Harley-Davidson may be going through some tough times right now, but thankfully, some of their plans are still pushing through. One of those is the much awaited baby Harley: a 338cc model especially designed for the Asian market, made in collaboration with Qianjian (QJ Motor), the parent company of Benelli.
While we initially thought the bike would by launched by June this year, it has unfortunately met some delays due to the ongoing pandemic. Now, it looks more likely to be launched by the end of this year, or early 2021.
Just recently, the patents for the new motorcycle have just been filed, giving us a clearer picture of what the bike could look like.
Motorcycle site, Rushlane, has also managed to snap a picture of the bike, confirming it will look just like the patent images as well as providing a clue to its name.
When it comes out this year, it will be called the Harley-Davidson 338R. It will be based on the QJ 350 and Benelli 350S. Naturally, 338 is its displacement. It’s powered by a liquid-cooled parallel twin made by QJ Motor. It features a trellis frame and off-set rear monoshock.
Thankfully, it’s only the underpinnings it carries over from QJ Motor. It looks a lot like a smaller version of the Harley-Davidson Sportster XR1200.
We certainly hope the local Harley-Davidson dealers will consider bringing this in as it could be priced quite competitively thanks to the current free-trade agreement between the Philippines and China.
At the very least, the patent registration confirms that this model will definitely push through. For now, we’ll just have to wait.
