bike but if the original is $1000 cheaper you'd be crazy not to buy the original.
I can see someone who bought an X500 showing up to some group of Harley Riders and getting laughed at until he goes away.
Its call a national dealer network. That's why people will pay the hd increase. HD dealerships are common how common are benelli dealers?
i did my msf at HD and we had something similar i thought- i know the instructor said something about 350 when i asked. I remember thinking' why dont they sale these - theyve been trying to sell me but no way im spending that much on a bike for my first bike
I'm a 65 year young Australian guy and ride a 2020 Royal Enfield Classic 500 and am looking forward to having a 2023 X500 in the shed too.
A FB friend teaches beginning rider courses at his dealership and he has already said how much he wishes HD would bring that bike to the US, if only to use in the classes. It would be far and away much better as an option than anything else in the HD lineup, and that alone would help drive sales of the 500.
Senior re entering motorcycling here , finished getting bike course last month. I looked at what Harley had , I bought a Cfmoto CL-X 700 , $6087.00 new out the door price . Why buy a bike that costs more and gives you less ?
From my experience, if HD brings out a Chinese made bike in the States they risk hurting their image with their existing customer base. Even if a lot of their existing customer base is spending $30k on their bikes to turn them into trikes. Or trading them in for Spyders. They people that want to start on a Harley will buy whatever they think looks cool, and is within their price range. If they were concerned with starting on a "beginner bike" there's a whole range from them to choose from. That doesn't involve taking away p much the only selling point of a HD.
They need to think beyond the existing riders imo
@spitescorner the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the squeaky wheel will be the Boomers complaining bout, "Mu Murican made" along with the Unions that represent the US Harley work force screaming, "Mu Jobs". The potential new rider that might buy a Harley as their first bike isn't going to fight those two groups about it.
Quite frankly, the deal breaker for me would be the fact it's a ChiCom product. I don't even care if it was made in another country, but a hard pass on commie anything if I can avoid it.
Can't have the Triglide owner with one foot in the grave and the other in the nursing home getting angry after all
ROTFLMAO.
OH, THAT WAS GREAT !
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 That's why I love the comments section ! 👌😁👍
I’ve actually picked one of these up last week from my local dealer in Australia and I’m going to say it was the best choice I’ve made. Have always wanted a HD and the price has always been prohibitively high compared to other bikes I own. Being AU$10k cheaper than the next HD offering was what finally made me pick one up.
if it comes to the states it will be 10k. If the moco doesnt jack the price up the dealers will
We might be getting an X500. You're more than welcome to take it for a few days. One catch, you'll have to ride it in the New Zealand.
um, whereabouts in NZ? Thinking about one of these but it's a bit of a head scratcher...I'm in Dunedin
I look my MSF class on those X350's. If they released a X500 for a decent price I know a lot of people from the class were genuinely interested in it but what little information we did find on their website while hunting it was priced around $8.5K for the X350. They'd have to put that pricing on a 500 to probably garner any kind of interest in the bike as there are a lot better options out there for that price point.
I have had a few harley davidsons, great cruising motorcycles.
The brand is already watered down. They are more worried about over priced clothes than motorcycles.
I am not impressed the last year and bought a kawasaki this year.
The biggest issue i can see, the seat height. It needs to be at sportster level to get into the Honda Rebel, starter bike market.
It's my understanding that USA doesn't have, what we call, a LAMS system. There is not a licencing requirement to start on beginner bikes. Is this the case? If so you will never get the full suite of beginner bikes because they just won't sell the volume that these machines have to sell at to make money from low cost machines.
No displacement licensing in USA like Europe. A 16 year old who has his licence for one day can purchase a 1000cc sport bike...an then wreck it!
The USA doesn't control licensing, it is controlled by each state. Oklahoma has a 14 year old motorcycle license that when my daughter had her's limited to 250cc, can't ride on interstate highways, can't carry passengers, can't ride from 2100 to 0400, and maybe some more restrictions. Most states have something similar. However, at 16, all restrictions disappear.
