2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan First Ride Review

[Hugh Janus]

The brand-new 2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan is a fully modern and fully capable adventure motorcycle. (Royal Enfield/)

Change hasn’t been the highest of priorities for Royal Enfield over its 124 years of making motorcycles. But then again, since 1956, when the company started manufacturing bikes in the Chennai plant in India, there really hasn’t been a big need for much revolution; RE’s models have served its primary Indian market well, and proved novel in Europe and the US. However, in the past few decades there has been significant growth, starting with 2008′s Unit Construction Engine (UCE) produced until 2020, then followed by the current 350cc J-platform, 411cc L-platform, and 650cc P-platform engines. Even with the massive progress in virtually every regard, these air-cooled singles and parallel twins still have more in common with their past than the future.

But the brand-new for 2024 Himalayan is the most radically different motorcycle that the company has ever made, offering a totally modern engine and electronics package mated to a chassis that is more capable than anything before it. In fact, there isn’t a single part on the new Himalayan that is common with the model that first went on sale in 2016.

Everything new, nothing old. The 2024 Himalayan is a clean-sheet design and fully modern in every way. (Royal Himalayan/)

It’s no surprise that the Himalayan is the first model to get this new engine, as this motorcycle has been a smashing success globally. And how could it not be? When first released in the US in late 2016, it cost an amazingly inexpensive $4,499, and has only crept up to $5,449 since. We can’t think of many motorcycles that look this cool and offer so much satisfaction at a price that is often half the price of even the least expensive machines in the ADV segment.

But the time was ripe for Royal Enfield to step up its game and create a fully modern motorcycle that has all the underpinnings of current design, while not abandoning the character and charm that has made its current lineup so attractive.

We recently had the opportunity to attend the global press launch for the Himalayan in Manali, India, on the doorstep of the Himalayas, and experience for ourselves this significant new model, riding in the exact territory that the bike was conceived and developed. We’d also got the opportunity to pick the brains of the entire development staff that was on hand to support the event. We set out to answer two questions: Is this the best value in adventure motorcycling? And is this actually a legitimate ADV-capable machine?

2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan Engine

There is no question that the brand-new Sherpa 450 engine in the Himalayan is the star of the show. This engine represents perhaps the single largest leap that the company has made in more than half a century. There are so many reasons to attempt such a radical jump forward, some surely tied to modern emissions standards, but others simply to better align the bike with its competition as the company continues to expand outside of the Indian market.

The brand-new 452cc single has four valves and a pair of overhead cams and, most importantly, liquid-cooling. (Royal Enfield/)

The engine is now liquid-cooled—a first for RE—and allows it to achieve the highest possible performance for its intended application. Bore and stroke measure 84.0 x 81.5mm, giving the single 452cc of displacement. A forged piston slides in an aluminum cylinder that has a low-friction Nikasil coating, while the compression ratio is set at 11.5:1. A four-valve head features a pair of overhead cams, and efficient, steep downdraft intake tracts are used to feed the mixture to the combustion chamber. The electronic fuel-injection system utilizes a 42mm throttle body with ride-by-wire control. Lubrication is provided by a semi-dry sump design. Power is transferred through a wet, multiplate clutch with slip and assist functionality to a six-speed transmission and chain final drive.

A peek inside the new Sherpa engine. (Blake Conner/)

The goals were to improve the engine’s performance for highway riding and overtaking, which clearly meant that power had to be improved. Peak power has been increased by 65 percent compared to the 411cc air-cooled engine in the previous model, while torque is up 25 percent. Claimed power is now 39.6 hp at 8,000 rpm with 29.5 lb.-ft. of peak torque arriving at 5,500 rpm. Unlike a 450cc motocross engine that is designed for maximum top-end performance, the Sherpa was designed to deliver broad torque across the rev range for everyday usability on road and off. The new engine delivers a ton more power in a bike that is a full 10 pounds lighter, making for a a huge improvement in riding experience.

