All new Royal Enfield Himalayan unveiled at Eicma 2023

The new Royal Enfield Himalayan will be launched in India before the end of this year, and will subsequently be available across other regions. Royal Enfield has a long association with the Himalayas, which has been the brand’s spiritual home and creative inspiration.

Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director, Eicher Motors Ltd., said “At Royal Enfield, we have a deep connection with the Himalayas for over 60 years, and that led us to make the first Himalayan in 2016. We had great feedback for a purpose-built adventure tourer, and that gave us a lot of courage to go in for an absolutely new Himalayan. This motorcycle is ground-up with the all-new Sherpa 450, watercooled engine, a 6-speed gearbox, and is absolutely purpose made for the Himalayas. It has a single purpose; to do superbly well in unpredictable terrain and weather conditions that the Himalayas throw at it. We’ve designed this motorcycle to be the absolute best in the world to do that job. We've developed the chassis and the ergonomics to make it great for adventure touring. It is ‘the one’ motorcycle that you will need for any purpose, anywhere in the world; because if it can traverse the Himalayas, it can traverse anything in the world”

The motorcycle has been tested and developed by explorers, globetrotters, experts and riders of all abilities across a huge range of conditions, both in adventure trips around wild landscapes and in controlled testing centres in the UK, Spain and in India. This testing program has resulted in a truly versatile motorcycle that is ready for anything and puts a smile on the face of every rider, whatever their ability level.

The new, more powerful Sherpa 450 motor gives useful improvement to highway riding as well as maintaining better performance at high altitude. The new motorcycle has more ground clearance to avoid getting beached off-road and a clear, simple navigation system to remove the need for a separate GPS unit on the handlebars. The new Himalayan has more power and torque and gives excellent low-rpm performance and stays true to the Royal Enfield character. With maximum power of 40.02PS at 8000rpm, and a maximum torque of 40Nm at 5500rpm the new 452cc Sherpa engine makes 90% of its torque from 3,000rpm upwards giving a tractable power delivery without needing to be revved to the moon to go anywhere. This characteristic is most helpful when climbing slippery slopes, allowing the Himalayan to find traction where others will spin. The performance combined with the torque delivery also allows comfortable two-up riding along with luggage.

The new engine features a semi-dry sump design to maximise ground clearance and allow compact packaging. As Royal Enfield’s first liquid-cooled engine, it uses an integrated water pump and twin-pass radiator setup for optimum cooling, crucial when riding technical terrain at high altitude, something this motorcycle is fully intended for. A new six-speed gearbox means greater flexibility of ratios and better highway cruising. This drives through a new, cable actuated slip and assist clutch giving a lighter clutch action and longer clutch life.

The new Himalayan has higher ground clearance and long travel suspension which let you tackle more technical terrain without catching the chassis on the floor. An all-new steel twin-spar frame has been designed to give these benefits in an offroad situation, without making the Himalayan too tall or intimidating. The new frame is stiffer and stronger improving cornering performance and stability. The chassis includes a new Showa, cartridge-type inverted fork, designed to work across a wide range of conditions from smooth roads to rocky river beds. The Himalayan retains the proven 21” front / 17” rear wheel combination, with newly developed aluminium alloy rims and bespoke tyres for superior grip, confidence inspiring handling and stability in both on and off road conditions. Additionally, the wider 140/80 rear tyre offers better traction and more confidence on tarmac or off-road conditions.

Ergonomics designed for explorers.

With the new chassis and compact engine came the opportunity to improve rider ergonomics, particularly when riding in a standing position. The new motorcycle is narrower between the legs, allowing better control standing up and making it easier to get feet firmly on the floor when sitting. The rear section of the new 17-litre fuel tank has been slimmed down to give a more comfortable knee-recess when riding. The split type rider and pillion seat allows the rider seat to be adjusted up by 20mm. In addition to the standard seat, there is a low-seat available as an option. Between the standard and the optional low seat, the rider gets a wide range between 805mm, all the way to 845mm seat height. This, combined with the narrower frame and tank equates to better ground access. Both the rider and the pillion seats, as well as the seating triangle have been designed to offer maximum comfort for long hours on the saddle, on or off the road.

Introducing the TripperDash - your adventure ally

Taking from the brief of ‘everything you need, and nothing you don’t’, the technology that made the cut on the new Himalayan is all there for one purpose - to improve the experience for the rider. First and most prominent is the new TripperDash. The classic round shape has a number of innovative features for the rider, with options to switch from a traditional analogue style to a digital layout. The new TripperDash offers the world’s first full map navigation on a circular display built with Google Maps platform with audio guidance in more than 130 languages. The joystick controller on the left-hand switch allows you to control the cluster as well as music, calls and messages as part of the mobile connectivity. Riders can choose between Performance and Eco ride modes, altering the throttle response through the new ride-by-wire setup. Rear ABS can be disabled for a more engaging off-road ride experience.

ROYAL ENFIELD PRESENTS THE ELECTRIC HIMALAYAN TESTBED AT EICMA

Royal Enfield unveiled its first ever electric vehicle design concept today at the EICMA Motor Show 2023, here in Milan, Italy. Inspired by its pursuit of pure motorcycling, and by the design of the original Himalayan, the Royal Enfield Electric Himalayan Testbed is a new expression of sustainable exploration for the future and an imaginative rendition of what a Royal Enfield electric adventure tourer could look like.

Speaking about the purpose behind this project, B Govindarajan, CEO of Royal Enfield noted, “At Royal Enfield, our Electric Mobility team is powered by the objective of preserving the quintessential Royal Enfield DNA, and extending that into our creative ideas and designs for electric motorcycles as well. This Electric Himalayan concept motorcycle is an outcome of this pursuit, as purpose and innovation meet distinct Royal Enfield design and character. This motorcycle is only just a part of a much bigger sustainable ecosystem of exploration and adventure that we are working on in the Himalayas. From green charging pit-stops, to our responsible travel initiative, from creating self-sustaining communities to collaboration with UNESCO to preserve the intangible cultural heritage of the Himalayan region, there are a lot of initiatives we are passionately driving”

Speaking about the design and the inspiration behind this project, Mario Alvisi, Chief growth Officer - EV, Royal Enfield, pointed out, “When we started this project, we were keen to create something that would be a guiding light for long term sustainable travel in the Himalayas. More than building a motorcycle for regulations or directive, we saw this as an opportunity to create something unique and to inspire future generations. What began as a capability exercise for our teams, is now this electric adventure motorcycle we are very proud of; a new expression of our love for adventure and the mountains. The Electric Himalayan Testbed is much more than a design concept. For us, this is our vision and a glimpse of what to expect from us in the future. There is a much larger electric mobility blueprint that is being brought alive at Royal Enfield as we continue to work on multiple ‘electrifying’ expressions of pure motorcycling”.