I don't really care where a bike is made, but when you compare this attempt at a beginner bike to Triumph's new 400 series, HD's laziness is really galling. Triumph actually bothered to design an entirely new engine and chassis. HD just plastered some orange paint, some stickers and a new fender onto an already cheap feeling Benelli Leoncino 500 and substantially upped the price. A pathetic effort
I'll just be here struggling to get my 20y/o Yamaha cruiser running and wishing I could afford something new
That motorcycle won't be anywhere near 7k in any country that has a "high displacement" tax, environmental laws, and other import fees. In south America we'll be probably paying like 14k for it. For reference, in Uruguay and Argentina, a Leoncino 500 will set you back at least 11-12k.
The X500 won't come to the US just like they said, they'll just badge it differently so they technically aren't lying, lol.
The India exclusive Harley X440 is more authentic Harley as it was developed from ground up by Harley and Hero Moto Corp together.
HD are worried that the new smaller bike will eat into their large bike sales.
I wish HD goes bankrupt for this crime!
It will sell a lot of units in India and do well in Australia due to the licensing restrictions for new riders
India already has the x440. Its selling well from what i heard. Considering the tensions in india china I think it won't be a good idea.
Would much rather see the the Indian made 440x not a fan of China. Worker rights and humanitarian issues are less with Indian companies with not much price difference.
The good news is... They already are in the USA! It's a Benelli Leoncino 500.
True lmao
I wish the Benelli Leoncino 800 was sold here.
HD awakened to different kinds of riding with the Buell. Original bikes were wonderful. The Blast(!) not so much. Rider safety courses didn't sell too many, either.
Too bad HD threw Buell away.
What Harley needs to do is what ATK did in the 80s and develop innovative, competitive bikes to sell on their own merit with domestic motors (Rotax monsters, btw) and engineering owners can be proud of. No one can be that proud to own a six year old, rebadged Benelli Leonchino built in China. We all know their reputation for crap metallurgy and "economical" manufacturing. They could have done something excellent in house, but they obviously lack the skillset. It seems they've gone the AMF Aeromacchi route again.
So what is the difference between the benelli and the hd apart from a badge and price?
HD needs to bring this bike to the USA… fo sho. Good video buddy. 🤙
A 500-600cc begginer cruiser harley would crack the market, meanwhile honda, kawasaki, royal enfield and others are getting the advantage here
Small bore bikes are not only for beginners. Thought I'll point that out.
Two things: First off, H-D learned the hard way with the Street 500 and 750 that people shopping for a Harley will not accept a motorcycle made abroad, especially from India or China. Don't get me wrong, India and China are producing some world-class bikes, but one part of what you're paying for on a Harley is the ability to say it was made in (North) America. Next, going all the way back to the days of the Buell Blast (not a bad bike, just laughably overpriced at the time), Harley has proven time and again that they are incapable of producing and selling an affordable, desirable, entry-level bike for new riders. And that is going to be their downfall. Meanwhile BMW has the 310s, Triumph has their new 400s, Husqvarna has the 410s, Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki have their sub-500s, and Honda has about 87 starter bikes if you're counting the mini-motos. Oh, yeah, and Royal Enfield has everything in their lineup. These entry level bikes will build brand loyalty and cost Harley lots and lots of potential lifetime customers.
If the only thing HD is the badge then that's weak and lazy of HD
I’ve owned a couple of Harley’s in the past. I would consider the x350 but there’s no way I would buy the x500. It makes my eyes 🤮. There are plenty of other options in that price range including used Sportsters that I would consider first
The problem is that harley's whole identity is based around their vtwin engines, and these have parallel twins.
Triumph I feel is doing a better job at it, the 400's may be thumpers, but they absolutely nail the aesthetic and fit right in with the bigger speed twin/scrambler visually, and triumph did build singles back in their glory days.
