Royal Enfield Himalayan 650 spied for the first time

The Himalayan 650 could be positioned as a long-distance tourer rather than a hardcore off-roader.

The Royal Enfield Himalayan with a 650cc twin-cylinder engine has been spotted testing for the first time. The heavily camouflaged prototype was snapped on the streets of Chennai near the Royal Enfield factory.

At first glance, the bike looks like any other ADV. It has a narrow front fascia with fairings on either side, a 2-piece seat and a narrow tail section. But that’s where the similarities between the existing Himalayan 450 and the new twin-cylinder version end.

The Himalayan 650 is expected to use the same 650cc parallel-twin engine from the Interceptor. This unit produces 47 BHP and 52 Nm. The test bike has an upswept exhaust that looks similar to the Himalayan 450 but probably has a different header.

Coming to the suspension, the Himalayan 650 prototype is equipped with an upside-down fork at the front and a monoshock at the rear. Royal Enfield has clearly beefed up the brakes. As you can see, the prototype has dual petal-type discs at the front.

The Himalayan 650 could be positioned as a long-distance tourer rather than a hardcore off-roader. It will most certainly be more expensive than the Himalayan 450.

Source: @motorbeam