With Himalayan 450 Rally Version spied testing, Royal Enfield can target buyers looking for more off-road-worthy hardware with their bike
With the launch of Himalayan 411, Royal Enfield forayed into the adventure off-roader genre for the first time. The company has been a staple name with off-road community in India and abroad. Now, Royal Enfield is carving out a more serious off-road machine based on Himalayan 450 as suggested by recent spy shots. Let’s take a look.
Himalayan 450 Rally Version Spied
As seen with the recent spy shots, Royal Enfield is testing a new version of Himalayan 450 and is set up for off-roading. The most obvious give-away is the Rally lettering on rear subframe body panels suggesting that it is more special than standard Himalayan 450.
By offering Himalayan 450 Rally version, Royal Enfield aims to cater to off-road fanatics who looked at standard bike as more of a tourer. These off-road enthusiasts crave more off-road-worthy hardware in their motorcycles helping them go places they couldn’t before, in reasonable comfort.
The recent spy shots show a new exhaust setup, which is more substantial than standard bike. Also, this new exhaust is up-swept in design, which should allow for better water-wading ability than the stock bike’s exhaust unit. Front and rear tyres seem to be different than the Ceat ones offered with stock bike.
Other than these changes, we can’t see anything else from what these limited spy shots show. But we can expect Royal Enfield to incorporate fully adjustable front and rear suspension setup, handlebar risers and knuckle guards, as part of its Rally package.
We couldn’t help but compare the newly spied vehicle in India with the motorcycle that did runs in Swank Rally In Sardinia piloted by Salvatore Di Benedetto. Especially with the rear subframe panel with Rally lettering and shape of exhaust canister are concerned. With Himalayan 450 Rally version, we can expect more performance or re-worked engine mapping.
What to expect?
With the launch of Himalayan 450, Royal Enfield laid more emphasis on touring rather than off-roading. It is heavier than Himalayan 411 and has a lot more tech and features catering to touring needs. It has tank cage, subframe mounts and a rear luggage mount which is beneficial for touring.
For off-roading, one would want a lighter machine with fully adjustable suspension at the front and rear and an up-swept exhaust for better water-wading ability. Royal Enfield might be trying out this formula. The 452cc liquid-cooled engine with 40 bhp and 40 Nm, 6-speed gearbox, 5-inch TFT Tripper Dash and other attributes will remain identical.
Also read – Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Rally Racer Debuts
