Royal Enfield enters adventure bike segment with Himalayan

Royal Enfield, which has been riding a success wave of demand for the past 18 months, today unveiled its first touring adventure motorcycle, the rugged Himalayan. Revealing the new product, Siddhartha Lal, MD and CEO Eicher Motors, said: "The Himalayan is the first grounds-up new Royal Enfield motorcycle since Eicher took over."

The Himalayan is a step up from the Royal Enfield Bullet 350 in that it is powered by an all-new overhead cam 411cc long-stroke engine which develops 24.5bhp and 32nm of torque. The motorcycle’s kerb weight is 182kg, lesser than the C350 despite it wearing the bits required for adventure riding. The riding gear is designed in collaboration with Dutch brand Revit. The monoshock suspension at the rear is a first for Royal Enfield and a must for this nature of motorcycle which has to tackle difficult terrain. According to Lal, the Himalayan is “purpose-built to take on the Himalayas but it is not extreme.”

The Himalayan comes with a comfortable, upright riding position. Keeping the average height of Indian riders in mind, Royal Enfield has built its new adventure bike to be accessible enough, yet giving it generous ground clearance.

The Himalayan comes with on and off-road tyres, and you find a larger 21-inch wheel in front, and a 120/90 x 17-inch unit at rear; both rims using wire spokes. Single rotor disc brakes are provided front (300mm) and rear (240mm).

Royal Enfield claims the Himalayan’s service interval is as long as 10,000km and that the motorcycle will deliver equally well on-road and off it.

Speaking to Autocar Professional, Rudratej Singh, president, Royal Enfield, said: “With products like the Continental GT and the Himayalan, Royal Enfield is trying to nudge more buyers into leisure motorcycling and also at the same time trying to remove the intimidating factor (about adventure biking) from the minds of people.”

Commenting on foreign growth market, Singh added, “ASEAN, Latin America and Europe will be our key focus areas for exports. We could be looking at China too, not as a country but certain key cities like Shanghai.”

The company, which has averaged monthly sales of 40,116 units during the April 2015-January 2016 period, is optimistic about speedier growth. “At present, Royal Enfield has less than 5 percent market share. This means there is a lots of headroom still for the brand to grow in India, even as we expand abroad,” said Siddhartha Lal.

The Himalayan will be officially launched in March this year.