Royal Enfield Himalayan BS6 – Major Changes!

The Himalayan, which is the offroad adventure offering from Royal Enfield has been given a few updates along with the introduction of a BS6 engine. The new features are seen on the outside as well as mechanically. Read on to find out more details about the updates.

Major changes on the Himalayan BS6

On the outside, the changes on the Himalayan BS6 mainly include the offering of two new colours that are offered on the bike. They are the dual-tone Lake Blue and Rock Red colours. The prices of both being slightly higher at Rs 1.91lakhs. The stand has become leaner for the bike to be comfortably parked on any terrain,

On the electronics end, it gets switchable ABS which is seen as a welcome move amongst off-road enthusiasts. This feature will now allow bikers to disengage ABS from the rear so as to slide the bike off-road without the ABS kicking in too soon and letting the rider have some fun. The company has said that it has worked on the review and the feedback it has gotten on the outgoing model and has improved on many aspects. The braking on the Himalayan BS6 has been improved with the stopping distances of the bike being lesser from before. There will be an addition of the hazard light button on the handlebar switch which could prove to be a very essential feature for the bikers who actually take the bike offroad or on road trips. The instrument cluster has also been given an update and gets white backlight so as to improve in its visibility.

Engine and performance

Engine-wise it gets the same 411cc single-cylinder which now produces 24.3bhp instead of 24.5 bhp with torque figures remaining the same at 32nm. Although the bike now weighs 5kgs more at 199kg which will affect its performance overall but it will not have a major difference in this aspect. Therefore performance-wise it will remain the same as the outgoing model. The engine is BS6 compliant. This makes it smoother. Also, the exhaust note of the bike has increased on the base end.

Royal Enfield says

Vinod Dasari, CEO, Royal Enfield India, said “The Himalayan is a distinctive adventure tourer which has performed admirably well, both in India and international markets. Since 2016, the Himalayan has served as a versatile, accessible and un-intimidating ally to many adventures across the world. The launch of the new BS6 Himalayan with its unique features and design functions gives us confidence that it will resonate with riders, setting new standards for adventure motorcycling in the country.”

Rivals of the Himalayan BS6

It is good to see that the company has actually seen its customer base and on what kinds of surface it is usually driven on and made improvements on the areas that help improve its practicality on off-road surfaces. It does not have any immediate rivals as such, but other bikes in the segment are the Hero XPulse, the Duke 390 Adventure, and the BMW G310GS. Check out our comparison video on the Hero XPulse and the Royal Enfield Himalayan.

Sources