In recent times, there’ve been a lot of rumors suggesting that Harley-Davidson is gearing up to set foot in the entry-level neo-retro motorcycle segment, which will come courtesy of its partnership with China’s QJMotor, the parent company of Benelli.

But in all this hype, what went missing is the first-ever sighting of Harley’s upcoming 500cc motorcycle.

Yes, you read that right. After the 353R, another Harley-Davidson motorcycle has been spotted in China which seems to be a 500cc offering, possibly an elder sibling to the highly anticipated 338R. Let’s dive into its details.

New Harley-Davidson 500cc Motorcycle

This new motorcycle was found undergoing dyno runs in what seems to be a closed testing facility.

One look at the motorcycle and it looks undeniably Harley-Davidson. Credit for this goes to its fuel tank design, round headlight with a silver nacelle, and a round analog instrument cluster. If that wasn't enough, the bike bears Harley-Davidson’s new logo (as seen on the Pan America 1250) on the side of the fuel tank to put all speculations to rest.

The bike is wrapped in a glossy grey shade, which was also the color scheme on the first sighting of Harley-Davidson's baby bike. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

What’s also worth noting is that the tail-end looks like it was inspired by the Harley-Davidson Street 500, but it sits higher here and gets a tire-mounted number plate}. Also, the number plate has ‘HD 500’ written on it which, again, doesn’t seem like a coincidence.

So how do we know that this is a 500cc motorcycle? Well, because all of its mechanicals are reminiscent of the Benelli Leoncino 500, which also comes under QJMotor}. The USD fork, alloy wheels, the swingarm, and most importantly, the engine casing are all same as the Leoncino and lead us to believe that this Harley is indeed a 500cc motorcycle being built under the American company’s collab with QJMotor.

*For reference

Now I do expect Harley-Davidson to change a few things in the final production-spec model, though. For instance, the design of the alloy wheels could be more retro or perhaps Harley can throw in a few more chrome touches so that it stands out from the Leoncino albeit with different bodywork.

New Harley-Davidson 500cc Motorcycle Launch Details

Judging from what we see here, Harley-Davidson’s new 500cc motorcycle looks quite ready for production. Heck, it even has indicators and a number plate mount which all hint that its launch could be nearby.

Whether this will come before or after the much-rumored 353R is still unclear, though.

Source: Newmotor.com.cn