Then ofcourse, they have the Trident that also acts as a good entry point for riders who aren't limited to an A2 license.
The best entry level harley would be something similar to the Super Meteor 650 in style and displacement, but with that classic harley vtwin engine. Sell it at a similar pricepoint as the triumph 900's / moto guzzi v7 and it would sell like hot cakes.
They started with Singles.
V twins came after.
I wouldn't mind they doing a big thumper like KTM at 700cc or more by using one jug and head off the the M8 114 OR off the 1250 Revolution Max engine for modularity and amortization of production costs.
Just throwing 💩at the wall and seeing what sticks. 😁
@@GIGABACHI that's true, and a thumper styled similarly to say, a Janus would be awesome to see. Really harken back to the beginning of HD
As long as they don't screw up the price, I think a 500cc harley would be an excellent option to entice beginners into the lifestyle.
Sorry if you’ve already said it somewhere before but, what mount do you have for the Insta360 camera??
For this setup I use a promaster bar clamp and the Insta360 selfie stick. The Insta360 mount also works very well
Would you happen to have a link?
HD`s base love the old tech V-Twin air cooled, big, heavy, road bikes.
Most of all they love them & the Motor Co. BECAUSE they are an AMERICAN company.
HD employees are I.A.M. (International Association of Machinists) & are an AFL-CIO Labor Union.
When HD announced they would be expanding manufacturing into Asian markets to make machines affordable to those markets they also promised those units would not be sold in the U.S.
Right now U.A.W. members are STRIKING for better working conditions, wages & benefits.
I agree HD needs an entry level bike or two as well as a downward price adjustment on ALL their machines, parts & practices.
I disagree with announcing THAT bike to be brought here at this time or in any near future.
I don`t know specifically what their bargaining agreement contract with the I.A.M. says, but I wouldn`t be surprised if that bike is currently outlawed & would exceed the cost of building it here, in penalties if imported here, to ensure they don`t undercut their U.S. Labor.
They can sell it here...IF they build it here.
HD has made a tremendous amount of tremendous mistakes, but lets hope they won`t make this one by bringing that bike here. It`s not worth it & it`s a bad idea.
Imagine expecting Harley to make decisions that are good for motorcycling culture in America
My riding instructor had one
HD can pound sand.
Several Harley dealerships also carry Royal Enfield, so they do have a smaller starter bike available.
That is a multi brand dealership though and none of of that money from Royal Enfields go to HD?
As long as the wannabe pirates and Dyna Bros are around, H-D will find a way to screw up a bike that's under 850cc. Sportsters were called "girl's bikes" even though they were faster than anything else they made. If you walked into a dealer to buy a Blast or any Buell, you were told they "were a piece of shit," and "only a pussy rides those". They couldn't give the Street 500 and 750 away, because the dealers couldn't be arsed to sell them. You're talking about a company that bends over backwards aboout it's history or legacy, but they instruct the dealers not to work on older motorcycles; Flathead, Shovelhead, Panhead, Evo, they don't exist to the Factory. Would I own one? Yes, but I'd buy it used froma private seller or independent shop.
I'm not sure why they would bring it here. The last 500 and 750 didn't sell, so I doubt these will either. Who wants to be harassed by the owners of other Harley's?
Ignore the "Old Guard", they are a sour and dying breed.
Buy what you want, ride what you want.
Don't try to fit in their niche, don't try to be accepted.
Look for other riders with your same ideas, build your own pack.
I don’t think they’re going to ever cross their core customer base who want nothing but the Glide series.
I feel like it’s too little, too late with Harley.
I don’t think HD wants to tarnish their image as a “premium” motorcycle in the United States by selling Chinese-manufactured motorcycles. Just my guess.
Harley has already screwed this up. They need a better bike than a Leowhatever. Looks nice but is probably overweight like the Benelli 502.
