Royal Enfield Himalayan launched; priced at Rs. 1.55 lakh

India's home grown adventure tourer has been officially launched and Royal Enfield has priced the Himalayan at Rs. 1,55,545/- (ex-showroom Maharashtra) with the on-road price in Mumbai falling just short of Rs. 1.80 lakh. The Himalayan is an all-new bike built new from the ground up and will target lifestyle buyers and city users alike. Given below is all the information on Royal Enfield's first crack at the adventure tourer segment:

Chassis:

Built as a minimalistic and relatively lightweight adventure tourer, the Himalayan uses a half-duplex split cradle frame and gets a set of 41 mm front forks with 200 mm of travel. As a Royal Enfield first, suspension duties at the rear are taken care of by a linkage-type monoshock with 180 mm of wheel travel. 

The chassis design has been handled by Harris Performance and unlike most adventure tourers, the bike has been made keeping riders of an average height in mind and while the ground clearance comes in at 220 mm, the seat height stands at 800 mm and the Himalayan tips the scales at 182 kg.

Powertrain:

Royal Enfield's new overhead cam unit with an oil-cooler has been labelled the LS410 (long stroke 410) engine. The 411cc, SOHC motor on the Himalayan has 2 valves, with a bore x stroke equation of 78 mm x 86 mm. As the name suggests, this is a long stroke engine designed for good low-end torque delivery. The engine delivers 32 Nm of torque @ 4,000 - 4,500 rpm and a moderate 24.5 BHP @ 6,500 rpm. The engine sports a 3-piece construction crank shaft and a counter balancer to manage the notorious vibrations traditionally associated with a Royal Enfield, though that's a judgement best made after an actual ride.

Fuel is fed through a carburettor that has been designed to function at altitudes of up to 12,000 ft above sea level. A fuel-injected variant may be introduced at a later stage. Transmission to the rear wheel is through a 5-speed manual gearbox. The engine gets a 10,000 km oil change interval and a 25,000 km spark plug change interval. The engine is said to be capable of offering a touring range of 450 km from its 15-litre fuel tank.

One brow raising factor is the absence of a kick starter. However, the Himalayan can be pushed to life (even without a battery) should the electricals fail.

Brakes and tyres:

The Himalayan comes with Ceat tyres from the factory. It gets a 90/90 section tyre at the front with large 21-inch spoke-wheel, while at the rear, we see a 120/90 section tyre wrapped around a 17-inch spoke-wheel. 

Stopping power comes from dual disc brakes - a 300 mm disc up front with a 2-piston Bybre caliper and a 240 mm disc at the rear with a single piston Bybre caliper. The brakes can support ABS, but Royal Enfield isn't offering the option just yet.

Utility and features:

The Himalayan gets a new analogue-digital mix instrument cluster. Analogue dials for the speedometer, tachometer and fuel gauge are combined with a digital compass, and an MID which displays data such as the temperature, time, odometer and two trip meters.

The Himalayan also gets provisions to mount Rotopax-style fuel-canisters at the front and hard/soft panniers at the rear. The Himalayan also gets an adjustable windshield visor and silver sump guard, though it remains to be seen what equipment the bike gets as standard.

Colour options:

There are two colour options available - Granite and Snow.

Rider gear:

Royal Enfield has also launched purpose-built protective riding gear. The range includes the 4-season Royal Enfield Darcha riding suit made in collaboration with REV’IT; touring jackets and trousers with Cordura, protective armour, removable thermal liners and breathable waterproof lining. The collection also has riding gloves, riding trousers and riding boots.

Prices:

The Royal Enfield Himalayan will be available in Bangalore for Rs. 1,84,316/- (on-road), in Kolkata for Rs. 1,81,517/- (on-road), in Chennai for Rs. 1,75,840/- (on-road), in Hyderabad for Rs. 1,76,580/- (on-road), in Pune for Rs. 1,70,362/- (on-road) and in Navi Mumbai for Rs. 1,71,065/- (on-road).