The Sherpa is Royal Enfield’s first-ever liquid-cooled engine, which allowed a 65 percent bump in horsepower compared to the 411cc air-cooled engine. (Royal Enfield/)

2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan Chassis

Not only has the engine taken a big step forward, but the chassis is a real complement to the powertrain. This should come as no surprise considering that back in 2015 Royal Enfield acquired chassis specialists Harris Performance, a company that has designed and built racing machines that competed in the 500cc Grand Prix and World Superbike classes in days gone by, and was key in the development of RE’s sporty Continental GT.

An all-new Harris Performance–designed steel frame is stiff and responsive. (Royal Enfield/)

The new Himalayan uses a twin-spar, tubular-steel frame and aluminum swingarm. Up front is a 43mm inverted Showa SFF fork with 7.9 inches of travel, while the previous model used a 41mm right-side-up unit. In the back is a Showa monoshock that has preload adjustability and an identical 7.9 inches of travel, whereas the original Himlayan had about an inch less rear wheel travel at 7.1. Wheel sizes measure 21 inches front and 17 inches rear with 90/90-21 front and 140/80-17 rear tires. Our testbikes were using traditional tubed aluminum-spoked rims, but tubeless cross-spoke wheels will be available as an option. Other important dimensions are 9 inches of ground clearance (up almost 1/2 inch) and 59.4 inches for the wheelbase (a 1.4-inch increase), which is about an inch shorter than a Kawasaki KLR650 and about 2.5 inches longer than Honda’s CB500X. Front-end geometry numbers measure 26.5 degrees of rake with 5.0 inches of trail. Read: stable.

A Showa SFF fork with 7.9 inches of travel, a 21-inch front rim/tire combo, and ByBre brake caliper with 320mm rotor are front-end highlights. (Royal Enfield/)

Braking is provided by ByBre (a lower-spec Indian-market brand owned by Brembo) with a 320mm disc in the front with a twin-piston traditionally mounted caliper with braided-steel lines. In the rear is a single-piston caliper and 270mm disc. The Himalayan comes with standard dual-channel ABS that can be turned off at the rear.

A linkage-equipped shock with provision for preload adjustability is also a Showa unit. (Royal Enfield/)

Very important to prospective buyers of the Himalayan (and any adventure bike, really) is seat height. There are two available seats, including the standard and an optional low. Each seat has two easy-to-adjust height options, with the standard offering 32.5 and 33.3 inches, and low at 31.7 and 32.5 inches. The bike’s available payload capacity is 436 pounds, which should give you an idea of how much junk you can strap on the Himalayan.

The standard seat can be adjusted to two heights, 32.5 and 33.3 inches, while a low option offers 31.7 and 32.5. The accessory Rally seat is a one-piece unit. (Royal Enfield/)

2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan Electronics

Diving into the Himalayan’s electronics shows just how much more modern this bike is than its predecessor. The bike now comes with ride-by-wire throttle control, which has opened the door to multiple ride modes including four possible combinations: Performance/ABS On, Performance/ABS Off, Eco/ABS On, and Eco/ABS Off. The modes alter the power delivery not the output. The modes can’t be switched on the fly, so you’ll have to choose your option when you start the bike, and then come to a stop to change it if you are transitioning from asphalt to dirt and want the rear ABS disabled.

The Tripper TFT display offers smartphone connectivity, navigation powered by a Google Maps engine, and joystick-controlled dash navigation for modes and settings. (Royal Enfield/)

The portal to access the modes and all of the bike’s other electronic gizmos is through the brand-new Tripper dash, which is a round 4-inch, full-color TFT display that offers smartphone connectivity, media controls, and full-map navigation with a Google-based navigation engine. The dash gives the rider the option for multiple views, allowing the most important info to be displayed as desired. The navigation also allows you to choose between a full-map view or simple directional arrows. Additionally, there is a USB-C charging point, and full LED lighting, including turn indicators—the rear of which serve double duty as the brake lights.

