HARLEY-DAVIDSON X440 T

When Harley-Davidson pulled the wraps off the X440 a couple of years ago, it did something mildly scandalous by Harley standards — it made sense.

- WORDS CHRISTOPHER CHAVES PHOTOGRAPHY ANIS SHAIKH

It was sensible, approachable, comfortable and, dare I say it, very Indian in the way it went about its business. No chrome overload, no peanut-sized fuel tank, and no demands that you grow a beard overnight.

Now, two years later, Harley has added a new top-shelf variant to the family: the X440 T. And at first glance, you might think this is just an X440 with a neater tail and a few cosmetic tweaks. But spend a little time with it, and you realise Harley's biggest update here isn't something you can see — it's something you feel every time you twist the throttle.

Harley-Davidson claims there are 72 changes on the X440 T. Some of them are small — bolts, fasteners, revised brackets — the kind of things only engineers and very attentive owners will notice. But taken together, they make the motorcycle feel noticeably more polished. The overall silhouette remains classic X440: chunky tank, upright stance and roadster proportions. But the T looks tidier. The wiring up front is better organised, the rear panels flow more cleanly into the tail-lamp, and the paint quality feels richer. There's also a small panel above the tank that neatly fills what used to be an awkward empty space on the Vivid and S variants — and once you notice it, you'll wonder why it wasn't there all along. The exhaust gets revised heat shields and yes, it looks better — but more importantly, I think it sounds better too. More on that in a bit. Badging is now sticker-based instead of the 3D emblems on the other variants, which some might miss, but it does suit the more understated, modern vibe of the T.