For a brand that’s been selling its motorcycles in India for over 60 years, Royal Enfield’s product lineup has always remained surprisingly focussed on retro street machines. From border patrolling to milk delivery, Royal Enfield’s Bullet and Classic motorcycles have been used in almost every situation imaginable by the modern Indian biker, mostly thanks to their affordable pricing and relatively easy maintenance.
In 2015, Royal Enfield (RE) unveiled its purpose-built adventure tourer, meant to take on the challenging terrain of the mountains. They aptly christened it — Himalayan. We joined RE’s Himalayan Odyssey ride to test this machine on its home turf — on a 1,000km journey from Leh, through the unforgiving Spiti Valley to Chandigarh.
Meeting the Himalayan
The Himalayan is unlike any other Royal Enfield till date, with its tall stance, large windshield, modern instrument cluster with handy tools like a built-in compass, and plenty of mounting options to carry luggage. There are some classic RE touches, like the round headlamp and a small tail light that bears some resemblance to that on the Thunderbird cruiser. In a first for Royal Enfield, the Himalayan is outfitted with a monoshock at the rear, which proved a godsend on the rough mountain roads we would encounter. The engine, dubbed LS410, is a new 410cc powerplant which produces 24.5bhp and a healthy 32Nm peak torque at 4,250rpm, to help with tricky off-roading situations. The ground clearance is an impressive 220mm, a massive improvement on the 135mm on the low-slung Classic. A huge 21-inch front tyre aids it in tackling uneven terrain with greater dexterity than its stablemates. What this means is that this tall bike can pose a few problems for shorter riders, especially while hauling it on the centre stand and getting on while it is raised to this position.
Into the wild
Starting from Leh, our first order of business was to tackle the famed Khardung La Pass, considered the highest motorable road in the world. The climb to the pass from Leh involves a 6,000-foot ascent, and the roads (or lack thereof) provided ample opportunity to test out the Himalayan’s prowess in changing terrain.
The first thing we noticed is how refined the engine is. The power delivery is linear and the vibrations at cruising speeds are almost nonexistent, unlike other Royal Enfield bikes. The seating position is also spot-on, offering a clear view of the road over the windshield, and keeping the rider nice and upright. On the well-surfaced roads up to our first checkpoint, the long-travel suspension, and especially the monoshock at the rear, soaked up the imperfections well, making for a smooth ride.
As our ascent continued, we encountered a few slushy bits and loose gravel, and standing up on the footpegs for the latter was a joy, with the bike’s ergonomics perfectly suited for long periods of footpeg riding, making accelerating, braking and gear shifting while standing up, a breeze. However, as the altitude increased, the chink in the armour of our carburetted bikes became apparent, as the engine began misfiring and the powerband seemed to gradually shrink and slip away, leaving the bike gasping as it approached 4,000 rpm. Keeping it just below this mark with some throttle manipulation gave it a fresh set of legs, but it is something to keep in mind for riders taking them to the mountains without fiddling with the carb to adjust the fuel mixture. However, Royal Enfield has a fuel-injected Himalayan ready for sale, so new Himalayan owners can rest easy.
Dynamic details
As our ride progressed we attacked the beautiful winding roads in the Nubra Valley and the famous Gata Loops on our way to Keylong. Unlike the plank-like Classic and Bullet, the Himalayan is quite comfortable leaning into a corner, giving the rider confidence to carry more speed and make better time through the winding roads, tackling occasional rough patches by standing up without breaking momentum.
This is once again a bittersweet experience. While the dynamics make the bike a blast on winding downhill sections, the brakes are often not up to scratch. Though it gets disc brakes at the front and rear, we often found the rear brake failed on such sections even when used sparingly, only to come back after a few minutes of being nursed around at slow speeds. Mitigating this problem by downshifting to let engine braking slow things down revealed that the light back end has a tendency to slip out a little in these conditions. Such issues and the lack of ABS do leech confidence.
Surviving Spiti
The 180-odd kilometre ride from Keylong to Kaza through the Spiti Valley was the true litmus test for the Himalayan’s off-roading prowess, and in this respect, the bike lived up to its name. Faced with unexpected water crossings, some of which had the intensity of fast-flowing streams with slippery rocks lurking underneath, the Himalayan hopped, skipped and jumped over them, making light work where bikes with lower clearance grated to a halt.
Faced with fading daylight, we gunned the bike through rough gravel tracks through Spiti’s desolate landscape, blasting up the trail to Kunzum Pass while giving it no quarter, and riding the last 60km in complete darkness, which revealed that Royal Enfield has made some improvements on the headlight department on this bike, as a wide, bright beam illuminated our way through the treacherous terrain. The well-lit instrument cluster also provides a lot of information — some usable, like a gear indicator — and some confusing, like a compass that requires some decoding.
Mixed feelings
Our ride, that took us through the green landscapes of Himachal Pradesh, and the forested twists and turns near Chail on our final leg towards Chandigarh, offered some time for introspection. The Himalayan had survived gravel, slush, sand, rocks, water and altitudes, and all with minimal discomfort to the rider, a fantastic achievement, considering it is the cheapest adventure tourer in the country by far.
But the issues loom. The brakes are the main cause for concern, and the underpowered engine does dull the fun somewhat in high altitude scenarios. The fuel tank, though perfectly sculpted for footpeg riding, holds only around 15 litres. Build quality is another area to look at. The bike is more than capable of surviving the constant rattles and punishment of rough terrain, but the inevitable drops are likely to shake things loose. Part of the centre stand on our machine folded away like melted wax, and as we neared Chandigarh to finish the ride, the gear shifter came off the frame and hung limply, as the Himalayan finally gave up the ghost.
At the end of our eight-day Himalayan adventure, here’s the deal: if you had ₹2 lakh in the bank and a mountain adventure in mind, it's hard to find a better machine to do it on. For a first attempt from a manufacturer at an adventure tourer, it is a promising start to a new portfolio.
(The writer took part in the ride on the invitation of Royal Enfield)
