I’ve been nervous since the last few days as I own a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Kaza Brown. This stemmed from watching social media posts and videos of two instances of the motorcycle's chassis failures – one in Assam and another one in an unknown location. These posts went viral and a lot of people started comparing it with the famous chassis failure of the Himalayan 411. Luckily, Royal Enfield got in touch with us and explained the reasons behind these frame failures.
Royal Enfield clarified that only two motorcycles had these issues and both of these bikes were fitted with after-market crash guards. One of the crash guards were from Zana – an aftermarket company that specialises in such components. The Himalayan 450 is the first motorcycle based on RE’s new liquid-cooled platform. Here, the engine is a stressed member of the frame and is mounted at three points – two at the top of each side and one at the bottom. The company uses specialised bolts to integrate the engine to the frame, and on the right side of the engine there’s one specialised bolt adjuster that is used to adjust the overall position of the engine during the mounting process. There’s also a spacer installed to get the overall mounting right and also to take the load.
The technical team of Royal Enfield said that in these two bikes that failed, different specs of bolts were used which led to incorrect torque settings. This results into a lot of stress on the chassis and when the bike is used for a longer duration, the chassis could fail. Royal Enfield ran a lot of simulations inside their R&D facility in Chennai, and such failures were confirmed.
For now, Royal Enfield is already in touch with the affected customers and are providing whatever assistance required. But the company has mentioned in the owner’s manual that usage of such guards will void the warranty. The company has developed crash guards dedicated to the Himalayan 450 for the same reason. But it is believed that a lot of customers opted for after-market guards because of the unavailability of the GMA accessories. It took me more than a month to source the Rally Protection from a Delhi dealer.
The Himalayan 450 is an adventure bike, and for those riders who love to go off-road, the frame on the tank can take all the beating in case the bike is dropped. But it is also important to know that saving a few thousand rupees may not be a good idea in the long run. It is always best to stay within the brand’s accessories eco-system for a peace-of-mind experience.
