Just when we thought Royal Enfield was about to share all the details of the new Himalayan 452 adventure bike, we see… well, we see what the new bike looks like. And that’s it.
This week, Royal Enfield officially showed off the worst-kept secret in India’s moto industry via Instagram:
It’s a significant update to the bike’s looks, almost like the original air-cooled Himalayan had a baby with a Suzuki V-Strom—at least, from this angle that’s kind of what it looks like. But most people were never too fussed about upgrading the original machine’s visuals. They wanted a better engine and better suspension.
The good news is, those should both be included in the new model.Leaked regulatory paperworkindicates the new machine should make roughly 40 hp at 8,000 rpm. That would give the new liquid-cooled single about 16 more hp than the old air-cooled Himi, which only made about 24 hp at 6,500 rpm.
The same paperwork also indicates the new bike should be somewhat larger than the previous model, and judging from the spy photos we’ve seen, it looks like the new Himalayan will have improved suspension as well.
Increased competition
When the original Himalayan debuted, there wasn’t much competition in India in the 400 ADV bike category. Now, KTM has the 390 Adventure, BMW has the G310 GS, Yezdi has the新利18苹果and Triumph has the Scrambler 400 X. It was definitely time for Royal Enfield to up its game.
While those other machines and the OG Himalayan might carry respect in their home market, they’re often sold to western buyers as entry-level machines. It will be most interesting to see if Royal Enfield takes the same tack with the new 452 model, or if it will be more aggressive in its marketeering, playing up its more modern design. There is certainly space for more simple single-cylinder motorcycles at affordable pricing, and if Royal Enfield could bring out a modern competitor to the Suzuki DR-Z400, not to mention the current crop of Japanese 300s, then it could have very popular machine indeed.
