The Royal Enfield Himalayan will be powered by a newly developed engine that gets Over Head Camshafts and a counter balancer, but is said to lose out on the distinctive thump in the process.
The highly awaited Himalayan will be changing a lot of things for Royal Enfield with the automaker looking to tap an entirely new segment with the upcoming offering. Possibly moving into its final stages of testing, the production spec version of the adventure tourer was recently snapped in Tamil Nadu ahead of its official debut scheduled at the 2016 Auto Expo. The latest set of spy shots reveal few more details about the Bullet maker’s newest model that just might have a different legacy to make.
The Royal Enfield Himalayan is based on a completely new platform developed by Harris Performance but the more interesting part will be its all-new 410cc single-cylinder engine that does away with the push-rod setup in favour of Over-Head Camshaft and a counter balancer. While the same will allow the engine to rev more freely, the source suggests that the Himalayan will lose the distinctive thump contrary to the current offerings.
This is something one will have to live with and shouldn’t be seen as a negative per se. To begin with, the Himalayan will be a tourer and riders will appreciate a calmer exhaust note easing their ears through the journey. Moreover, the automaker is betting big on exports with the Himalayan given the popularity of adventure tourers overseas when compared to India and the bike needs to meet the stringent noise levels and emission regulations in developed markets.
All said, the Royal Enfield Himalayan is a promising product that we have our keen eyes on. From the initial details, we know the 410cc motor will be oil cooled and tuned to churn out around 28 PS and 32 Nm of torque, paired to a 5-speed gearbox. There will be two versions developed on the same platform with one positioned as a city bred Scrambler style model while the other will be an out and out adventure tourer sporting a large windscreen, raised front mudguard, knobby tyres, side mounted engine guard doubling up as a jerry can holder and pannier mounts. The Himalayan’s instrument console will also be loaded with a host of information with odometer, tripmeter, compass and altimeter readings along with a new digital display integrated in the speedometer dial.
Source – Motoroids.com