Royal Enfield Himalayan: All you need to know

Royal Enfield has just unveiled their first ever adventure touring motorcycle, the Himalayan. The new bike might come as a surprise for the current Royal Enfield fans as it lacks the typical retro design, misses out on chrome, isn't flashy at all and has lost the typical 'bullet thump'. We are not sure how the current user base might consider this attempt of RE, but we are glad it is not just another rework on an existing motorcycle or engine, but a completely new product. Let's take a look at the things which have made the Himalayan talk of the town.

The engine

The Himalayan is powered by a completely new 411cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine. This motor churns out 24.5bhp of power at 6,500rpm and a peak torque of 32Nm between 4,000rpm and 4,500rpm. The transmission system is the five-speed gearbox transferring power to the rear wheel via a chain drive. The powerplant still seems a bit outdated considering it to be a SOHC carburetted unit. However, we believe the robust build and the lack of electronic wizardry might work in its favour by not adding to the complexity.

The cycle parts

The entire design of the Himalayan itself clearly displays a totally different line of development of Royal Enfield. The motorcycle is underpinned by a new split cradle frame that encloses the newly developed carburetted LS410 engine. Built to tackle all kinds of rugged terrains and bad patches of road, the Himalayan gets a long suspension travel and a 220mm ground clearance. The bike is tall in appearance, but the rider's seat height – at 800mm above the ground – is almost same as he would sit on a Classic 350. The 21-inch front wheel sports a 300mm disc brake, while the 17-inch rear wheel gets a 240mm disc brake. The suspension set-up includes 41mm front telescopic forks with 200mm travel and monoshock at the rear, making the Himalayan the first Royal Enfield to get a monoshock. 

Optional accessories

Royal Enfield is promoting the Himalayan a proper tourer motorcycle and is offering a host of optional accessories to take care of the touring needs. The frame beside the fuel tank gets mounting points that can accommodate jerry cans for the additional petrol for those inaccessible regions. Then there are options of hard metal or soft panniers for the extra luggage on those long rides. Additionally, RE is offering waterproof bags that can be mounted on the bike and has a long list of protective riding gear as well.

Price and competition

Royal Enfield hasn't revealed the price of the Himalayan yet, but has started accepting bookings for the tourer motorcycle. In this mid-engine segment, currently there are no adventure tourer motorcycles and the Himalayan comes as a big step in the Indian motorcycling history. Especially, knowing that it is an adventure motorcycle manufactured in India and will in a way get rid of the enthusiast's reliance on imported motorcycles with poor spares availability. Hopefully, the Himalayan will pave a groundwork for manufacturers to consider building more such adventure motorcycles in India at an affordable price tag. We expect the Himalayan to cost around Rs 2 lakh when launched.