Honestly would rather buy from the Polaris owned Indian brand over anything newer than 2009 from Harley because then it has an excuse because that’s around when the brand just became a brand for midlife crisis guys that can blow $20,000+ on a motorcycle that’s slower and heavier than the competitors. I’ll always buy a Harley knucklehead or anything from the 60’s over what Indian produced, Harley is still going for a reason. This is just my opinion though so go ahead and lambast me here if you want.
Love this channel .. yammie noob eat your heart out
But a royal enfield 650 and save $2,000+
Nop!!!!!
they are shitting on their own leg
Harley doesn't work for my wife . Their stupid attitude moved us to Royal Enfield and now my Electra Glide is up for sale . Good bye Harley .
They are telling you the truth.. the X500 will not ever come to the USA... the same bike will , but its not going to be called the X500
Hardly davidsons.. nothing new.. amf... Aermacchi.. but personally cruisers are not good beginners bikes. Wrong rider triangle. You seated low with stretched out arms.. relaxed. . Terrible agressive or defensive position. Wich is the state a beginner should be in. Not relaxed waiting for something to go wrong. Got buy a small bore sport bike if your a beginner.
Not gonna happen in US. Betcha a dollar....
Where on earth did you get those gloves!!! Wow they’re awful 😂😂😂😂
I think he bought 'em just to piss off people. 👌🤣🤣🤣🤣
I had the same reaction first time I saw it.
I stole them from Shadetree Surgeon
@@spitescorner 😂😂
@@GIGABACHI 😆
Qianjiang Motorcycle is a Chinese company they own Benelli Motorcycles, if the X500 is a Benelli as you say and it is, anyone who buys and X500 is not just buying a made in China motorcycle, they are buying a Chinese motorcycle, China is causing huge political problems with the West. The question is not do you want a inexpensive Harley Davidson 500cc, the real question is do you want cheap Chinese crap and contribute to the economy that is causing huge problems in this world, the choice is yours. Buy anything you want other than Chinese and Russian, that's what I always say. This is my opinion, its not any greater than anyone else, its only my feeling. Sorry for hijacking your vid.
How exactly is Harley making a mistake by not pulling a full on Bud Light? Harley is the quintessential "American" brand, bringing in products made in China would infuriate their core market demographic. Would these Chinese bikes suddenly gain them a meaningful new riding demographic? Probably not, the average American consumer does not trust Chinese manufacturing to have good quality control and this is an activity where bad QC could cost you your life. KTM's reputation is dirt because of their poor QC coming out of China. Harley could only lose by bringing these to the US.
I gotta disagree on your opinion with KTM! Maybe at one time a long time ago they had some reliability issues. There new bikes are flawless! I've racked up almost 20K miles on my KTM in just a year and a half. Bike hasn't skipped a beat runs perfect!
@@22smcrrider96 As a KTM 1290 owner, please do yourself a favor and buy a Quantum fuel pump kit to keep on-hand. You'll most likely need it before 50k miles.
I agree. As a Triumph guy I love that I can tell Harley guy that there aren't any Triumphs made in China.
Harley's core demographic is aging out of motorcycles. Coddling the boomers is what put harley in the position they're in.
@@SoDakTwisties I'll have to look into that thanks! Is that a common thing for all ktm fuel pumps?
Harley needs to make a beginner bike themselves, stop trying to push Chinesuem alloy on people who don't want it.
Australian & not a Harley fan here. I've been following the news on the Harley Davidson X bikes since they were announced because they are the first Harley's I've genuinely been interested in. And when they said they were coming to Australia in January I immediately looked up where my local Harley dealer is. And then I saw the price. Yeesh! For the same money for the 500 I could get the Benelli, an exhaust & tune, an orange vinyl wrap & some Harley stickers & most people wouldn't know the difference. I'd probably also have some money left over to cover insurance too.
I'm still going to visit a Harley dealer for the first time ever, but I'll be looking at the X 350, not the X 500. And they'll have to work really hard to talk me out of my money.
