The Harley-Davidson name is polarising — many riders won't buy anything else, whereas there are so many who say they'll never buy one… and apart from the brief lifespan of the Street 500, you haven't been able to do your motorcycle apprenticeship on a Harley because they weren't learner approved.
The new X-series hopes to change that. Small, light and affordable, these new bikes offer a different riding experience to earlier Harleys and are LAMS approved — and could represent a new line of bikes to attract riders who would never have considered a bike from The Motor Co.
The X siblings aren't made in Milwaukee, but there's a bit of Milwaukee magic dust sprinkled on them to ease their transition into the Harley family (they're adopted, a special effort is required). Harley has always followed the mantra of “there's no replacement for displacement”, resulting in the large engines customers love. The X Twins follow this unwritten company policy. Usually, a manufacturer's entry bike will be a 125, followed by a 250. Not Harley… theirs is a 350 followed by a 500. Although not V-Twins, in some ways the X machines take the traditional Harley
