RE Himalayan 450 Accessories - What To Buy, What To Skip?

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is among the most exciting new two-wheeler launches of 2023 and probably the most important ADV bike to make its debut this year. While bookings for the new RE bike have commenced and it will be officially launched at the Motoverse event on November 24 there are a bunch of accessories on offer. We take you through the various accessories available and which one makes sense. There are two kits on offer, the Adventure Kit and the Rally Kit. Let’s start with the Adventure Kit first. 

Adventure Kit

1, Headlight grill

To protect the headlight from debris and has been designed such that it doesn’t affect the light output of the LED headlight.

Acko Drive suggestion - Avoid. Because it’s homologated for off-road use only.

2, Engine guard

As the name suggests it will protect the engine during a crash and also will be helpful in reducing the impact on the bike. Designed in such a fashion that the rider can rest their legs on it.

Acko Drive suggestion - Buy. A very useful accessory to reduce damage on the bike in the event of a crash.

3, Aluminium Radiator & Sump Guard

Offers protection from debris damaging the radiator and also the engine sump.

Acko Drive suggestion - Buy. Stock Himalayan 450 gets a plastic guard for the radiator and the sump, but the aluminium unit can absorb bigger impacts and therefore safer.

4, Taller windscreen

The optional windscreen is 90 mm taller than the stock unit.

Acko Drive suggestion - Avoid. I am 5ft 10’ tall and during the ride myself and the other journalists hardly faced any buffeting.

5, Fog lights

The LED fog lights increase visibility in night and also as the name suggests is very useful in foggy conditions

Acko Drive suggestion - Buy. Since the stock LED headlight isn’t the best unit out there, the fog lamps will be very useful while riding at night. However, these units are undergoing homologation and will only be available in the second half of 2024.

6, Touring Seat

The foam density is slightly harder and Royal Enfield claims that this seat is 20 % comfier than the standard seat.

Acko Drive suggestion - Avoid. After clocking close to 300 km in a single during the media ride, I had no issues with the stock seat and hence feel the optional seats aren’t worth the extra moolah.

7, Soft luggage kit

The soft luggage kit in the Adventure Kit consists of the tank rail bags and a tank mounted bag. The combined capacity is 27 litres and the bags are waterproof.

Acko Drive suggestion - Buy. The best part is how seamlessly they fit on the bike, which means you can also carry a tail pack or use a bungee cord for additional luggage.

8, Aluminium Panniers & Top Box

The hard case panniers are not only sturdy but offer you 26 litres of storage space each. For added safety it has a lockable lid. The top box adds another 40 litres of volume and can easily accommodate a full face helmet.

Acko Drive suggestion - Need based. If you like to tour a lot and carry a lot of luggage, these cases are very handy. Also, if you have an older aluminium panniers from the Himalayan 411 all you need to do is buy the bracket and the same panniers can be fitted on the Himalayan 450.

Rally Kit

Apart from the Adventure Kit, the Himalayan 450 is also offered with a Rally Kit. Unlike the Adventure Kit, the Rally Kit will not be available immediately and the accessories will be launched in a phased manner, next year. The Himalayan 450 Rally Kit’s focus is to make the bike more adventure friendly and narrow with the accessories to take on the trails. The Rally Kit can’t be retrofitted on the stock Himalayan 450 owing to homologation rules and buyers will need to configure it via the Royal Enfield MIY (make it yours) section on the website.

1, Rally Handguard

The rally handguards use a 2-point mounting system and employ an aluminium spine to make it sturdy.

Acko Drive suggestion - Buy. The handguards not only offer protection while riding through trails but also ensures that your levers aren’t damaged in case of a fall.

2, Rally handlebar

This optional handlebar increases the height by a whopping 55 mm and is positioned 13 mm rearwards towards the rider. By removing a spacer, the handle bar height can also be dropped to 37 mm depending on the rider's comfort.

Acko Drive suggestion - Buy. I found the stock handlebar a bit too low while standing up on the motorcycle and this bar will make the riding experience off-road better.

3, Tubeless spoke wheels

The tubeless spoke wheels ensure that in the event of a puncture you can fix the puncture easily without having to remove the entire rim.

Acko Drive suggestion - Buy. This is one of the biggest highlights of the Himalayan 450 as you don’t want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere and undertake the tedious process of fixing a tube. However, the tubeless spoke wheels will not go on sale immediately in India as they are undergoing certification.

4, Rally exhaust

The aftermarket exhaust has been developed by Arrow and while there is no performance gain, it’s 1 kg lighter than the standard exhaust.

Acko Drive suggestion - Not available. The rally exhaust looks cool and we are sure it will sound awesome as well but due to BS6 regulations they aren’t road legal.

5, Rally gear lever

The optional gear lever features a folding mechanism that ensures that the gear lever doesn’t snap off in a crash and it’s also adjustable to improve ergonomics.

Acko Drive suggestion - Need based. If you’re into hardcore off-road riding or like to tour extensively it makes sense if you have an unfortunate fall.

Note - The Rally Kit engine guard, seat and the rally soft pannier kit is exclusive to the variant as the mounting points are different and they come as a factory fitment and can’t be retro-fitted.