Full LED lighting includes the headlight, turn indicators, and rear brake lights that are integrated with the rear turn signals. (Royal Enfield/)

Riding Impression

India is about as far away from Colorado as anywhere in the world, but the Himalayas in the Himachal Pradesh region of northern India are so similar to this author’s home state that it felt very familiar. OK, take away the complete and total on-road anarchy of tuk-tuks, trucks, cows, horses, goats, dogs, and what seems like zero rules of the road, and it was sort of familiar. Prior to our pair of days riding the new Himalayan, we were able to get acquainted with the bike through a series of workshops at an amazing site that RE set up adjacent to our hotel in Manali. To say that it went all out to introduce the Himalayan to journalists is an understatement. We can confidently state that if a person worked on any aspect of the bike, they were on site to answer our questions. Engineers, designers, accessory specialists, test riders, you name it they were there.

Royal Enfield built a small village related to all things Himalayan at our hotel in Manali, India. (Blake Conner/)

One thing that is abundantly clear is that Royal Enfield is passionate about its motorcycles. And it is particularly proud of this new model. And it should be; this bike represents the biggest leap forward the company has ever made. Everything about this bike is new, with nothing shared with anything it’s done in the past. For some, who can’t get over the nostalgia of Royal Enfield’s air-cooled models, this may come as a shock, but RE has done a great job of stepping into the future without abandoning the charm of its past.

The three Himalayans that were the final test mules proved to Royal Enfield that the project was ready to be greenlighted. (Blake Conner/)

Like so many owners of the current-gen Himalayan will tell you, the bike isn’t about the high-performance and high-tech bling that comes with high price tags. This bike is more about functionality. And while the new 2024 model is actually full of modern technology and refinement, the purpose remains the same, to offer simplicity and function in the same way Kawasaki’s KLR650 or Honda’s XR650L have for decades. Although the Himalayan trumps those bikes in many ways.

This is where this bike was born. Not a bad place to be conceived. (Royal Enfield/)

Saddled up for a 150-mile day of mixed riding on both asphalt and dirt, the Himalayan feels fully modern as the 452cc engine sparks to life without a nanosecond of hesitation. Even on our 40ish-degree morning, the bike instantly settles into a smooth idle. In the meantime, while it warms up, we tether our smartphone to the latest-generation Tripper dash and load the day’s route into the system via Bluetooth. According to American Matt Cardenas, product strategy head of advanced concepts, who is in charge of the Tripper system, RE is the first motorcycle company to use Google Maps as its native navigation engine. Chalk that up as another leap for the company.

Our route would start off with a really fun climb up a series switchbacks toward the 9-kilometer-long Atal Tunnel, which is the highest single-tube tunnel in the world at 10,171 feet of elevation. Right away—at least at elevations exceeding 10,000 feet—you learn that the engine needs revs and some dancing on the shift lever if a spirited pace is desired. Of course that isn’t necessarily the Himalayan’s jam, but it is something it doesn’t mind at all. The engine is flexible and offers a broad spread of power, and we have to cut it some slack during our day that topped out at more than 11,000 feet of horsepower-draining elevation.

As a streetbike the Himalayan will never keep up with the open-class crowd, but that wasn’t the intention. (Royal Enfield/)

While attacking Passo del Stelvio–like hairpins requires shifting all the way down to first at times, and working the gearbox like a tap dancer clacks the stage, the gearbox performs very well. The slip and assist cable-actuated clutch provides light pull, smooth engagement, and accurate gear changes, while the transmission ratios offer a range capable of everything from slow off-road crawling to highway cruising speeds. Later in the morning when the roads opened up into big sweepers along the Chenab River, the Himalayan proved happy clipping along between second and fourth gears, with fifth and sixth rarely engaged.

A really pleasant surprise on the asphalt is the competence of the chassis. The frame is rigid and the front-end geometry provides good stability, while still allowing the bike to easily be flicked into those hairpins without a ton of effort at the bars. We weren’t sure how the Indian-made Ceat tires would perform on the road, but they provided good grip, with the 90/90-21 front surely giving the bike some agility flicking from side to side.

