What Could Be, The XR338 Street Tracker Concept by E&E

That Harley-Davidson has been working on a small-displacement motorcycle for street rider is not a well-kept secret.

The project involves a collaboration with Chinese motorcycle manufacturer Qianjiang Motors, but the fruits of that labor have been slow to reveal themselves.

Like many of Harley-Davidson’s planned future models, the alleged “XR338” is at best MIA, and at worst DOA.

No one seems to know the next move from Harley-Davidson, including the Bar & Shield brand itself, which has been extremely terse about the details of its “Hardwire” business plan.

To help nudge them along the way, A&R contributor Michael Uhlarik has been working with Italian design show Engines Engineering (E&E) on an XR338 flat track concept for the street.

The bike is 70% of the way to being ready for mass production, and it uses the 338cc twin-cylinder motor from Benelli (Qianjiang is the parent company to Benelli).

The bike is modern and stylish, and its components promise an easy stepping stone for younger buyers into what would have been the Harley-Davidson brand. Most importantly, it’s here and it’s a runner.

E&E says that the XR338 concept was created to demonstrate the technical capabilities of their firm, and to prove that developing a modern, small-displacement motorcycle can be done quickly without compromising design or engineering quality.

“The XR338 was a passion project for me,” said Michael Uhlarik, who is now an E&E representative for North America. “Most US bikers had their first motorcycle experiences on the dirt, in a farm field or on a flat track.”

“This year is the 50th anniversary of the legendary Harley-Davidson XR750, not only the most successful flat tracker in history, but also one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made. It was time to make an accessible tracker that captures that spirit, and makes it available to a new generation.”

E&E says that it took the firm only 120 days to create the concept and get it ready for production, and that it could be coming off assembly lines in six months, if picked up by a manufacturer.

With plans to show the concept at trade shows, all of this is an interesting way to pitch a new model idea and showcase the work of a design house. If anything, the project shows how painfully the ball is being dropped in Milwaukee right now.

We certainly like what we see here. Why isn’t this on the road already?