Harley-Davidson X500 and X350 to be launched in Japan

The Harley-Davidson X500 was introduced by the Milwaukee based company and QJ Motors back in March. It is the second born of their partnership and, along with the X350, was meant for the Chinese market.

So, both brands state that the motorcycle is highlly inspired by the iconic Harley-Davidson Sportster; however, there are some details that do not convince us so much: the tank is a bit far from the famous peanut tank installe on the Sportster and the rear fender – which is indeed really similar to the one installed on the Sporty – looks a bit odd due to its position.

As per what happened for the X350, the X500is more of a QJ Motorcycle – to be absolutely honest, the Benelli Leoncino 500 – with the Harley Davidson style and vibe.

The engine is a liquid-cooled fuel-injected 500cc DOHC eight-valve Parallel-Twin capable of 33.9 lb-ft. at 6000 rpm and 46.9 hp at 8500 rpm

The suspension package on the X500 consists of a 50 mm inverted fork with adjustable rebound, and a single rear shock with adjustable rebound damping and preload. The braking system is composed of dual discs with four-piston calipers up front and one single-piston caliper at the back. ABS is standard. To top it all off, we have 17-inch cast aluminum wheels that come with Maxxis Supermaxx ST tires, with a 120/70-ZR17/58W on the front and a 160/60-ZR17/69W at the rear.

The riding position is fairly neutral thanks to mid-mount foot controls and raised handlebars. To be an Harley, it has a fairly tall seat position (32.3-inch seat height) and  pretty good lean angles: 46.9-degree on the left and 49.5-degree on the right. On the downside, for being a small motorcycle, the Harley-Davidson X500, with its 459-pound curb weight is on the heavy side.

New Markets

As mentioned before, the Harley-Davidson X500 and the X350 are part of the Harley Davidson’s global strategy. Therefore, in order to have an appeal to the market, they are pretty differentiated from what the brand got us used to: we are in front of much smaller engines, they have a much simpler design in comparison to the company’s cruisers (the X350 has a lot in common with the Benelli 302S, while the X500 is essentially a revamped Benelli Leoncino 500). That said, the next country where these two bikes will be available is Japan, where they are expected to hit the market in this month of October 2023; while they are expected to land in Australia by the end of 2023.