Update:
Triumph have just announced pricing on their new 400's. The Speed 400 is $8,990 AUD & the Scrambler 400 X is $9,990 AUD, right between the X 350's $8,495 AUD & the X 500's $11,495 AUD pricing. I guess I'll be going to the Triumph dealer in January instead.
Thanks for the comment. That highlights the problem very well. It is not an easy market to compete in with a lot of great competitors which is probably the reason why Harley is reluctant to do it. Pricing is key and HD never did a good job in comprehensible and competetive pricing. With the exception of the PanAm. So probability is high that Harley is burning a lot of money by trying to enter the beginners market because they are pricing themselves out of the market...
Good choice
In Oz , when I went to the HD dealership to inquire about the HD X440 (an Indian ,Hero , made single) , the Chinese parra. twins had just arrived . The sales team seemed completely unimpressed with the prospect of having to sell them.
I personally believe it would be a good idea to have a “beginner friendly” Harley on the showroom floor. The biggest problem is when you look at what happened with the Buell blast and later the HD Street 500.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Harley’s. But the first 4 years I spent on my XL1200C I got the question “how’s it like riding a girls bike” to which my answer was always “unlike you’re 107 that’s in the shop again, it’s been great”. Basically the problem with buying into the world of Harley Davidson is the owners of Harley Davidson’s. Other Harley riders are going to call an X350/500 a toy or a kids bike which will probably turn a few people off. Once all the videos come out on “how it’s a Chinese Harley and not a real bike” people are going to move over to a company like….. Honda. Purchase a shiny new rebel 500 (which have been reviewed favourably and at a close price tag) and not be bothered of the fact that they “Don’t have a real Harley”
I remember the badged Harley's from the 60's and 70's, those were never accepted as Harley's. I think Harley needs a smaller mid-sized bike for beginners and older riders downsizing but it needs to have Harley DNA. The market is there, just look how the Royal Enfield Classic 350 sells. I'm 66 and I've downsized from a big Harley to a Moto Guzzi V7 Special, I'd seriously consider adding a small Harley to my garage but it needs to be a real Harley.
They could always use half of M8 114 or Revolution Max 1250.
I was thinking a new 750cc V twin that is water cooled but looks air cooled like what Triumph did with their twins. Easier to get it to meet European emission standards with liquid cooling. Put in a slick 6 speed gear box and get the weight down to around 450 lbs. HD could style it however they want, a new Sportster or a standard bike like a Triumph Speed Twin. @@GIGABACHI
"Look at how the Royal Enfield Classic 350 sells." The Royal Enfield bikes are good looking. 'Same with the new Triumph 400s. These new "Harleys" are surprisingly ugly. Stay with your Guzzi V7.
It woild make sence to sell these bikes here is they were made in Mexico or the States but to have a Chinese Harley at local American dealers woukd cause a complete freakout.
Benelli Leoncino - $6,799
Kawasaki Eliminator - $6,649
Honda Rebel 500 - $6,449
Is anyone buying this bike at it's current price if it was branded HD? At a ~14% markup of $7,750 just buy an SV650.
It gets worse. The SV650 is $505 AUD cheaper than the X 500 here in Australia.
In fact, for less than the X 500 you can also get a Honda CBR500R, CB500X, CRF300 Rally, CL500, CB500F, CMX500 or CMX500 S Edition or either the CFMOTO 700 CL-X Adventure or 800 NK Sport.
And Triumph have announced pricing on their new 400's. The Speed 400 is $8,990 AUD & the Scrambler 400 X is $9,990 AUD, right between the X 350's $8,495 AUD & the X 500's $11,495 AUD pricing.
Harley Davidson sells an X 440 in India. It's a 420 pound air-oil cooled under-square single. I don't know why they won't bring it to the USA. It would compete with the new Triumph Speed 400, Royal Enfield Hunter 350, KTM Duke 390, etc. The X 500 would also appeal to new riders. Liquid-cooled parallel twin. I think Harley is worried about its image. Beginner bikes from Harley would embarrass some traditional biker dudes. Harley markets image more than any other maker.