The Himalayan’s on-road performance exceeded expectation with a really good chassis. (Royal Enfield/)

Another really welcome improvement is the Showa suspension. The fork in particular is very well damped considering it has zero provisions for adjustment. The shock doesn’t live up to the same level of the fork, but is still good considering the price point this bike will likely carry. The shock does have preload adjustability, which we took advantage of, dialing in a bit more to keep the bike from wallowing on the rear suspension. If we had one thing we would ask for from the chassis, it would be some rebound damping to keep the bike from pogoing after a harsh G-out or sharp bump.

On road, the bike allows a lot more lean angle than we anticipated, and even when riding like a fool at a pace not necessarily in the Himalayan’s design parameters, it rarely drags the footpegs or runs out of cornering clearance.

The Himalayan is most happy on gravel roads and off the highway. (Royal Enfield/)

But let’s be honest here, a 452cc, single-powered adventure bike is a bit out of its element on the highway. That’s not to say this new version isn’t capable, but this is not its happy place. It will cruise at highway speeds without issue thanks to the new six-speed gearbox, but if you need to make a quick pass, a shift or two are usually in order to do it with authority. And don’t expect KTM 1290–like acceleration. Gravel roads, double-track, and rougher terrain are where it feels at home. Luckily, over the course of the two days riding we got to spend quite a bit of time in that environment. For those skeptical about a sub-500cc ADV machine in harsh environments, it’s here that the Himalayan raises its hand and says “I’ve got this.”

Despite the very-much not knobby tires fitted to the Himalayan, once the route turns to gravel embedded with rocks, crossed with washouts, and water crossings, the chassis proves to provide really good stability and traction. There are a few things going on here: The Showa fork really helps provide a lot of confidence in the front end, while the bike carries its weight very well, never feeling top-heavy, especially when standing on the pegs. The front never wants to knife in and tuck—it is supported and predictable. Even when sand is encountered, the front end is easy to manage, so we can only imagine how nice it will track once you throw on some good knobbies.

Make no mistake, the new Himalayan is ADV worthy, with a really competent chassis and good suspension. (Royal Enfield/)

The suspension that performs quite well on road, continues to excel off of it too. The only complaint is once again a lack of rebound damping from the shock. We were able to get the rear end into an acceptable zone in terms of how it reacted compressing, but harsh hits to the rear definitely make the rear end kick back when pushing the pace off-road. The reality here is that you can’t expect this bike to handle nasty off-road sections like a pure enduro machine; it performs beyond expectation and is quite predictable and capable.

Whereas the engine feels taxed on the highway, in the dirt it’s another story. Considering the elevation we were testing at, we left the bike’s mode in the Performance setting. Traction is easy to manage despite no TC to intervene, with the tractable nature of the engine and excellent throttle response from the ride-by-wire throttle making it very predictable.

We rode over and around rocks, through ruts, streams, sand, and washouts, and nothing seemed to bother the Himalayan. (Royal Enfield/)

Although the brakes ultimately do the job, they are nothing to write home about. Off highway, the combination makes much more sense, never feeling grabby at the front, but the rear (with the ABS turned off) locks quite easily. On the road, it took quite a bit of effort at the lever to get the performance we wanted; we wish they had a bit more bite and power.

A very important aspect of the Himalayan is how easily it caters to a wide variety of rider heights and inseams. The standard seat (32.5 to 33.3 inches), allows me at 5-foot-11 and a 30-inch inseam, firm footing at stops, but more importantly when making U-turns or when stopped on uneven surfaces off-road. The bike is very narrow between the legs which further helps control when chugging along at slow speeds off-road or when you have to dab. The seating position itself is very comfortable with a gentle bend at the knee and an easy reach to the handlebar. When standing off-road, the layout allows an easy reach down to the bar. We’d ditch the rubber footpeg inserts right away if this was our bike as they instantly become slick as ice when wet, but otherwise we really like the bike’s ergos.

