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They say that the streets arenít about what we have
but what we make of what we got.
Mumbai. The city of Dreams, where many arrive with
bare necessities, which at times transform.
The city gives, you cling on to it, Ö well you stand out
The most populated city in India, the fifth most populated in the world which symbolizes:
Dreams, Ideation, Engineering, Innovation, and most importantly adaption, to survive
on the street.
Much like the New Street 750, the first ever Harley to be manufactured in
India, built from the ground up to thrive in the concrete jungle.
And what better place to test its artillery than here..
An all new platform since the VRod, the 750 targets young urban population.
And to understand what tickles their fancy, Harley went and spoke to a whole bunch of
them from the cities of LA, Tokyo and even Mumbai.
And the verdict called for something understated yet rebellious, practical yet fun.
So on the street, chrome takes a backseat in favor of a dark custom look,
All blacked out from the pullback handle bar to the exhaust.
Yet it is every bit a Harley, with metal tank and fenders and minimum use of plastic.
But will it catch the eye of Mumbai's young and happening?
We decided to find out!
Now the bike looks small and does not look like a badass cruiser,
but to me the VRod-ish looks and subtle retro touches really adds to it.
But the finishing left me wanting because the dangling wires, attention to detail just
don't fit the bill when we are talking Harley's, and the plastic though minimal, fail to match
up to a bike that looks this good.
With aesthetics of the bike out of our way, it's time to see if it can walk the talk.
Now the Street 750 uses a 749 CC Liquid cooled V-Twin motor called Revolution X.
Quite similar to the Revolution motor, jointly developed by Porsche and Harley, for VRod.
But unlike the traditional 45 degree V-twin that comes from Harley, this ones a shorter
and wider engine a 60-degree V-Twin Built specifically to lower the seat height
of the bike and the centre of gravity of the bike.
The new platform has allowed for a higher ground clearance and an extra 2 inches of
suspension travel when compared to the Iron 883.
So the Street 750 not only has the lowest saddle height but also the highest ground
clearance amongst all its siblings. And we'll be putting this very things to test,
by riding this bike among the most gruelling streets of Mumbai in peak traffic hour.
The Street 750 is pretty quick on its feet, despite its longer wheelbase, it's quite tip
happy .The lower centre of gravity, the relatively skinny front tyre and the broad handlebar
saw me own every gap that came my way and dodge as many potholes as I could.
As for those craters that I could not avoid, well the long suspension travel and the perfectly
dialed in spring and damping. And the combination of the 17 inch front tyre
and increased ground clearance helps in conquering the tallest of speed bumps.
But what I am most impressed with, is the cooling on this bike.
I was worried that if the 750 was anything like the VRod, which despite being liquid
cooled tends to heat up a fair bit. But fortunately the cooling and heat dissipation
on this one, much much better.
Traffic is where you can torture the first three gears, but you know what, we need something
a little more empty for the next three. Despite the engine being hard mounted on this
bike, there's practically has no vibrations whatsoever and Then there's this motor.
Perfectly meshed with a short throw 6 speed transmission, it pumps out the power as and
when you need it. The power delivery is linear, its intresting but definately not intimediting.
If only it sounded like it goes, because right now it just sounds like a VRod being strangled
to death and in desperate need of a screaming eagle exhaust.
The suspension, chassis and the tyres provide a planted feel at high speeds. The biggest
downer for me on this bike is the braking, Now this is a cruiser where the most of the
stopping power comes from the rear brake. But unfortunately on this bike, it either
does nothing or tends to lock up. It could be because of the brake fluid reservoir
which sits right next to the exhaust, which tends to heat up a lot. But you know what
i could definately do with some more braking power and maybe even an ABS.
ABS, Satyen, I'm not really sure about that because that's most probably done to keep
the bike's price at a staggering 4.01 lakh rupees only but then yes I do conceed given
the fact that the bike's been targeted for the younger audiance out here, Having a ABS
on a bike like this would've meant a much more safer bet.
There is a lot at stakes when it comes to this bike for Harley Davidson, But I personally
feel Satyen, that this bike hits the ground running, full flex flying, maybe
The footpegs as you were saying earlier in the morning, could be further forward for
better ergonomics and comfort, Fit and finish at certain places could be better like the
plastics here or the bolt down there. But yeah this is a stupendous package otherwise,
I mean we literally trashed the bike in the streets of Mumbai we took it over speed breakers,
Potholes and it did really very well.
And if it's that good for the streets of Mumbai its good for the streets of the world.