Harley-Davidson X440 special feature: Tested to destruction at ProDirt Adventure, Pune

Modern machines are built to last, tested in simulators and over lakhs and lakhs of kilometres before being rolled out to the public. But are these machines tested to destruction? What will it take to break them? We decided to find out for ourselves in our most ambitious test ever. Our muse? The Harley-Davidson X440. Our testing ground? The ProDirt Adventure camp on the outskirts of Pune. The agenda? To push the X440 to the absolute limit, through a gauntlet of abuse that would make most bikes weep. This is a trial by fire. Hero MotoCorp have already subjected the X440 to millions of kilometres of road testing and validation, so we decided to go a different, more brutal, way.

The idea came about after we saw the bikes being ridden properly hard at the flat track races that H-D conducted. The X440 underwent a whole lot of abuse and came out unscathed. However, the tests we had planned for the X440, might leave a more lasting impression. The kind that might render the motorcycle unrideable. To consolidate a lifetime worth of abuse in a span of a few days, we had to be as brutal as possible. This was no time to hold back. With some inspiration from the car shows we binged in our youth, a conversation with our destructive, inner three-year-old, and the support of one of the bravest riders we could find – Sunny Dhore of ProDirt Adventure, we came up with five tests that pushed not only the will of the machine, but the rider as well. Time to find out whether the Harley-Davidson X440 is built to survive.

Test 1: Intense off-roading

As the name suggests, this was going to be two hours of non-stop and brutal off-roading on a bike that was built to tame the streets and the highways. None of the tests saw the bike ridden in its natural habitat. Since it was two long hours and this was the only test where I had any skills to offer, I split the riding with Sunny. The track was a 1.2km long loop, with knee deep slush, big stones, a very tall jump and everything to make a proper off-road machine weak in the knees. Sunny kicked off proceedings and quickly found his rhythm.

The bike handled the abuse rather well and barring the grip of the road-biased tyres, felt at home in what was a properly rain-lashed nightmare. The torquey motor and its ability to trundle along even when traction was only a theoretical principle yet to be discovered by a Newton impersonator, was a godsend. Sunny, with his staunch belief that he’s bullet proof, didn’t hold back and was properly sending it. Jumping the bike and landing it after mega air time, going sideways, and immersing the bike in liquid chocolate (read stinky slush) failed to get the bike or any of its components to give up. Even my meager attempts were futile. Both of us managed to drop the bike on both sides and despite that there wasn’t so much as a bent lever. I’m not light and neither is the bike.

Landing big jumps like the ones there repeatedly for two hours, should have resulted in at least a busted fork seal or a bent rim. At the very least broken pegs. But all the X440 did was have a good time. Test one was passed with flying colours. The testing only gets worse from here on.

Test 2: Motocross hill climb

Next up, we headed to a much shorter but infinitely more challenging loop. A properly steep hill climb, strewn with unforgiving rocks and boulders waiting to claim the sump and the underbelly of anything that dared cross it. Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t go there with a motorcycle that doesn’t have enough clearance to park a small building under it. In went the X440.

I respectfully bowed out of riding this test, owing to the fact that I prefer my bones remaining intact. Sunny on the other hand, with his titanium exoskeleton charged in with the throttle wide open. Momentum was key if he had to finish the prescribed 10 laps. Challenging even for most motocross bikes, the X440 soldiered on taking hit after hit like an absolute champ. The terrain, already slick from the constant and depressing drizzle only made the going tougher. The tyres were struggling for grip and each rock had a singular goal to deflect the front wheel. But Sunny’s skill and the X440’s tenacity meant that the 10 laps were completed with only one spill and even that couldn’t hinder progress. The only thing that gave way here was the spring that holds the side stand in place. But that was quickly fixed and we pressed on. The engine, the wheels, the suspension and of course, the rider, all were subject to immense strain. But everything held, despite us being certain that something would break. Words don’t do justice to the challenge that this hill climb posed. But, the X440 left us all gobsmacked. With test two in the bag, we proceed to the next challenge.

Test 3: Extreme load

The X440 is after all a Harley-Davidson and anything that bears the bar-and-shield logo must be able to cover big distances. Big distance often implies big luggage and in some cases a pillion as well. What’s the best way to find out if the X440 can tour with luggage? And how can we make it as challenging as possible? How does loading the bike with close to two tonnes of luggage sound? To us it sounded like combining 10 Ladakh trips in a short, two-minute burst. Exactly the sort of thing that fits our bill of ridiculous tests designed to destroy the bike. We borrowed the ProDirt pickup truck and found ourselves a road that runs through the property.

