Harley-Davidson Breakout | Photo Credit: Yash Gawde

Who thought Harley-Davidsons could be practical? No, the Breakout isn’t, but it makes every other Harley seem that way. Here’s a motorcycle that’s aimed squarely at those who want to make a style statement in big, sparkly letters, even if you only venture as far as down the block from where you live. A sort of factory-built chopper, the Breakout 117 is a proper 10-gallon hat tip (or whatever is the Milwaukee equivalent) to the American custom motorcycle culture so popularised through television programming even in India.

To frame it differently, this isn’t a motorcycle you can travel with — not comfortably anyway. It’s a statement piece and it’s priced that way, too. At ₹31 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Breakout asks for serious money, although it also saves you the trouble of building a Harley-based chopper if that’s something you’ve always fancied. Full disclosure: this isn’t the latest of the Breakout range either. There’s already a 2026 model around in the US although it is only expected to arrive in India towards the end of this year.

With that established, I can tell you about what riding it feels like. It seems heavy, long, low and a bit cumbersome at first, but if you have any experience with large-displacement Harleys you’ll adapt to it quite quickly. Unlike in most Harleys, where a big chrome-laden V-twin engine is often the centrepiece, the Breakout has two — the engine and an incredibly wide rear tyre. An exaggerated rear end is the signature of every authentic chopper and Harley hasn’t held back with that 240-section 18-inch Michelin Scorcher. At the front, you get a relatively skinny 130-section 21-inch tyre.

acquainted pal

In my short stint with it, I rode it through outrageously slow traffic at first, where two things came to the fore — this is a heavy motorcycle (upwards of 300 kg) and it can get quite hot. This isn’t news to those acquainted with the Harley-Davidson way, of course, and I don’t grudge it that either. Because when the road opens up, the Breakout is surreal in how playful it is. The 100 bhp and 17.1 kg-m its 1923cc 45-degree V-twin produces somehow overwhelms a contact patch as large as that and, combined with the analogue and distinct exhaust note its twin-stacked pipes emit, the Breakout can get quite addictive. I suspect Breakout buyers won’t leave those stock exhaust pipes unattended for too long, though. It’s meant to be an attention magnet, after all.

Ergonomically, you can trust it to grow on you. It’s not a naturally comfortable bike on most counts; the weight, steering effort, heavy clutch action and limitations of the suspension are all compromised in favour of form and, equally, its bold performance. It isn’t hateful either, though. Spend enough time with it, work out a riding routine and you’ll find it to be a flavourful machine you’ll eventually move into your living space or customise even further. As you do.

On another note, the brakes are strong and progressive, the tyres do more than just look good and the seat is quite comfortable. I like the tiny digital display incorporated into the handlebar clamp and loathe the absurdly-shaped headlight which has been replaced with a proper circular unit in the 2026 model.

Objectivity isn’t what the Breakout is about, or even attempts to acknowledge it. Even so, does it justify its price tag? Hard to say. If you ask me, for once, I wish Donald Trump had his way so we could all have cheaper Harleys. Until then, we can dream about them anyway. One thing’s for certain, though. There’s nothing else like it out there.

@TheMotorGram

Published on March 27, 2026