New Royal Enfield Himalayan Is More Powerful, Lighter, And More Focused

Perhaps the most anticipated adventure motorcycle of the year has finally rocked up as Royal Enfield has shared all the details of the brand new Himalayan. Yep, it will continue to be called just the Himalayan, not the Himalayan 450 or Himalayan 452 as we thought it would have been earlier.

Starting with the heart itself, which is a brand new 452 cc single. Unlike traditional Royal Enfield single-cylinder mills so far though, this Sherpa 450 motor (Royal Enfield’s name for the engine) is a near square motor, the 84 mm bore outsizing the stroke by 2.5 mm, thus making it a departure from the usual long-stroke powerplants the company is known for. More so, it is liquid-cooled and has a six-speed gearbox with a slip-and-assist clutch.

Hence, you now have 39.5 bhp and 40 Nm at your disposal, 90 percent of the torque available from as low as 3000 rpm. That is a massive gain of 15.5 bhp and 8 Nm over the older 411LS mill. And supplementing the performance gains is the weight loss of 3 kg, which might not sound like a lot but there’s something to note here. The new Himalayan tips the scales at 196 kg with fluids, but sans fluids it is just 181 kg, which is quite a lot lighter than before.

Royal Enfield is providing a massive 17-litre fuel tank now, which is flared sideways. So, rest assured your stops for fuel on long journeys are going to be far lower.

You are perched higher now, though. The standard seat that you get with the bike is set at 825 mm and it can be raised to 845 mm if you wish to. There’s also a low seat option that drops the seat height to 805mm with adjustability available to also get it up to 825 mm.

And there’s a better view from the saddle, courtesy of the new 4-inch colour TFT dash that is loaded with data and smartphone connectivity features. In fact, Royal Enfield has upgraded its Tripper navigation module for the Himalayan, as it now provides a full-fledged Google Maps-enabled navigation system.

The Sherpa 450 mill is housed in a tubular steel twin-spar frame with a bolted-on rear subframe. This new chassis is suspended on a 43mm USD fork and linkage-type preload-adjustable monoshock, with wheel travel at both ends remaining 200 mm. Where it has become more serious, though, is with regards to ground clearance, which is 230 mm now. It is a long motorcycle as well, the 1510 mm wheelbase rivalling the likes of the Super Meteor 650.

Braking is handled by a 320 mm/270 mm front/rear disc brake setup with switchable ABS coming in as standard. The bike now rolls on a wider radial rear tyre of 140/80 - R17, while the front remains the same at 90/90 - 21.

The only missing piece of the puzzle of the new Himalayan remains the sticker price for which we will have to wait a fair bit. Royal Enfield is going to globally unveil the bike at EICMA 2023 but Indian prices are only likely to be shared come Motoverse 2023 (the new name for RE’s Rider Mania biking festival).

However, you will not have to wait for long for our first ride review video of the bike that will go live on November 10. Stay tuned.