To make matters more interesting, the road is on a bit of an incline. Unlike cars, motorcycles aren’t meant to tow things and therefore don’t have tow hooks or mounting points. To remedy that, we fabricated a joint that mounted on the same screws that hold the rear suspension in place. With the attachment, erm, attached, we tied the X440 to the pickup truck using a tow rope and a couple of shackles. The objective was simple – the X440 had to tow the truck using nothing but its own power for 100 metres. The driver’s only job was to steer the car and brake in time so as to not flatten our immortal rider. With everything hooked up, Sunny slotted the bike in first, built the revs and gently let out the clutch. 3000rpm, 4000rpm, 5000rpm and viola, the truck started to move. Quickly slotting the bike into second, Sunny got the pace up and towed the pick-up truck well past 100 metres. To make it seem like a little more of a challenge, my generously built self, along with four additional members of the crew got in the load bay of the truck and Sunny attempted to tow the truck plus the extra 400-odd kilograms that we added, and the same result was achieved. If you had any doubts about being able to go to Ladakh two-up with luggage, I think we answered your question. With that it was on to test four!

Test 4: Water submersion

You’ve finished your Ladakh trip and you’re back in town but the monsoons have arrived. Water logging, flooding and river crossings are a part of the infrastructure in our modern metros these days. What’s the worst possible thing that can happen to a motorcycle in relation to water? Going into a deep puddle that submerges the exhaust, or accidentally falling in said puddle where more components are exposed to the life juice? In the interest of science and thorough testing, we decided to get a crane and use the tank / jacuzzi / swimming pool at ProDirt, which is a good seven feet deep and submerge the entire bike in said tank for 15 minutes. Any damage that has to happen to a motorcycle will happen in the first three minutes. With the bike submerged and the timer set, the anticipation was through the roof. This for sure would kill the engine. If not kill, do enough damage to require comprehensive service to get going again. With a quarter of an hour through, it was time to assess the damage, except the cameras weren’t ready to film it so the bike stayed submerged for another 10 minutes while the cameras got whirring.

Lifting the bike out was quite the spectacle, with water gushing out of orifices that I didn’t even know the bike had. We gave the bike another few minutes for all water to drain out and even picked the bike up to ensure everything comes out of the exhaust. As we flipped the key on, the electricals seemed unfazed with the cluster coming on instantly. First crank, sputter, cough-cough. Second crank, sputter, cough-cough, potato-potato-potato. The X440 roared to life. This was unbelievable. To ensure it was no fluke we killed the bike and started it again. This time no coughing, only potato-ing. We even let it warm up and then revved it. Hard. No problem, the engine didn’t seize. This was amazing and in the interests of science we had to open the air filter (it was full of water) and then drain the oil (which looked like chocolate milkshake, so clearly water had gotten into the system). But despite that, the X440 had more than enough life to comfortably ride to the service station without needing a flat bed – or in our case to the next field where we had a crane waiting for the ultimate test.

Test 5: Crane drop

Honestly, at that point, I believed that we’d done enough testing to prove that the X440 is as tough as they come. But what’s any test without a grand finale? A test that was certainly going to be the final nail in the coffin. Or in the case of the X440, at least nudge it into the coffin. We rented a crane from a nearby construction site, got professional rock climbers Deepak Pawar and Monish Dave to safely suspend the bike to the crane’s hook and lifted it 30 feet above ground. A quick look-around for the hardest landing spot we could find and we were ready – this being more for the spectacle, than for R&D.

The mountaineering experts were instructed to balance the bike in a way that would ensure it landed in the most damaging manner possible. If the bike landed on its wheels, the rims would break, the forks and shocks would go kaput and the frame would deform as well. This was everything that we hoped would happen and with that in mind, we stood as far away as possible, fitting zoom lenses to all of our photo and video equipment to ensure that we capture the carnage without getting impaled by any of the parts that would fly out like confetti. All cameras rolling, we counted down from 10, eager to witness a spectacle that you otherwise see only on the big screen... 3, 2, 1, release. The air was still, our breath, bated, and the bike fell. Only for it to land on both wheels and bounce back up some five feet in the air and fall to its side, rather unceremoniously. No explosion of parts, no theatrics, just suspension doing its job. This was everything that we hoped, erm, wouldn’t happen. Did the X440 just survive a 30-foot drop?

We ran to the bike, picked it up and turned the key on. Like clockwork, the screen came on and it took all of two cranks to get the bike started. A quick inspection revealed that absolutely nothing had broken. A lot of expletives were yelled and Sunny quickly kitted up to go and ride the bike to actually see what its condition was. In no time, he was going sideways and popping wheelies, as though the bike had just rolled off of the showroom floor. All this abuse and the only battle scars were a broken side stand spring (which was immediately put back), a little ding on the fuel tank, and a chocolate milkshake (engine oil) from the water submersion.

Before we started on the tests, we were dead certain we would need a wheelbarrow to collect pieces of the bike and take it back home. I would have bet you good money. Good thing I didn’t. Because there I was, kitting up to ride it back home, feeling very confused. Confused how the X440 not only survived, but thrived, despite the sort of abuse that would mean the scrapyard for most other machines.

So there you have it! The Harley-Davidson X440 – tested in the crucible of India’s harshest conditions – and emerging a champion. A testament to the terrific engineering and testing that Hero MotoCorp have put the X440 through, ensuring they are built to last.