The Triumph and the KTM are MotoGP prototypes compared to that air cooled, weed wacker Indian 440.
The RE Hunter 350 it's more like it.
I definitely agree that this would be a great way to lock in more riders into the HD shield. Specially if they're already taking the classes at a HD dealer on thise bikes, no new rider wants to spend a bunch of money on a "beginner" Harley to inevitably dump it soon after getting it.
If every HD part was 100% made in the US, i would see ppls argument about QC. but with other chinese brands like CF MOTO Starting to bring better proces and descent bikes, it would be a dumb idea not to try to increase market share with a more economical, beginner offering.
Eh. As someone who took their MSF course through a HD dealer, they had the x350 for our training bikes,
They are extremely uncomfortable, large seats, high seat heights, and not better than just getting a rebel or cb350/500r.
I wouldn’t buy one, honestly. Not when Honda does starter bikes better than anyone.
HD has their market and they still don’t seem interested in stretching out of it here in North America
Harley does not want entry level motorcycles. They think they will be the next Rolex, and only want to sell premium bikes, which is why they have gutted their lower end bikes in each category. They however still want a slice of the 3rd world market, so they created the x500 to do it.
Harley is utterly delusional if they think they can be the next Rolex. The bad boy image of old does not mix very well with the premium market. Plus companies like Rolex do not chase pennies in the sofa (chasing the 3rd world market) as that would damage their brand.
The X500 is not a bike for me, but they absolutely need something that’s beginner friendly in their lineup and this fits that bill. The issue I expect to see is that it will be slandered by old guard Harley riders as “not a real Harley” or a “chick bike” or a “non-American piece of junk”. That’s how that went down for the Street series. I don’t expect this to be any different, which would be a shame.
Harley needs a USA beginner's bike but not if they are going to mark up a badged bike. They can gouge the buyers when they matriculate to the "real" Harleys. FWIW I basically grew up in a H-D shop, could get a discount on any bike I wanted. In HS I bought my first new Harley, an Italian made 125, followed by a 250 then a 350. Never bought a "real" Harley, Japanese motorcycles caught my eye and had way more bang for the buck. Never needed the ego boost that owning a real Harley offers.
Honestly I was hoping that they would go a different route maybe a little thumper
Maybe we'll see the x440 from Hero
I think it will draw some new brand loyal riders. I also feel like people will play the its not a "real" harley if it isn't a Vtwin. either way, I bet they sell enough for it to make sense.
The only Harley thing about it is the badge so it isn't a real Harley.
@@nicerides9224 which is one of the two things I said above.
@@JCrozier1 You said it wasn't a Harley because it wasn't a v-twin. I consider the Livewire a Harley because they developed it. The x500 could be a big v-twin but if it's just a rebadged bike developed by another brand then it would still not be a Harley.
I want HD to survive as a brand, and I enjoy the product that cane before. But without hyperbole, HD has not made a motorcycle in the last 10 years I would consider buying. My 91 FXRS is exactly what I want from a Harley. The closest I've come to being excited about a newer HD was the V-rod, but gaht-damn the thing is like an effing Indian. They want new prices for a used bike, and I simply will not pay 10k or more for a frigging bike. I paid $4,500 for the FXR & I feel that was a fair price. Brand new a bike should barely kiss the 9k range. Anything over that is paint huffing insanity. Long gone are the days where you could go down and the everyman could ride home on a new Harley without financing the cost of a kidney on the black market. And worse than anything, unless you are buying latest current thing, HD as a brand gives me a big fuck you when it comes to support for their past legacy. "Sorry you ride a 30 year old bike, loser! Buy a $50 t shirt and a $200 humidor!" Much like the bike I love, the HD I love is long gone.
