QJ Motor, a subsidiary of the Qinjiang group has turned out to be a two-wheeler giant in the past couple of years. To give you an idea, it owns Benelli and has a partnership with Harley-Davidson to produce its motorcycles in China. Their partnership also entails co-developing new small-capacity motorcycles with the iconic American brand. Last year we saw QJ Motor unveiling a host of new products under the Benelli moniker but its most-talked-about motorcycle has to be the small-capacity motorcycle it is co-developing with H-D.
More details
QJ Motor recently posted a teaser image of a new cruiser motorcycle on its social media channels. As far as looks and assumptions go, it could be the small-capacity Harley we have been waiting for all along!
Harley-Davidson got into a partnership with QJ Motor and as we mentioned earlier, this partnership is going to give birth to new co-develop products, Harley is going to primarily target the developing countries with its small-capacity motorcycles and what better way to do it than introducing an affordable cruiser? And the teased motorcycle does bear stark resemblance to the other Harleys. The tear-drop tank, low-set bars, and single seat that melts into the rear mudguard, combine to form a silhouette which is, without a doubt, American! No other details have been shared by the company but we can assume it to utilize a 300-350cc V-twin motor which could churn anywhere around 30-40 HP. The bike shown in the concept is a liquid-cooled model meaning getting around the latest set of emission norms shouldn’t be an issue for it.
When Harley announced its new core strategy named ‘Rewire’, the future of the affordable Harley was looking a little bleak. Although there isn’t any official confirmation from the company’s end, the latest developments suggest that the motorcycle hasn’t been canned and is still being developed. It would be interesting to see if Harley decides to bring this to India as well, after it enters the production line. If it has to compete in our market, it has to be priced sensibly well. That can be achieved by either assembling it here or better, producing it here. And that’s a whole other department which needs some more clarity from the company, given its India operations in the past couple of months.