Harley Davidson unveils the Street 500 and Street 750 at EICMA

Harley Davidson has unveiled the much awaited entry level motorcycles, the Street 500 and the Street 750 at the 2013 EICMA event in Milan, Italy. These new motorcycles have been built on a completely new platform (their first in 14 years).

The new Street Harleys are very important for the company as they are expected to gain volumes sales for the company in developing markets like India. The iconic American motorcycle maker has shifted its focus from ‘Big bikes’ to ‘small and affordable bikes’ which sells more in many markets.  The Street 500 and the Street 750 gets a new liquid-cooled engine which the company calls as the ‘Revolution X engine’. The power and torque figures are not known but the company claims the exhaust note of these motorcycles will be like the one in the air-cooled mills. The liquid-cooled engines of both the motorcycles have been mated to a six-speed transmission that transmits torque to the rear wheel through belt drive.

The new Street retains the traditional cruiser styling like the other Harleys. The styling is part of the company’s Dark Custom theme wherein parts like the engine covers, wheels and exhaust are painted in black. Overall, the motorcycles look very neat and inspiring and will be mostly targeted at young buyers.  Both the motorcycles will be available in two colour options – red and black and will first be launched in US, Italy, Spain, Portugal and India. 

The Street 500 and the Street 750 will be manufactured in India at the company’s plant in Bawal in Haryana. Most of the parts will be locally sourced making it easy for the company to price the motorcycles very competively. The India launch dates are not yet confirmed by the company but expect only one of the two to be launched in here first. The Street 500 and the Street 750 have been priced at USD 6,700 (Rs 4.14 lakh) and USD 7,500 (Rs 4.53 lakh) respectively in the American market and will make its way to the dealership in the second quarter of 2014. If both the motorcycles are launched in India, we expect the Street 500 to be priced somewhere around Rs 3.9 lakh – Rs 4.2 lakh and for the Street 750 around Rs 4.4 lakh – Rs 4.9 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi. )

Check out the promotional video for the Harley-Davidson Street 750 and Street 500