Royal Enfield Himalayan To Attempt To Conquer The South Pole

Nothing better than celebrating RE’s 120th anniversary than attempting to reach the South Pole with two purpose-built Himalayans

Road trips are synonymous with Royal Enfield, and the bikemaker has pulled off some of the most daunting expeditions, including one to the inaccessible pass of Daulat Beg Oldi in the Karakoram range, and the base camp of Mt Everest. For its next adventure, RE has chosen to traverse through the challenging Antarctic Circle with the ‘90° South-Quest For The Pole’ journey.

The two-bike expedition begins on November 26 from Cape Town, South Africa, and will span over 39 days covering 770km. The journey will lead them from Ross Ice Shelf, via the Leverett Glacier to the Amundsen-Scott Pole station.

Undoubtedly, the capable Royal Enfield Himalayan was chosen for the journey but has been modified in-house to take on the challenging conditions. For starters, Royal Enfield has used a 13-tooth front sprocket, instead of the stock 15-tooth unit to deliver more torque to the wheel.

Furthermore, the stock tubed tyres have been swapped for a tubeless setup with studded tyres. This will allow the bike to run on low tyre pressures easily and increase floatation on loose snow, while providing adequate traction required for the trip.

Even the stock alternator has been replaced by a stronger one built using rare earth magnets to generate more current in the challenging conditions and run the heated gear off the battery.

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Royal Enfield has been testing the two Himalayans that will undertake this expedition at the Langjokull glacier in Iceland since September 2020. With the second phase of the testing concluded in July 2021.

The bikes will be piloted by Santosh Vijay Kumar, lead- Rides and Community, and Dean Coxson, senior engineer- Product Development at Royal Enfield. Backing the duo will be the support crew from Arctic Trucks, a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.

In a bid to reduce the carbon footprint, and continuing with Royal Enfield’s #LeaveEveryPlaceBetter initiative, the bikes will run on compacted snow tracks. This will reduce motorcycle drag and limit motorcycle emissions. The team will also ensure all waste (including human waste) will be brought back for appropriate disposal.

The Royal Enfield ‘90° South- Quest For the Pole’ will be one of the most challenging journeys attempted on a motorcycle, and wish the team for the best.