First Look At Royal Enfield’s Most Extreme Adventure Bike Yet
Back in 2023, we told you about Royal Enfield’s plan to whip up an extensive lineup based on its 452cc platform. It comprised five motorcycles–two adventure bikes, a roadster, a scrambler, and a cafe racer. While we’ve already got two bikes – one ADV (the new Himalayan) and the roadster (Guerrilla 450) in 2024, we now have a look at the third one. What is it, you ask? An extreme rally-inspired adventure bike based on the Himalayan.
Related
The Royal Enfield Himalayan Rally Prototype Boasts Upgraded Suspension
One look at the rally prototype, and you know it means business. Everything appears seriously off-road-biased, without any road-legal bits otherwise present on the Himalayan. What catches the most, though, is the overall stature. The spied motorcycle clearly has upgraded upside-down forks and monoshock, where the latter looks properly beefy.
These forks could be 48 mm units, unlike the standard bike’s 43 mm Showa setup. Both ends appear to have improved suspension travel, as well, evident from the uber-tall ride height and heaps of ground clearance. There still seems to be a 21-inch front spoke wheel up top, although wrapped in rally-spec knobby rubber.
Towards the rear, Royal Enfield has stripped off all the extra weight. The sub-frame looks new, the tail plastics are tiny, and the saddle is flat like it should be on a rally bike. We’re pretty sure the peg position has changed, too. Even with all these changes, the company has left some Himalayan design cues as is, so everyone knows what this is based on. Some of the notable ones include:
- Round LED headlight
- Short windscreen
- Handguards
- Bulbous fuel tank cover
A Spruced-Up 452cc Engine Powers The Royal Enfield Himalayan Rally Prototype
Speaking of similarities with the Himmy, the engine is arguably the biggest one. The radiator, casings, and header shape are all identical to RE’s newest 452cc single-cylinder engine. However, the bike is running a rally-spec Akrapovic end can, hinting there are performance gains here.
You should know the exhaust company doesn’t have any dedicated exhaust for the Himalayan on sale, so this is another prototype element. For reference, the 452cc mill is good for 39.5 horsepower and 29.5 pound-feet of torque. With the exhaust and some other internal upgrades, we think the rally bike must be producing about 45 ponies.
Royal Enfield 452cc Engine Details
|
Capacity |
452cc |
|
Cooling |
Liquid |
|
Peak power |
39.5 HP |
|
Peak torque |
29.5 LB-FT |
|
Transmission |
Six-speed |
The Royal Enfield Himalayan Rally Might Go On Sale In The Future
Related
Here’s The Launch Date Of The Royal Enfield Electric Cruiser
It could be called “Flying Flea” as an ode to RE’s lightest motorcycle ever
The previous Himalayan was simply too underpowered and bulky to make any solid headway in the rally world. But the new bike has a lot more promise. This is why RE is working on the prototype rally bike and already participating in small rallies worldwide. We think it will eventually compete in the auspicious Dakar Rally to show its mettle.
Eventually, though, we believe a road-legal version could follow for all of us to buy. It’s an approach Kove took with its 450 Rally, which made all the right kind of noise worldwide. So RE should certainly consider doing the same, don’t you think?
link
