Royal Enfield Himalayan launch on March 16, 2016

With the Himalayan, the Indian classic bike manufacturer boldly makes its way into the adventure bike segment.

Royal Enfield motorcycles are known for going rugged places, and these classic models are often found thumping their way slowly but steadily up the Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. So it’s only logical that Royal Enfield designs a motorcycle specifically to take on these same ‘pahaadi’ high passes. The Himalayan will be launched in the Indian market on March 16, 2016. 

Classic adventurer

Not the best kept of secrets, but the Royal Enfield Himalayan has been spied innumerable times with its distinctive adventure-bike styling standing out like a sore thumb. There’s something very Royal Enfield about the Himalayan, with styling that harks back to the adventure bike of the century gone by, than modern day. There’s a philosophy Royal Enfield has long subscribed to – recognising that serious Indian bike tourers often end up in obscure, inaccessible rural surroundings, where modern motorcycle servicing is no where to be found. However, when called upon to repair an Enfield, roadside mechanics in India will seldom shy away from the job, thanks to its simple, old-school engineering.

In the words of Siddhartha Lal, owner and visionary behind the revival of Royal Enfield: “We started with a clean sheet of paper to build a motorcycle that was as comfortable fording a rocky river as it was to crunch hundreds of highway miles; substantial enough to hold its line in high cross winds, and to carry a pillion and lots of luggage, but light enough to pick it up when it falls; simple enough to mend a broken part yourself (as a result of that previous fall!) or to start even if the battery is dead (seriously, you can push start it and put on your headlamp even if the battery is missing!).”

Practical pahaadi

You can see practicality written all over the Himalayan, a bike that has been built tough, with Royal Enfield telling us all excess flab has been shaved. There’s a front windscreen, easily readable instruments, the convenience of on-board luggage carrying capability and space to clip on fuel and water jerry cans, or even extra front-mounted panniers, all of which makes for good touring capability. The heft of the Himalayan engine counters its otherwise tall center of gravity and Royal Enfield has thought of the motorcycle's off-road prowess, deploying a longer, 15-litre capacity fuel tank that is slim enough to allow standing on the Himalayan foot pegs for better control when riding over the really rough stuff.
 

Hillbilly bike

The  new Royal Enfield single-cylinder engine is four-stroke, 411cc, 2-valve, long-stroke and air-cooled, with a carburettor in place. The Himalayan engine is designed to deliver a flat, easy to access torque curve, delivering 3.3kgm at 4,500rpm to supply the rider with ample power at low engine speed, without having to rev the motor hard. It’s a button-started powerplant with 24.5bhp of maximum power available at 6,500rpm. Royal Enfield claims reduced moving parts, with more use of modern materials, ensuring this will make a low-maintenance, efficient bike, that can go a full 10,000km between oil change intervals.

The Himalayan gearbox is five-speed, with a cable-fed clutch to back it up. Power is transferred to the rear wheel via a drive chain. The engine sounds unlike any Royal Enfield you ever heard, with quicker revving, and a quiet, yet pleasantly punchy note.

Cliffhanger

The Himalayan comes with a comfortable, upright riding position. Keeping the average height of Indians in mind, Royal Enfield has built its new adventure bike to be accessible enough, yet giving it generous ground clearance. A steel construction frame holds the new bike together, with 200mm travel 41mm telescopic suspension in front, and a monoshock, with linkage for improved damping in any conditions, supported by a steel fabricated swingarm at the rear. The Himalayan comes with on and off-road tyres, and you find a larger 21-inch wheel in front, and a 120/90 x 17-inch unit at rear; both rims using wire spokes. Single rotor disc brakes are provided front (300mm) and rear (240mm).

Royal Enfield tells us the Himalayan will deliver equally well on-road and off it, and we can’t wait to take it out for a test ride.

Rugged, comfortable and solidly built adventure bikes are perfectly suited to Indian roads, which are often as good as off-road. And one has to salute Royal Enfield for boldly plunging into a segement that most other manufacturers turned a blind eye to, save for Hero who pioneered the segment with the Impulse. Even KTM has failed to cash in on its rich off-road legacy, not bringing in a bike on these lines yet.

Luck favours the brave, so you can be sure the Himalayan will pay Royal Enfield handsome dividends when it launches on March 16, 2016, in addition to cementing their position in a market space set to take off and soar as high as the mountains.

Courtesy : Autocar