Jul 29, 2016 09:26 PM
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The Himalayan is one of those motorcycles that are designed for a specific purpose. And Royal Enfield has ensured the bike does that by perfecting every element. It provides great confidence to open the throttle wide be it in pouring rain, on non-existent roads or even on snow. With adventure touring gaining popularity rapidly, bikers in the country have yearned for a purpose built motorcycle that does not cost a bomb. The Himalayan is a simple motorcycle that knows its job well and does it with aplomb. And at just Rs 1.55 lakh ex-showroom Mumbai it is accessible to an array of motorcyclists.
Royal En field Himalayan is among of those Few motorcycles launched in recent times and they would have been as highly anticipated as the Royal En field Himalayan . It is the country's first purpose built adventure toured, not to mention, the first all-new Royal En-field in the longest time. Each year thousands of bikers flock to the Himalayas, mostly on a Royal En field in search of the solace that we all look for on a motorcycle, and the Himalayan makes a lot of sense in that regards.
It's minimalist approach in terms of the design works well. The simple round headlight, tall windscreen and round mirrors look slightly dated but are certainly functional. The seat is nicely scooped and very comfortable even after 3-4 hours of continuous riding. The mounts for the hard panniers(available as optional accessories) are a well-executed job, and so are the mounts for the Jerry cans on both sides of the fuel tank. The LED tail light does its job well while looking nice, and sits under a large metal grab rail that also doubles up as a mount for a tail bag. A 21-inch front wheel and a 17-inch rear give the bike's side profile a like-able appearance. The up swept exhaust looks sporty and works well in not letting water get in when crossing water streams. IT has latest and a lot of equipment too like a digital gear indicator, two trip-meters, average speed display, side-stand indicator, clock, temperature gauge and a compass apart from the speedometer, tachometer and fuel gauge.
The Himalayan uses a mono-shock at the back, a first for a Royal Enfield. The way it performs its duty is commendable in terms of aiding handling and offer a plush ride as well, with 180mm of travel. The Himalayan is meant to ply on all sorts of terrain - super smooth tarmac, dirt, broken roads, non-existent roads and more. The suspension has been tuned to do it all, and 41mm front forks(offering 200mm travel) in conjunction with the mono-shock make for a plush ride. Coming to handling, the Himalayan is easily the best handling Royal Enfield. Due credit goes to the well-sorted chassis developed by the folks at Harris Performance in the UK, the well-perfected suspension setup and dual purpose Ceat tyres. The tyres work brilliantly be it on tarmac or off it. The bike also feels extremely flickable from one side to the other, and feels light, nimble and surefooted.The brakes work well too, especially the front, providing ample confidence to grab a handful of the lever irrespective even on wet tarmac in pouring rain. The rear brake could have offered more feel though. The bottom line is that Royal Enfield wanted to offer a motorcycle that would give the confidence to go anywhere, and the bike has been tested extensively in the Himalayas, on highways and even by CS Santosh, India's only Dakar competitor and returnee.
