The wait is officially over! Royal Enfield is finally launching its much anticipated Himalayan 450 tomorrow at its MotoVerse Biking festival, which used to be known as Rider Mania. Interestingly, the Himalayan 450 is just called the “Royal Enfield Himalayan” but it’s better to use the segment the bike belongs to, that is, 450 at the end to differentiate it from the ongoing Himalayan 411.
Anyways the new Himalayan 450 brings a series of upgrades over its predecessor Himalayan 411 and the most obvious is the engine. The new model features the brand’s first liquid-cooled engine with DOHC architecture and a 4-valve head and the engine is given the name “Sherpa 450”. This unit produces 40 HP of power at 8,000 RPM and 40 Nm of Torque at 5,500 RPM, making it not only powerful but also the torquiest Indian single-cylinder engine. The new engine is paired with a 6-speed gearbox with a slip-assist clutch.
The new Himalayan comes equipped with a colour TFT dash, which is a first in any of the Royal Enfield models that also supports Bluetooth connectivity. The bike retains the same signature round headlamp but is now a lot sleeker and has a more modern look compared to its predecessor. The bike looks very similar to Hero’s Xpulse, to be honest, with rumours saying the new Himalayan’s design is inspired by the smaller Xpulse, a capable ADV bike in its own right. Anyways, you can take a at the other specs and features of the bike here.
The New Himalayan will also get some new additional accessories such as a tank bag, a top box which has a capacity of 40 litres, and metal panniers with capacity of 26 litres each. These set of equipments are the same used on Himalayan 411, so those already own the bike are in luck, however the mounting rails will be different so those will have to be bought separately. Royal Enfield will also sell a soft luggage for those who don’t prefer the big metal boxes. Other accessories include – a set of touring mirrors, a 90 mm taller windscreen, a better-padded touring seat, a set of engine guards, a headlight grille, handgaurds that are reinforced with an alumunium spine and more.
Recently we also tried to guess the price of the upcoming Himalayan and expect the pricing to be around Rs 2.60 lakh (ex-showroom). The price will also be announced officially tomorrow evening. Talking about Rivals, the Himalayan 450, will be competing against the likes of the KTM 390 Adventure SW, Triumph Scrambler 400 X and BMW G 310 GS, with BMW seeming the least powerful of the group here due to having a relatively smaller capacity engine.
