Climb Every Mountain
Royal Enfield's Himalayan
John Newman
In India, 'spy' cameras have been pointing in the direction of Royal Enfield's newest bike, which is set to launch there at the beginning of February. It's the 'Himalayan', a trail-bike-type tourer with some off-road pretensions to match the name of the world's most well-known mountain range.
It's the first new model since the (re)launch of the Continental GT in 2013, and an example of Enfield's intention to become a more prominent player in the world market – Enfield has already established a research and development facility at Bruntingthorpe, in Leicestershire, using the well-honed expertise of Harris Performance.
The bike is powered by a 410cc single-cylinder engine, said to churn out 28bhp. And, in a first for Enfield, it has overhead cams instead of the push rods the company has used for many years. The engine also has a counter-balance shaft to smooth out vibration and provide a more free-revving unit.
A new swinging arm has been designed for this bike and - in another first- it will be equipped with a single monoshock rear suspension unit; disc brakes with steel braided lines; and conventional indicators, mirrors, bars that we're used to seeing on production bikes of this type. Plus the large silver and black panniers beloved by 'adventure' bike riders.
It will be on sale, initially in India, at the equivalent price of around £1900 (using the current exchange rate). Whether the bike will reach the UK and Europe is not certain at the moment. It's a crowded market already, but if the price is right there may be Enfield fans who forgive it for ditching push rods and others who are looking for a rugged alternative.
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Comments
20/01/16 Its nice to see a smaller cc 'trail' style bike on the market . Look forward to seeing them over here ( hopefully if we get them in the UK)
20/01/16 I quite like it on the face of it, though I am a little biased as I have owned a Bullet 500, though I replaced it with a Kawasaki W800 as the bullet was frankly painfully slow. But, I think for genuine global adventures where you just want to potter along with something that you can fix with a hammer, this has got potential, plus I love the utilitarian styling!
20/01/16 Good luck to 'em! Just the sort of thing you need for India and if its priced right it could do well in the UK too
20/01/16 More bikes from more manufacturers at lower prices can only be good so I hope it is successful. But personally I'd rather have an XT
20/01/16 looks really good, and the fuel consumption should be pretty good according to form
20/01/16 The old Enfield lives on! great to see
20/01/16 Great idea.
21/01/16 Always hear stories of guys riding India on Royals.
23/01/16 Will the electrics withstand English weather and will the cycle parts be up to our salted winter roads?
23/01/16 The Japanese seem to have stopped making cheap(ish) fun small trail bikes like XLs XTs DRs etc. Maybe India can fill this gap in the market
23/01/16 On rough trails, will it leave it's own trail of nuts and bolts? Enfields have a certain reputation for "charecter"
23/01/16 I can't help but laugh at this ego killer for all the Ewan & Charlie wannabes. I'd put good money on it being a better adventure bike than the jacked up tourers everyone and their dog has these days. Hope it comes to the UK
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