The Royal Enfield Himalayan is an adventure touring motorcycle manufactured by Royal Enfield. It was revealed in February 2015 and launched in early 2016. Pierre Terblanche led the design team during Himalayan’s development.
The Himalayan was conceived by CEO Siddhartha Lal, as an adventure touring, or dual sport motorcycle. The Himalayan differs considerably from the other motorcycles offered by Royal Enfield – most of which are various incarnations of the Bullet utilising the same frame and engine – in terms of its chassis and powertrain. Pierre Terblanche, formerly of Ducati and Moto Guzzi among other companies, headed Royal Enfield’s design team during development of the Himalayan.
An early prototype was made in mid-2014, followed by a more complete version in 2015. The vehicle was released in India in early 2016, followed by a release in international markets such as Philippines, Australia and the United Kingdom later that year. Both domestic and export model now gets Electronic Fuel Injection and ABS as standard.
The 2021 model got significant upgrades like tripper navigation powered by Google maps (same unit offered in new meteor 350) and redesigned Jerry can Holder.
The Himalayan’s engine was designed and produced by Royal Enfield from the ground-up and shares little to no parts with other contemporaries in the company’s line-up. The engine, named the LS410 indicating its long-stroke ratio, is a unit-construction 411 cc single-cylinder, oil-cooled 4-stroke SOHC engine. The motor generates a power output of 24.5 bhp at 6,500 rpm (18.02 KW) and a maximum torque of 32 Nm at 4,000-4,500 rpm. The engine also includes an oil cooler, a first among motorcycles manufactured by Royal Enfield India. The bike employs electronic fuel injection and the engine is mated to a 5-speed constant mesh transmission.
This engine has a single overhead camshaft, thereby moving away from the traditional pushrod design that had been used by the company from 1955, starting with the original Bullet up to the contemporary Classic series.
