Ten Things You Must Know About the Royal Enfield Himalayan

Royal Enfield has finally rolled out the much-awaited Himalayan with a very attractive price tag of Rs. 1.55 lac (ex-showroom, Maharashtra). The bike is very promising and at that  price tag seems excellent value for money as well. The Himalayan is an adventure tourer and has a  very practical design. Its appearance is straight forward and makes no pretence about its intentions. It has features that don’t just aid in touring but also capable enough to take on some adventure duties. Of course, it doesn't look like any other Royal Enfield motorcycle and the riding experience is also pretty much different than the other RE’s that one is  used to. So, let's check out ten such things that you must know about the new Royal Enfield Himalayan.

1) Highly Durable Frame: The Himalayan has been designed to be ridden on any kind of terrain, so it has been assembled on a very durable half-duplex split cradle frame. The frame is robotically welded for higher precision and strength, and it has been geometrized to keep the rider closer to the motorcycle's center helping the rider with responsive handling in any riding condition. 

2) High Ground Clearance and Upswept Exhaust: The bike has a ground clearance of 220mm which is largest among any Indian motorcycle which means, going over steep off road bits and rocks is not a hurdle anymore. The bike has a high-placed, angular up-swept exhaust providing it a water wading ability of up to 600mm, so you can cross water bodies without any drama.

3) Long Travel Suspension: Taking inputs from the UK based Harris Performance, Royal Enfield has used a completely new long travel suspension set-up in the Himalayan to match up with the requirements of its riding ability. The front gets 41 telescopic forks while the company has used a monoshock suspension with linkage  at the rear for the first time. Incorporated with a high ground clearance of 220mm, the set-up helps to ride fast over rough terrain and makes it the best handling Royal Enfield till date. 

4) Progressive Braking: Royal Enfield have used a Bybre disc brake set-up on both the front and rear wheel of the Himalayan and it works quite well. The front disc is 300mm while the rear is 240mm offering a good bite than any other Royal Enfield motorcycle and gives a progressive feel which inspires confidence.

5) High Endurance OHC Engine: The Himalayan is powered by an all new LS410 engine that is totally different than the other OHV (Overhead Valve) engines of Royal Enfield. Yes, it is an OHC (Overhead Camshaft) engine that is much advanced and light as well. It is also a torquey long-stroke motor like other RE engines, however, it has a much linear delivery and misses on the thump as well.  The high endurance engine has an oil-changing interval of 10,000kms and it is capable of performing in a very wide temperature range. It gets a three-piece crankshaft with a counter balancer and the moving parts have also been kept to the minimum to reduce the unwanted vibrations.

6) Large Wheels and Dual Purpose Tyres: The Himalayan runs on large and durable spoke wheels, 17" at the rear and 21" up front that makes the bike capable of rolling over higher obstacles. The bike gets CEAT dual purpose tyres, which are specially designed to work across terrains and provide a confidence to go further. The Rear tyre size is 120/90 - R17 while the front one is 90/90 - R21.

7) Multi-Functional Instrument Cluster and High Mounted Headlamp: The multi-functional instrument cluster feeds the rider with quite a lot of information. The bike has a combination of analog and digital gauges along with tell-tale lights for service reminder, gear indicator, fuel level, battery condition. There is also a digital clock and a compass too. It also gets a high-intensity headlamp for better projection and spread of the light.

8) Comfortable Riding Posture (Seat, Handlebar and Foot Pegs): The Royal Enfield Himalayan has a seat height of just 800mm despite 220mm ground clearance and long travel suspension set-up. Shorter riders will appreciate  this  without struggling to place both their feet  on ground. The position of the footpegs and the handlebar with its comfortable seat ensures an upright riding posture to keep you fatigue-free during long rides. The wide handlebar ensures  you need to take lesser efforts to manoeuvre. The rider footpegs are specially designed to provide better foot grip, even the footpeg rubber is removable to get a better hold on a zig-zag pattern like a proper adventure or dirt bike.

9) Light and Powerful: The Himalayan is one of the lightest Royal Enfield motorcycles with a kerb weight of 182 kg and is powered by a new 411cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine. The motor produces 24.5bhp and delivers a peak torque of 32Nm between 4,000 to 4,500rpm. It provides good low-end and mid-range which is  perfectly suited both in the city and on the hills. The power is sufficient to effortlessly much miles  on the highway.

10) Luggage Mounting Points and Accessories: The Royal Enfield Himalayan has been designed inherently with luggage mounting points at both the front and the rear. So, you can mount any kind of luggage storage like hard cases, soft cases, top box or jerry cans easily on the bike to keep stuff for your long rides. The bike gives you freedom to tie any luggage bag on it, however, the company is also offering a set of hard metal panniers as the additional accessory. Each of the panniers can store around 20-25kg of stuff that means you can keep a total of 40-50kg with the set of two.

The Himalayan bundles all of the above in a brilliant package at a superb price. That then makes the Himalayan one of the most affordable and reliable adventure toruers in India that money can buy.