[TusharK]

Royal Enfield's UK Tech Centre has built a custom Himalayan with a turbocharged engine. It is called the MJR Roach.



The MJR Roach uses the same 411cc, single-cylinder engine from the Himalayan. However, it has been upgraded with a Garrett GT 125 turbocharger. Royal Enfield claims that the addition of a turbo has increased the power output from 24 BHP to 50 BHP.

The MJR Roach gets upside down fork suspension from the Continental GT at the front and an extended swing arm with a monoshock at the rear. The exhaust has also been shortened and the circular headlamp is replaced with a quad-projector setup. The bike rides on Continental TKC 80 tyres.

According to the company, the MJR Roach is inspired by video games and features a manga-style future military paintjob. It is said that the bike was built from spare parts and materials that were lying around in the Royal Enfield design studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VkR34CJYJQ

Link to Team-BHP News

[Paavan Shetty]

That is something interesting to watch out for future, in the motorcycle engine development.

3 years back I was doing my last year BTech and was part of my college FSAE Team. Before leaving, I had kickstarted the project of turbochargering our beloved KTM 390CC engine. The engine was sponsored to us by Bajaj Auto and in the subsequent year, looking at the potential of the turbo project Bajaj Auto agreed to help us with their engine dyno and test setup, which included cylinder pressure sensors to optimise cylinder filling and thus come out with the best possible boost pressure considering performance and reliability of the stock internals.

The gains were very appreciable, with the engine churning out 43bhp @ 8500rpm and 45Nm @ 6500rpm. Now these results are with a 20mm restrictor in place before the intake system starts, i.e before the compressor. The turbocharger used was Garrett GT06.

With a 20mm restrictor eating up a lot of power with the NA setup and we not being able to afford a 4 cylinder engine and neither getting it for sponsorship, took the bold decision to turbocharge that monster of an engine. It was highly risky because the KTM engine is already built to the extreme with its high compression ratio(12.8) and light weight (35kgs) design.

The final year car with the optimised turbo setup was a blast to drive. But after that our team reverted to participating in EV side of the competition due to increased industry demand.etc. But it was surely a project worth the efforts and our team (amongst the other student teams participating) was the only one in the country to have successfully turbocharged that engine, courtesy to the immense help provided by Bajaj Auto.

[Sutripta]

Wonder how cooling is being handled.

Sutripta

[srini1785]

^^

The engine fins become an ornament then. The bike will most likely be oil cooled. There was a related thread on adding a turbo charger to a Harley Davidson. It made some very interesting reading.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...low-883-a.html (Adding a turbo-charger to my Harley-Davidson Superlow 883)

[ashwinprakas]

After all the PR hype dies down and this Himalayan is forgotten obviously due to a lack of actual purpose, I'd like ya'll to have a look at Paul Henshaw's NA Royal Enfield Pushrod 500, churning out 47Bhp's at 8000 RPM.

Royal Enfield 500 racer on dyno, 47 BHP, 8000 RPM.

A stock 500cc pushrod rev's to about 5k RPM and makes peak output below that IIRC. RE enthusiasts maybe able to share more specifics.

Cheers,
A.P.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

After all the PR hype dies down and this Himalayan is forgotten obviously due to a lack of actual purpose, I'd like ya'll to have a look at Paul Henshaw's NA Royal Enfield Pushrod 500, churning out 47Bhp's at 8000 RPM.

Why does it lack an actual purpose? I dont follow.

[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

After all the PR hype dies down and this Himalayan is forgotten obviously due to a lack of actual purpose

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Why does it lack an actual purpose? I dont follow.

I don't see the point in a turbocharged 410 cc engine on the Himalayan.

- Himalayan is not a motorcycle which needs 50+ bhp of power.
- If at all Royal Enfield wants a higher powered Himalayan, they can always plonk the 650 twin cylinder on it.
- I wouldn't trust Royal Enfield to make a reliable turbocharged engine as of yet.

This may best be treated as a PR stunt. The title of the thread is a little misleading. The company didn't 'unveil' a new product as such. They have just showcased a one off product which their engineers have developed for the heck of it.

[neil.jericho]

Automotive companies developing one off products to showcase their abilities and gauge the market response is how the automotive industry works! Since we dont seem to be able to have popular international auto shows like EICMA for 2020, this is the best that companies can do in 2020.

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

I don't see the point in a turbocharged 410 cc engine on the Himalayan.

- Himalayan is not a motorcycle which needs 50+ bhp of power.

Just about everyone I know who has tested / owned it, feel like the Himalayan could do with a more powerful (maybe even A2 level i.e. 47 HP?) engine but at the same time, they dont want the weight to go up too much. The same sentiment has been echoed by journalists and owners in India and abroad.

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

- If at all Royal Enfield wants a higher powered Himalayan, they can always plonk the 650 twin cylinder on it.

From what I have heard, the 650 engine fit isnt straightforward and hence the rumours of a bigger engine in the Himalayan platform that is definitely not the 650 twin. Maybe a 500 odd cc single, I am just guessing here?

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

- I wouldn't trust Royal Enfield to make a reliable turbocharged engine as of yet.

Honestly, none of us trusted them to make a reliable twin engine prior to the Interceptor and GT 650 getting launched. And yet, here we are with multiple ownership review threads on the Team BHP forum and runaway sales in different markets around the world.

I do agree that unveil might not be the best word for the title, showcase is more appropriate. I will flag this for the mods to update accordingly.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Wonder how cooling is being handled.

Sutripta

Probably with a rich mixture and cooling periods between runs. Maybe a larger oil cooler. This bike must be a show bike that doesn't run for more than a few minutes at a time. So waiting for a few minutes for the engine to cool down should not be a problem.