Now that you have managed to open this article, it is time to tell you that Royal Enfield has no plans to launch a Himalayan 850cc but there are some exclusive bits in this story.
The bike that was showcased at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was a custom work done by Royal Enfield and also Death Spray Custom. This big ADV custom motorcycle was designed and made to showcase the rally era of the late 80s. Both the brands wanted to create a motorcycle (using its famous 650cc parallel-twin platform) that gives out the modern retro rally spirit, and for that, a lot of inspiration was taken from bikes like the Tenere, Africa Twin and even the Cagiva Elefant. To make this custom work, the folks installed larger forks, an upgraded chassis and spoked wheels. The bodywork is all-new and was designed by the design team of both companies. The suspension is from Ohlins and it also gets an aftermarket exhaust. While this custom bike will never make it into production, Royal Enfield is keeping a closer watch on this middle-weight ADV segment.
Royal Enfield is known to understand the market a bit more thoroughly than some of the other motorcycle brands. Currently, almost all big brands have middle-weight adventure bikes, and some of them are doing well. With a successful brand like the Himalayan, Royal Enfield would want to take it further – to a much more competitive segment. Interestingly, the brand is already working on a much larger Himalayan secretively.
Internally, this project is called ‘R2G’ and is being built around the 650cc platform. However, this bike is unlikely to become an adventure bike for one simple reason – the weight of that engine. The 650cc engine is quite heavy, and to make an adventure bike around it is extremely difficult. In fact, we think that this project could either get shelved due to that reason, or Royal Enfield may find a way to position it in such a way that the legacy of Himalayan will go on. If I were working at RE, I would have made the Himalayan 650 a sports tourer – 19-inch front, alloy wheels, and extremely comfortable ergos. The 650cc parallel-twin engine is fantastic, and the world would love to have an upright and comfortable Himalayan. Maybe this would happen in the future. Maybe not! Either way, I’m not going to sell my Himalayan 450 for anything else.
