The Himalayan comes with a five-speed gearbox and a 411 cc air-cooled, single-cylinder engine engine which produces 24.5 bhp at 6,500 rpm. The Himalayan is a new model and while it technically isn’t past the April 2016 deadline, it looks like the launch was a little too close for comfort for the Delhi government and the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Royal Enfield Himalayan is built with a simple objective to redefine adventure touring in India. The 220 mm ground clearance ensures it gobbles up obstacles comfortably be it in the Himalayas, rocky river beds or at stream crossings.
Advertisement
When Royal Enfield released the bike’s details yesterday (link), they also provided the on-road prices of the bike in various cities, including Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and Navi Mumbai. We hope to get a lot of adventure bikers through this. According to Siddhartha Lal, managing director and CEO, Eicher Motors – which owns the Royal Enfield brand – the company has created a new segment of adventure tourer in India. “We will have to wait and see if it is adopted very quickly or gradually picks up”, said Eicher Motors MD and CEO Siddhartha Lal. In fact, the company claimed, its extremely capable off-road capabilities make the bike adept for riding through potholed urban jungles as it does for treacherous mountain trails. Bookings across all Royal Enfield dealerships will begin in a phased manner from tomorrow. The bike comes with special parts whose sole objective is to make the ride as comfortable as possible. Experts reveal that if the Himalayan was launched as a BSIV compliant bike, its on-road price would have crossed INR 2 lakh mark easily.
Advertisement
“What excites me about our new motorcycle”, said Rudratej (Rudy) Singh, president, Royal Enfield, “is that it fundamentally builds on the core philosophy of balancing aspiration with access”. The bike is priced at Rs.1.55 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai). With over 50 per cent growth every year for the last 5 years, it has been ramping up its capacity at its Chennai plant.
