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Could the Harley-Davidson SRV300 actually come into existence?

It’s in the concept phase in partnership with Qianjiang Motorcycle

EJ Punsalang EJ Punsalang on Jan 12, 2021
QJ Motor SRV300 Render

In today’s day and age, size and displacement have taken a back seat in favor of practicality and usable performance. As a result of this, many western motorcycle manufacturers have scrambled to develop small to middleweight machines in the 350cc to 500cc displacement range. Interestingly, many European and American manufacturers have turned to their Asian counterparts for help in penetrating the market.

Just like Triumph, who teamed up with Bajaj, and KTM who teamed up with CFMoto—and is also partly owned by Bajaj, iconic American manufacturer, Harley-Davidson has been doing the same thing. Interestingly, Harley seems to be taking its expansion into Asia very seriously, with the Milwaukee company partnering up with two major players in the Asian sphere: Hero Motocorp in India, and Qianjiang Motorcycle in China. Now, although the wheels on their partnership with Hero seem to be turning rather slowly, there have been some notable developments between Harley-Davidson and Qianjiang Motorcycle.

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QJ Motor SRV300 Rendering

For starters, the Harley-Davidson HD350 has been highly anticipated for quite some time now, with spy photos and test mules being spotted here and there. Sporting attractive flat tracker aesthetics, there’s no doubt that the HD350, if and when released, would make for quite the aspirational machine in the Asian market. Interestingly, it would appear that Qianjiang is developing yet another small Harley, but this time with more traditional cruiser aesthetics.

This rendering revealed by Qianjiang undoubtedly raises more questions than answers, however it’s pretty cool to note that a bike like this could soon be entering the market. It would appear that this bike would bear the SRV300 namesake and be equipped with the same 338cc V-twin engine used in the HD350, which, by the way, is also the same mill Benelli uses in some of its global models. That being said, the SRV300 could likely be a strong contender against bikes like the Royal Enfield Classic 350.

Unfortunately for us though, if the Harley-Davidson SRV300 does make it to Philippine shores, it would miss out on expressway access, given the 400cc rule. That’s quite a shame, especially given the crop of amazing 300cc-class bikes being launched in the global market. What do you think of Harley-Davidson’s plans for expansion in Asia? Are bikes like the HD350 and SRV300 timely innovations, or do they detract from the roots of the American icon?

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