Royal Enfield has released a few videos of the upcoming Himalayan on its official website, and from the looks of it, the Royal Enfield Himalayan seems to be a promising off-road motorcycle in the middleweight space.
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In one of the videos, CS Santosh - the only Indian to participate and finish the Dakar rally - is seen testing and commenting on his experience riding India's first potent dual purpose machine at Big Rock Motopark, Kolar, Karnataka. In the video, you can see CS Santosh riding the Himalayan on a terrain he is most comfortable riding on, and seems quite pleased with the performance of the Himalayan.
"I was surprised because I think it (the RE Himalayan) felt natural to be off-road as well. Just the way it was sitting between my legs it felt good because I've been used to rally bikes and it didn't feel strange at all. For a common man, it will not be intimidating at all. The power is there but it's not gonna be aggressive," said Santhosh.
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Although there's been no confirmation of the specs yet, the Royal Enfield Himalayan will be powered by a 410cc, single-cylinder, oil-cooled motorcycle producing around 25bhp of power and 32Nm of torque. It will also have overhead cams instead of the usual push rods, and a counter balancer too, to make it a refined mill. The RE Himalayan is expected to be a free revving machine with torque and power peaking in the mid-range.
Royal Enfield's big boss Siddhartha Lal has also written a promo piece on the RE Himalayan. And he has revealed a lot on the upcoming bike; information like Royal Enfield Himalayan will go 10,000kms before needing an 'oil change'. The Royal Enfield Himalayan also provides more usable torque at lower rpms - a trait typical to Royal Enfield. He has also gone ahead and said that the Himalayan stays very oriented and planted at a race track as well which says a lot about its on-road abilities.
The seating position is perfect for the riders to stand on footpegs to tackle off-road terrain. The front forks have more than sufficient travel which should make this bike negotiate any terrain effortlessly. What's also a departure from other Royal Enfield motorcycles is a big 21-inch front wheel (traditionally Royal Enfield motorcycles have always had a 19-inch front wheel, except the first generation Classic 500s which came kitted out with a 17-inch front wheel).
The Royal Enfield Himalayan is expected to be unveiled on February 2, 2016 in New Delhi. We aren't sure if it's an official launch or just an unveil of this adventure tourer. But we're all eyes and ears. Can't wait to see the Royal Enfield Himalayan up close, and in the flesh. Of course, we're hoping to have a first ride review up as soon as we get to get astride one. So, keep watching this space.
