Royal Enfield Himalayan 450

The previous-gen Royal Enfield Himalayan has been a popular motorcycle in the adventure bike segment. But now, it has been replaced by the new Royal Enfield Himalayan 450. With a bigger engine and size, the Himalayan 450 is more powerful and capable but weighs more too. Let’s find out how it performs in the real world:

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 has a simple and practical design with a rugged look that complements the bike’s nature and capabilities. The bike has a long wheelbase and is quite big in size. The front fender is shaped like a bird’s beak, giving it a typical ADV look but making it stand out at the same time. It has a round LED headlight and a decently sized flyscreen. It also has a sculpted and muscular fuel tank with smooth lines. At the rear, the bike has a slim and tidy tail section accompanied by an LED taillight with integrated turn indicators. It gets a slim and stubby exhaust that looks good with the overall design. It looks even better with panniers and a top box, making you feel like the bike is eager for adventure!

The Himalayan 450 is the first-ever motorcycle from Royal Enfield to feature a liquid-cooled engine. It is powered by an all-new 452cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine that delivers a peak output of 40PS at 8,000rpm and 40Nm at 5,500rpm. It is paired with a six-speed gearbox with a slip-and-assist clutch, making gearshifts smooth with a light clutch action.

The 450cc Sherpa engine has enough power but is not scary. The Himalayan 450 continues to be calm and accessible like its predecessor, and easy to ride for riders with different skill sets. The engine is not very tractable at slow speeds. It performs decently in the city but feels even better on the highways. Though the engine is not the smoothest and there are constant vibes, the Himalayan 450 gets sweeter to ride post 4000rpm and effortlessly tours at triple-digit speeds.

The Himalayan 450 is a capable bike, performing exceptionally well on off-road trails. However, riding it around technical trails demands serious skills and beforehand experience with off-roading and adventure bikes.

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, even after being a bigger and taller bike with more ground clearance and a longer wheelbase than its predecessor, has managed to lose 3kg and now weighs 196kg. The weight distribution of its well-balanced chassis provides excellent handling and feedback. It is more nimble and agile than the Himalayan 411 and handles as good as a 200-250cc bike. The Himalayan feels right at home around off-road trails and gives you lots of confidence.

When it comes to braking, the Himalayan 450 performs well both on and off-road. Both the front and rear brakes offer excellent grip and feedback, giving you the confidence to ride more aggressively. The rear brake also features switchable ABS, allowing you to slide the bike around those off-road trails.

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is a pretty comfortable bike. It has a plush two-piece seat and a wide handlebar. The bike offers a relaxed and upright riding position, making it ideal for long hours of touring. The Showa suspension setup handles bumps smoothly and effortlessly glides over rough patches. 

The new Himalayan 450 is taller than before, with an 825mm seat height that can be adjusted to 845mm. However, there is an optional accessory seat which brings down the seat height to 805mm, making it accessible to riders of all heights.

With its fully digital TFT screen, smartphone connectivity, navigation and other features, the Himalayan 450 has become Royal Enfield’s most feature-loaded bike. The big round TFT screen is easily readable under any lighting conditions. The Himalayan 450 also has two display modes including analogue and digital. The navigation is powered by Google Maps and is very good with a nice view of real-time maps on the screen. However, there is a downside to this navigation system: for the navigation to work properly, you have to keep your smartphone on with the Royal Enfield app open at all times, resulting in the heating up of the phone and quickly draining the battery. Also, everytime you unlock the screen to use your phone for other purposes, the navigation gets disconnected from the console and you have to connect it again before you start riding.

The Royal Enfield Himalayan is a great ADV that can handle city commutes, highway touring and off-road really well. Thanks to its adjustable seat, it is comfortable for riders of all heights. However, the bike demands skills when ridden off-road and if you want to take it on tricky off-road adventures, then you should have ample experience with adventure bikes and technical trails. The Himalayan 450 is also a fairly heavy bike at 196kg and requires strength while parking or moving it around a parking lot. But despite all these, the Himalayan is a great option to consider if you are on the market for a 450cc ADV that takes care of all your requirements and offers great value for money as well.