Finally, after years of testing, the all-new Royal Enfield Himalayan has been launched in India. This is a brand new motorcycle, and also the brands most advanced motorcycle to go on sale till date. The new Royal Enfield Himalayan, or Himalayan 450 or Himalayan 452, whatever you would like to call it, has been priced at INR 2.69 lakh ex-showroom for the base variant.
Royal Enfield will introduce a total of 5 colour options at launch, for the new Himalayan. Kaza Brown, Slate Himalayan Salt, Slate Poppy Blue, Hanle Black & Kamet White are the paint options. Base, pass & summit are the variants to go on sale. Expect Royal Enfield to introduce more colours and more variants with time, as they do with each of their product. Royal Enfield will also launch plenty of officially tested accessories through their Make-It-Yours customisation platform.
The base Kaza Brown variant asks for INR 2.69 lakh, the Pass variants in the Slate colour schemes ask for INR 2.74 lakh while the top spec Kamet White demands INR 2.79 lakh. The most expensive of the lot is the Hanle Black paint scheme priced at INR 2.84 lakh ex-showroom. These prices for the new Himalayan are introductory and the pricing will be hiked after 31st December, 2023.
Effective pricing compared to the old Himalayan has now increased by a little over INR 50,000
The heart of the motorcycle is what makes this bike the most advanced Royal Enfield ever. The new Himalayan comes with a single-cylinder, 452cc, DOHC, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, 4-valve engine which pumps out 40.02 PS of peak power and 40 Nm of peak torque coupled to a 6-speed gearbox with a slipper assist clutch. Modern features for the motor also include ride-by-wire tech which has enabled Eco & Performance riding modes; and ABS can be switched off from the rear wheel in both of these modes. This fuel-injected motor on the new Himalayan is not only more powerful than the old Himalayan 411, but also lighter even with the new tech. However, in terms of performance, the KTM 390 Adventure still stands tall, thanks to more power and lighter weight.
The new Royal Enfield Himalayan rides on a twin-spar steel tubular chassis with the engine as a stressed member. You get a 43mm USD front fork and linkage type rear monoshock which enables 200mm of travel at both ends. The kerb weight of the new Royal Enfield Himalayan is 196 kg, so it is not really a light motorcycle, But it has 17 litres of tank capacity, which would be very useful for touring.
Seat height is manually adjustable from 805mm till 845mm, which will be appreciated by owners. At the front you get a 21″ front wheel and a 17″ rim at the back. Standard kit offers you old school spoked wheels, so punctures will be a problem. However, Royal Enfield will also launch tubeless spoke wheels at a premium price, for your peace of mind. Switchable dual channel ABS is standard, but there’s no traction control or cornering ABS.