They need something reasonable to put noobs on. BUT, a parallel twin doesn't seem like the right heart for a Harley. A big thumping single would be closer to the v-twin heart. I'm ok with whoever makes it as long as that 15% premium is BECAUSE IT'S CURATED BY HD and not just a sticker.
There's too many good (even great) bikes from the Asian market at that price or less already. HD can never compete with entry level bike prices. Listen up Harley:
If u ever want my money, MAKE THE DAMN BRONX
A small tracker/scrambler would be perfect for young/beginner riders. I remember when any 14yr old with a Trail 90 was King of the World!!! A cheap 125 and 500 would be like handing out crack rocks.
I thought I saw a lot of negative comments about the x500 a few months back and thought I must be crazy because I like it, at least the looks and the idea coming to the US. I disagreed with the negative views of it. Totally agree with Spite on this and appreciate the work to talk about it.
I hope HD would make a in house small CC bike, but I doubt it. I guess HD is afraid their fanboys will think any small bike is not a real motorcycle.
They where not meant for the western markets. HD is trying to open up markets they are not currently in. Lets be honest, they need new markets.
Spite always love the show but quit the constant music irritating. Thnx !!
from Australia 🇦🇺 love the kangaroo 🦘coins 💰 reference 👍🏻 🤣
Long time HD owner here. Yes HD really needs to bring both these sleds to the states. As you said Spite, there is no way a Sportster is a beginner ride. Stock it will try it's best to kill you. With better shocks and a swap of the front setup internals, it's a blast to ride. That said though, I would buy a 500 for a daily rider for work in no time flat, assuming a price that isn't somewhere in low earth orbit.
Indicator on the electric bike looks like a carrot, when you see it you can't unsee it
Expense and weight are not beginner friendly traits.
Harley has also partnered with Hero of India on the X440. I think an India-built Harley would receive a more positive response in the USA.
🤔
The 440 it's a Weed Wacker grade motorcycle.
Even more disposable than this 500.
But that's just what I think.
I Hate any Chinese made motorcycle coming to the USA. If it was made in India or just about anywhere else in the world, I wouldn't care. China is an automatic no for me. And, my reason is based on politics.
I really wish Harley could have optioned something like the Meteor or Super Meteor from Royal Enfield. IMO, both of those would have made better entry level motorcycles.
so buying a motorcycle from a country that the media doesn't tell u to hate is fine
@@ryth-2401 No. Buying from countries that do not have literal concentration camps is fine.
@@dracphelan What the American media said about China is as full of shit as what Chinese media said about US, most of them were fake.I lived in both countries long enough, seen many things myself, and seeing the peoples being dumb enough to trust the media is funny. Even if there are political bullshit involved in qjmotor, business is still about giving money and getting product, no other questions asked
"Pecunia non olet"
Still true to these days.
harley davidson is out of touch
People tell me the Iron 883 is a great beginner HD, yet I found the ye olde Street 500 to be more beginner friendly. Shame the 500 is gone.
Why give a heavy 883 to a beginner???
EXACTLY 💯.🤷
Not to mention the chug-chug-chug power delivery and pulses and primary chain slack doesn't help anyone getting their toes wet for the first time with a motorcycle.
I just passed my MSF course with harley. They had the x350 there for the students. It's an okay bike but I will say the seat was very uncomfortable for me, I'm 5'11" 180lbs, 32" in-seam. Other than that I had a blast learning on it. I believe they were downtuned for training class purposes as well.
Wish you had mentioned where you live . As in country .
@@garyhooper1820 USA, sorry.
H-D shouldn't contaminate their company with affordable motorcycles.
...WOW....just WOW. 😮
Spite i am a rider coach why not take the course at a dealer nearby that has the 350 then revisit
Because the X350 is heavily modified and restricted. IIRC it can't go above 30 miles an hour, and it's covered in all the crash stuff. Riding a bike in a parking lot doesn't tell you enough about the bike to be able to make an informed decision. You have to road test them