Royal Enfield
Himalayan 450
Introduction
Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is an adventure motorcycle. It is offered in 4 variants and 5 colours. It is the successor to the Himalayan 411cc and is a completely new offering. The bike comes with all LED illumination, new bodywork and overall a better setup for off-roading as well as touring. Royal Enfield has powered the Himalayan 450 with a liquid-cooled 452cc single-cylinder engine that makes 40bhp and 40Nm. It comes with a six-speed gearbox and benefits from an assist and slipper clutch. Its features list includes a colour TFT screen with Google Maps and Bluetooth connectivity. Moreover, it also gets switchable ABS and ride-by-wire throttle. The Himalayan 450 has a weight of 196kg and gets a 17-litre fuel tank. The bike comes with three seat height settings. Here, the standard seat height is 825mm and it can be decreased and increased significantly. The ground clearance and wheelbase stand at 230mm and 1,510mm, respectively. The bike rides on a 21-inch front and a 17-inch rear spoke wheel combination. It is suspended on Showa USD front forks and a monoshock while braking is handled by a single disc at both ends.
Performance
The Himalayan 450 gets a brand new 452cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine. This motor makes 40bhp at 8,000rpm and 40Nm at 5,500rpm. However, it could only produce around 28-29bhp due to the high altitude of the testing grounds. As a result of this, there were some performance limitations. The engine feels and sounds relatively smooth. Unlike the Himalayan 411, it doesn't have the crudeness, and the overall NVH is well under control.
Looks
The fascia has the most rugged touch – thanks to the presence of the 21-inch front wheel and a long beak. While the windscreen is average-sized, it still adds decent mass to the motorcycle. I spent much time appreciating the side profile of the bike. The giant fuel tank, exposed chassis tubes, compact exhaust, and the spoke wheels give a sense of largeness to the motorcycle. The rear of the Himalayan 452 has Hunter 350-design inspiration and it gets turn indicators with integrated brake lights.