We’d remove the rubber footpeg inserts right away, as they turn to ice when wet. (Royal Enfield/)

Conclusion

There are a few ways to wrap up what this bike is all about and who it’s for. And unfortunately as we go to press there is one big unanswered question that greatly influences those points: price. Of course Royal Enfield has a long reputation for offering its models at ridiculously low prices, but will that remain the case with this all-new, fully modern machine? For now, we’re going to assume that RE is going to target low cost in a manner consistent with its past.

We love the Hanle Black and gold version. (Royal Enfield/)

When looking at it through those glasses, the Himalayan could be one of the best values in all of adventure motorcycling. What you get is a fully modern engine, with up-to-date features and performance, a predictable and good performing chassis with high-quality suspension, navigation that is class leading, and a list of accessories that should make the bike appeal to a wide range of buyers. And the bike welcomes riders of all shapes, sizes, and skill levels.

Make no mistake, this is a legitimate ADV bike. It may be scaled down and relatively simple compared to the bulk of the market’s offerings, but that in and of itself gives it a foot up in certain situations, especially off-road, where low weight and good agility count a lot more than raw power.

Royal Enfield’s Himalayan is truly dual-purpose; though not stunning in either of the dirt or street categories, it proves pleasingly competent just about everywhere. So while we give the new Himalayan a big thumbs-up, price will ultimately dictate if this bike is truly the best value in adventure motorcycling.

A slim, catalyst-equipped exhaust tucks in nicely and is never in the way. (Royal Enfield/)
A view of the cockpit. (Royal Enfield/)
The left handlebar pod provides a joystick to navigate the navigation-equipped Tripper dash. (Royal Enfield/)
A standard rear rack is included while a variety of luggage options will be available. The rear turn indicators serve double duty as brake lights. (Royal Enfield/)
No quickshift here. But the six-speed transmission proved to be slick shifting, aided by a slip and assist clutch. (Royal Enfield/)
Two bolts allow the rubber footpeg inserts to be removed. (Royal Enfield/)
The 2024 Himalayan in Kaza Brown. (Royal Enfield/)
The 2024 Himalayan in Kamet White. (Royal Enfield/)
The 2024 Himalayan in Slate Himalayan Salt. (Royal Enfield/)
The 2024 Himalayan in Slate Poppy Blue. (Royal Enfield/)

2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan Specs

MSRP:	TBA
Engine:	DOHC, liquid-cooled, four-stroke single; 4 valves
Displacement:	452cc
Bore x Stroke:	84.0 x 81.5mm
Compression Ratio:	11.5:1
Transmission/Final Drive:	6-speed/chain
Claimed Horsepower:	40 hp @ 8,000 rpm
Claimed Torque:	29.5 lb.-ft. @ 5,500 rpm
Fuel System:	Fuel injection w/ 42mm throttle body
Clutch:	Wet, multiplate slipper/assist
Engine Management/Ignition:	Ride-by-wire/electronic
Frame:	Steel twin-spar tubular
Front Suspension:	43mm Showa SFF inverted fork; 7.9 in. travel
Rear Suspension:	Showa monoshock, preload adjustable; 7.9 in. travel
Front Brake:	ByBre 2-piston caliper, 320mm disc w/ switchable ABS
Rear Brake:	ByBre 1-piston caliper, 270mm disc w/ switchable ABS
Wheels, Front/Rear:	21 in./17 in.
Tires, Front/Rear:	90/90-21 / 140/80-17
Rake/Trail:	26.5°/5.0 in.
Wheelbase:	59.4 in.
Ground Clearance:	9.0 in.
Seat Height:	32.5 to 33.3 in.
Fuel Capacity:	4.5 gal.
Claimed Wet Weight:	432 lb.
Contact:	royalenfield.com

Source

[Buckster]

I think we will be seeing a lot of these on the roads, it will be interesting to see how reliable they are.