Bike Review | Harley-Davidson X350 Long Term | Staff Bikes, Month 3

Harley-Davidson definitely nailed it with its X350 naked street bike. It is small and is super fun and punchy and handles really well too. Simon has been commuting and weekend scratching for three months on his long termer. Here’s his Harley X350 part three review.

Three months living with the Harley-Davidson X350 and loving every minute of it…

Suspension Settings

Final month and getting back to the suspension, Elliot from H-D told me that the standard rear spring on the X350 (and bigger bro X500) is pretty stiff, so no additional preload would suit me best. I was happy with that and instead shifted my gaze up front to play around a little with the rebound damping adjustment, settling for a quarter turn in from centre (3.5 turns range).

The fun factor alone is worth the cost of entry and I enjoyed every moment with X350…

This felt (and I stress felt as for me there is no great science behind it) as though it sharpened up the tip-in just a tad, however, added no discomfort when handling rapid suspension movements. I guess I really should have done this earlier, but when something feels just about spot-on in stock trim, there is an element of illusion in tinkering for nowt and perhaps buggering the factory setup.

Simon added some rebound damping to keep the forks lower in the stroke longer, this sharpened up the steering on turn-in.

The shock is already firm with a stiff spring from the factory.

For your 8.5k Aussie Peso you get a real motorbike with the X350. A bike, I think especially for learners, that will provide an excellent first and perhaps longer term ride. The fun factor alone is worth the cost of entry and I enjoyed every moment with X350. Honestly, if you are looking for a small capacity, versatile, exciting and fun bike, check it out – not only is it capable of sparring with all comers in this extremely competitive market segment but it is also pretty good value.

Read Simon’s Harley-Davidson X350 Road Test here… and Read Month Two of our X 350 Long Term test here…

The ease of use, accessibility, comfort, lightness and neutrality of the motorcycle and its willingness to absorb whatever you throw at it is pretty grooving. You can feel fast without necessarily being fast on the X350. And, all of this pleasure without being a constant threat to one’s precious licence as per more powerful machines.

Long Term Changes

If I were to own an X350, I would make some minor changes, but not many. I would certainly do something to improve front brake feel and response with some softer pads. I would jettison the mirrors and handlebar for a flatter ‘bar and a cool bar-end mirror to just toughen up its look a little and better match the hand position to the rearset footpegs and overall styling. Job done. Tyres are often a brand bias thing, and I thought standard Maxxis radials worked well and provided pretty good confidence in exploring the incredibly generous cornering clearance. They were showing good wear characteristics, too so would not be an immediate upgrade.

Alloy styled fuel cap.

Smooth gearbox.

Fun, punchy twin-cylinder engine.

Well, the time came for me to hand back the keys to the Harley-Davidson crew after three months of X350 ownership. I must say that I felt some deeper level of sorrow than anticipated when I glanced back at the little silver 350 for the last time. Those three months and about 3500km together turned out to be a very happy experience, with this motorcycle ever ready and willing to give its all. I would like to extend gratitude to Harley-Davidson Australia for lending BikeReview the keys and also to Jeff for throwing them my way. Onto the X500 now for three months, so stand by!

2024 Harley-Davidson X350 Specifications

https://www.harley-davidson.com/au

Price: $8,495 R/A
Warranty: TBA
Colours: Dramatic Black, Dynamic Orange, Supersonic Silver, and Pearl White
Claimed power: 27kW@9500rpm
Claimed torque: 31Nm@7000rpm
Wet weight: 195kg
Fuel capacity: 13.5L
Fuel Consumption (Claimed): 4.95L/100km

Engine: Liquid-cooled, in-line two-cylinder, four-stroke, DOHC, four-valves per cylinder, 353cc, 70.5 x 45.2mm bore x stroke, EFI, 11.9:1 compression ratio, six-speed gearbox, wet clutch, 2-1 exhaust.

Chassis: Steel tube trellis frame, steel swingarm
Rake: 24.8º Trail: 140mm
Suspension: 41mm USD forks, rebound adjustable, lateral rear shock, preload & rebound adjustable N/A travel.
Brakes: ABS, dual semi-floating petal rotors, twin calipers, single rear rotor, single piston floating caliper
Wheels & Tyres: Aluminum alloy, 3.50 x 17in, 4.50 x 17in, 120/70 – R17, 160/60 – R17, Maxxis SuperMaxx tyres.

Dimensions:
Seat height: 777mm
Wheelbase: 1410mm
Overall Length: 2110mm
Overall Height: N/A
Ground Clearance: 143mm

Instruments & Electronics: LCD display, ABS

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