Harley-Davidson is currently doing business with QJ Motor, a Chinese company that’s known to be the parent of Benelli and Colove/Kove motorcycles among a bunch of other brands.
Also known as Qian Jiang Motor, apart from H-D, the company is also known for taking western marques and recreating models with the company’s powertrains, technologies, and know-how when it comes to building motorcycles. Also under the company’s list of business partners, apart from Harley-Davidson, is MV Agusta who is also no stranger to partnerships with other brands like KTM.
Anyway, the X500 and the X350 are some of the newest Harley-Davidsons we’ve seen apart from the Nightster that launched last year. The X500 was launched in China on April 21, 2023, with Auto Shanghai serving as one of the first times that the pair of bikes have been shown to the public. These small-displacement models are radically different from what we’re seeing from H-D, and perhaps it’s because QJ did most of the work when putting these two things together.
Gallery: Harley Davidson X350 - Auto Shanghai 2023
These are two city-friendly roadsters with Harley-Davidson design cues. This announcement comes shortly after Harley-Davidson teased a 4XX, which is yet another cross-company collaboration, but this time with Hero MotorCorp from India.
The models on full display at the recently-concluded Auto Shanghai look very familiar. These two motorcycles are based on the same platform that the Benelli Leoncino 500 and 350 are built upon. The general look, shape, feel, and posture of these two models are very similar to the Benellis, but with more Harley-Davidson branding and a few nods to the American brand.
Gallery: Harley-Davidson X500 - Auto Shanghai 2023
Engine-wise, the bigger of the two includes a 500cc liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, parallel-twin that makes 47 horsepower and 33 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile, the X350 comes with a 335cc parallel-twin engine with 36.5 horsepower and about 22.8 pound-feet of torque.
The X500 and X350 both come with semi-digital instrument clusters, with a singular gauge pod doing all the work of displaying speed, fuel level, and odometer among a few other things. LEDs are in use for the headlights and taillights, and for safety, the bikes come with ABS.
Gallery: Harley-Davidson Pulls The Covers Off The X500 In China
As for the price in China, the X350 comes in at around 33,388 CNY or about $4,825 USD. The larger X500, on the other hand, comes in at 44,388 CNY, or about $6,415 USD.
