Harley-Davidson’s partnership with Chinese language bike producer QJ Motor is not at all a secret. QJ, also called Qianjiang, is the dad or mum firm of many up and coming names within the bike trade. Manufacturers like Benelli, Keeway, and QJ Motor are belong to the Qianjiang empire, and the corporate has partnerships with main producers, too, similar to MV Agusta and sure, Harley-Davidson.
One of the crucial eagerly awaited fashions to come back out of the Harley x QJ partnership is the X 500, a departure from Harley-Davidson’s conventional cruiser styling, and extra of a rugged, city roadster. The latest mannequin was formally unveiled throughout the 2023 Shanghai Auto Present, and comes sizzling on the heels of Harley teasing the 4XX collectively developed with Indian bike model Hero MotoCorp.
As anticipated, the Harley-Davidson X500 shares quite a bit in widespread with an present bike within the Qianjiang arsenal: the Benelli Leoncino 500. Certainly, the designers over at QJ appear to have achieved little or no to hide this truth, because the body, wheels, and total stance of the X500 look equivalent to that of the Leoncino 500. The end result is likely one of the most un-Harley-looking Harleys on the market, subsequent solely to the Pan America journey bike.
When it comes to efficiency, these of you conversant in Benelli’s 500cc twins will want no introduction to the X500. It is sporting a 500cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, parallel-twin engine with an output of 47 horsepower and about 33 pound-feet of torque. The engine is supported by a metal tubular body, and a moderately beefy 50-millimeter inverted entrance fork and monoshock on the rear. The X500 rolls on 17-inch wheels back and front, and involves a cease with twin, radially mounted disc brakes up entrance and a single disc brake on the rear.
Over on the cockpit, the X500 encompasses a semi-digital instrument pod that retains the whole lot wanting compact, if not somewhat on a budget aspect. The bike additionally will get a single LED headlight and a tail mild with built-in flip indicators. As for digital rider aids, the X500 has little to indicate for aside from ABS. At current, the bike has solely been showcased in China, so we’ll have to attend and see the place this new mannequin heads to subsequent.
