Should I wait for the Harley-Davidson X 440 or buy Royal Enfield Classic 350?

I’m planning to upgrade from my 150cc machine to a 350-400cc bike. While I had previously set my eyes on the Royal Enfield Classic 350, I recently came across your article on the impending launch of the Harley-Davidson X 440 and I’m confused if I should wait for it. Should I do so or do you think I should consider the Bajaj-Triumph 400 as well? I’m confused.

Ramesh Thapar, New Delhi 

Autocar India says: You couldn't have chosen a better time to upgrade to the 350-400cc space as it is well and truly heating up. Well, in our experience, the Royal Enfield Classic 350 is a fantastic motorcycle. It exudes the charm of a classic bike while offering the reliability of modern day underpinnings. It’s one of our favourites at the ACI office, but we’d suggest you wait for the Harley-Davidson X 440 and see what it’s like. The first set of images we’ve seen suggest that the bike looks nice, the finish levels should be premium and we expect the 440cc, air-, oil-cooled engine to produce significantly more power than the RE’s 349cc (20hp, 27Nm) mill does. The prices will be out on July 3 and we expect it to cost around the Rs 2.5 lakh-3 lakh mark or thereabouts. That’ll make it the most affordable Harley-Davidson to go on sale!

Another bike to keep an eye out for is the Bajaj-Triumph bike that will be unveiled on June 27. It’s been under development for a while and is the modern bike between the Royal Enfield and the Harley, with a 400cc, liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine. It is expected to cost more than the Classic 350 and the Harley-Davidson X 440, but it should also be more powerful and dynamic than both. Only time will tell and we’d suggest waiting and checking out both these bikes before making a decision.