“It’s a Harley, Jim, but not as we know it.”

Harley-Davidson Street 500

Bawal is a long way from Milwaukee, but Bawal is in the second-largest motorcycle market in the world, India.

Here, imported motorcycles (at least the larger capacity ones) are taxed unmercifully, so H-D has set up a manufacturing and assembly plant to produce its twin juggernauts into the local market, which also happen to be aimed at our learner market. The motorcycles in question are the Street 500 (now on sale in Australia) and the Street 750 (not coming here at this stage).

So what’s it like? Well, it’s not like a Milwaukee Harley, although you can see a bit of V-Rod in there somewhere. All things considered though, it’s not a bad scoot, and clearly the aim is to get riders aboard the brand as early as possible, and develop the loyalty that leads to continued sales. For $9995 ride away, you get a liquid cooled SOHC V-twin with a modern 4-valve cylinder head, 6-speed gearbox and belt final drive. What you don’t get is fancy switch gear, bling or much chrome plating, feet-forward footrests, or the distinctive “potato, potato, potato” exhaust note of the Milwaukee irons. More like “pappadum, pappadum, pappadum”. Once in the saddle, things get more interesting. The Street 500 has a surprising turn of speed; it actually accelerates quite briskly in the lower gears, which is what you need for zipping around town. On the motorway, it sits comfortably at the legal limit and has enough in reserve to overtake quickly and safely once you knock it back a cog. The gearbox works perfectly, although first gear could be a bit lower. One thing I found less than wonderful was the front brake, which is spongy and not at all progressive; surprising really, given the size of the disc and the two-piston caliper. Whether a change of pads would cure this I don’t know, but it is hardly confidence inspiring.

The riding position suited me fine, and not being a fan of feet-forward controls, I found everything just where