Harley-Davidson X440 T long-term review, 280km report

Our first impression of the new Hero-built Harley-Davidson X440 T, when we rode it in Goa, was that it carried forward the platform’s signature strengths while ironing out most of the glaring issues that plagued the original X440. However, to see how the bike fares outside usual road test parameters and handles typical daily life, the X440 T has now entered the Autocar long-term fleet, and we’ve been told it’s going to be with us for a full year – what joy!

However, there was a small hiccup in our initial days with the X440 T. Our bike was running an older version of the display software, which didn’t allow us to switch the traction control off. We returned the bike to Harley-Davidson, and the company was able to find a fix, so now the bike runs as it was intended. The good news is that this isn’t an issue that’s ever going to happen to customer bikes, because that version of the software was only on the early lot of bikes allocated for the media, a Harley spokesperson assures us. 

As of writing this piece, I’ve only been able to use the baby Harley to commute to work (a short 12km round trip daily) for a week or so through Mumbai’s pockmarked roads, and I’m yet to drain a single tank of fuel. But even so, despite the far-from-ideal conditions, the X440 T has slowly grown on me. That’s primarily because of two reasons, and both have to do with the rider’s comfort. 

Plush suspension needs to be a must-have on your vehicle if you are a Mumbai resident, because most of our roads are in a constant state of disrepair. The X440 T’s shocks, I’m happy to report, keep you cushioned from the worst bumps Mumbai’s roads throw at you, but they still have a composed edge, which means the bike doesn’t wallow when changing direction at faster speeds. 

Another facet that allows me to simply shrug off bad roads is the neutral riding position. My arms and legs are exactly where I’d like them to be, and this – I suspect – will be a nice position even for longer durations in the saddle. 

However, one thing I have not been gelling with on the H-D is its bar-end mirrors. They give you an okay view of what’s behind, but filtering through dense traffic – pretty much impossible to avoid in Mumbai – demands a little too much caution because of these mirrors. Some experimentation with installing the standard X440 brake and clutch lever mounts with the slot to hold conventional mirrors should be able to solve this problem, I’m confident. 

So far, while the X440 T has been confined to Mumbai city, I’m itching to embark on a weekend getaway, and I’m going to make sure this happens sooner rather than later!