Harley Davidson, the undisputed leader in the big bikes market in India, recently launched the upgraded versions for 3 of their bikes, including their bestselling models the Iron 883 and the Street 750, which was launched just about a year ago.  The third bike to be upgraded is the Forty-Eight.

The new bikes are launched under what HD calls “Dark Custom” range and are upgraded as per the customer demands and their market survey.

What these bikes have undergone is primarily a facelift surgery with some functional changes here and there.

Let’s talk about the Street 750 first. The Street 750 is definitely one of the most important products in HD India’s portfolio as it was designed specifically for India and other developing countries. The bike has kept the production lines busy ever since it was launched. We had reviewed the Street 750 at the time of its launch and came back pretty impressed with the overall product except for a thing or two.

One of the let down about the Street 750 was its spongy brakes with less than desirable bite. And this has been the biggest upgrade in the Dark Custom Street 750. The Dark Custom Street 750 gets an all new front and rear braking system with bigger rotors. The difference between the braking efficiency is easily noticeable. The brakes require much less effort and don’t feel spongy. The bite is much stronger. Though that brings us once again to the stock MRF Tyres. The Street definitely deserves stickier rubber than the one it currently has and people planning to buy it should go for a tyre upgrade as soon as possible.

The other noticeable change is the beefier clutch and brake levers that are more comfortable than the earlier ones. Then you have a newly designed, trendier rear brake pedal. Harley Davidson also says that they have rerouted the internal wiring to hide the open wires that were visible earlier and the change is (in!)visible, though if you want to nit-pick you could still find a wire or two that lie open.

The Street 750 otherwise remains essentially the same performance wise and style wise. Oh yes, the new Street 750 is also available in a superior blue paint scheme which really looks good on the bike. The price of the new Street 750 is INR 452,000 ex-showroom Delhi.

Read more: Harley Davidson Dark Custom Forty-Eight

We also rode the Dark Custom Sportster Forty-Eight for an awfully short time, which didn’t do justice to the lovely motorcycle that it is. Anyways, the new Forty-Eight in its stripped down, lean-mean avatar has to be one of the most gorgeous bikes I’ve ever seen. It catches your attention as soon as you set your eyes on it.

What with the new tiny tank with vintage graphics, the 3D Harley Davidson logo, the new single seat, and fat rubber upfront – all giving it a rebellious and menacing look – the Dark Custom Forty-Eight is for keeps!

While most of the changes on the Forty-Eight are cosmetic in nature, there’s a new adjustable rear suspension and lighter alloy wheels on offer. Everything else remains pretty much the same. The Forty-Eight comes with the same amount of torque that it is known for.

You’d be more than happy to keep it in the garage and take it out for a spin every day. Though you’d have to think twice before planning a long ride as the tiny tank is tiny in every sense and offers only 7.9 L of storage, forcing you to take fuel brakes more often than you’d prefer. Also the fatty front tyre no matter how badass it looks would impact the handling of the bike and it wouldn’t change direction as and when you want it to. But if you can live with that, the new Dark Custom Forty-Eight can be yours for INR 912,000 ex-showroom Delhi.

Overall, the changes in the both these bikes aren’t really revolutionary or groundbreaking in nature, but certainly are welcome and we do believe that they’ll force the prospective customers to give these bikes a serious thought.