Introduction
We have seen generations of Royal Enfield Himalayan – starting from the humble Himalayan 411 with BS3,BS4 Engine and then the updated Himalayan 411 with BS6 Engine (Check those reviews here, here and here). The Himalayan is now built ground up from the scratch and is now powered by an all new Sherpa 450 engine. The new 2024 Himalayan 450 inherits the off-roader DNA of earlier Himalayan 411. What follows below is the detailed review of all new 2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 motorcycle:
Design and Looks – First Impressions
The motorcycle gets spoked wheels. The tyres on offer are tube type. You get a 21 inch tyre in the front and a 17 inch tyre at the back. The signature mud guards in the front and the rear are great. The motorcycle gets a multi-functional LED indicators and stop-lights / tail lights in a single unit. Talking about the seats and ergonomics, the new Himalayan 450 offers comfortable seats. The pillion can sit easily as well. The Side profile, the foot pegs, the load carrier, top-up box. There is also an option to adjust the seat height of the motorcycle. For short riders, there is a dedicated accessory to make the seat height low. The windshield in the front are nice and helps the motorcycle to align during the windy conditions. The Himalayan 450 gets the new dial style ignition system with integrated kill switch which you find in any latest RE bikes like Classic 350, Meteor 350 etc.. The Button quality and the ease of access is good. There is a dedicated button to use Parking lights / Hazard lights. The Joystick in the left helps control the centre console which is little hard to use,. The Joystick helps you get the bluetooth pairing code to connect your smartphone in order to use Google Maps navigation from the console itself.
Digital Speedometer
Royal Enfield has managed to squeeze in all the elements of dashboard from the earlier 2 or 3 dials to single circular digital console. The centrally placed circular digital TFT is quite nice. The visibility of the console is great and you can set the theme to dark or auto mode depending on the lighting conditions. Pairing your smartphone with the digital console needs some patience and a bit of learning – it is not straightforward. The Pixel 8 did not work and failed to pair – where as the mass smartphone (eg Samsung Galaxy F-22) and the likes paired flawlessly.
After displaying the “Himalayan” splash screen for few seconds on the center console, the Digital Needle shows up across the speedometer. The new User interface on the circular digital console is well made and covers all the critical ride related information like Side Stand indicator, Speedometer, Odometer, Tachometer, Trip meter, Fuel gauge, notifications etc.
The motorcycle features a dedicated USB-C Charging port where one can conveniently charge their smartphone on the go. The Mode button on the right side of the handlebar can be used to turn on/off the ABS and to set the ride modes to performance or eco.
Once the app is connected to the digital console – the journey is smooth. Even if you switch off/on the motorcycle multiple times, the navigation continues – you just have to make sure the smartphone is active and running the Royal Enfield app.
Dimensions
The Himalayan 450 motorcycle weighs around 198 kgs (Kerb weight with fuel and oil). The length of all new Himalayan 450 is 2245mm, width is 852 mm and the wheelbase is the longest measuring 1510mm. The seat height of Himalayan 450 is quite flexible even for short riders as it is adjustable 805mm – 825mm – 845mm. The fuel tank of this adventure plus touring motorcycle is quite big with a capacity of 17 litres. Tackling the humps, uneven terrains are easy as it offers a ground clearance of 230 mm.
Engine and Power
The all new 2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 motorcycle is powered by a liquid cooled, single cylinder, 452cc engine which churns out a maximum power 40.02 PS and delivers a peak torque of 40Nm.
Ride and Handling
How does the all new Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 perform on Indian roads? The Himalayan is ground up built for the rough and tough terrains keeping the Himalayan mountain as benchmark to ascent. While the machine’s purpose is clear that it is a tough off-roader, it definitely blows your mind when riding on those long endless well-maintained tarmac highways. The bike offers a higher degree of maneuverability , although the Himalayan weighs over 195+ kgs, you don’t feel the bulkiness of the motorcycle when taking on those tricky narrow urban roads which is otherwise filled with back-to-back traffic.
Highway rides
During our test, we did over 450 kms of journey over Bangalore-Tumkur-Kunigal-Hassan-Sakleshpur highway. This motorcycle is simply a beast and runs like a tireless horse at a speed which you ask for! Such is the indulgence of this motorcycle with the rider. We simply did 150-200 Kms in one go without taking any breaks. The motorcycle just cruises so good at speeds like 100-120 Kmph and you can experience the epitome of refinement in terms of power delivered by the engine. The handling is great, the ergonomics are comfortable, the navigation system is cherry on the top.
City rides
Stop-and-go traffic is not an issue for Himalayan 450 motorcycle. Riding with pillion is fun as well – the pillion seats are comfortable, footrests and grab rails are in place. We suggest you to switch to ECO mode while riding the Himalayan in city conditions, you will get a great fuel economy! If your city has got lot of potholes, Himalayan is a perfect motorcycle for you! You can ride on every single pothole without any hassle.
Off-road
We did not get a chance to test the Himalayan 450 on full off-road conditions. We did ride on yet-to-be constructed humpy and dumpy roads filled with potholes plus large holes filled with mud and our experience tackling those surfaces was great. The motorcycle clearly showed no signs of tiredness and confidently moved on those. The tough suspension, the big tyres and the strong chassis – everything comes together to save your day!
Brakes and Suspension
Himalayan 450 is equipped with great brakes. The motorcycle’s front wheel has a 320mm Double Piston Caliper disc brakes. The motorcycle’s rear wheel gets a single Piston Caliper which is 270mm. Dimensions aside, the Himalayan 450’s braking system is super perfect and triggers exactly when you need it and halts gracefully with minimum margin error. The stopping distance is impressive and it adds more power to the riders to exactly predict when the motorcycle comes to an halt when they are cruising at higher speeds. Also thanks to dual-channel ABS ( Anti-lock Braking System) setup that further improves the reliability of the machine and keeps the rider in the comfort and secure zone.
If you would like to enjoy some off-roading and want your Himalayan to not use the ABS system and feel the skip – you get an option to turn off the ABS by using the mode switch (M) on handlebar’s right side.
In the front, the motorcycle gets a USD forks (Upside-Down forks) by SHOWA. Himalayan 450 is clearly one of the motorcycles with best suspension in this category. Thanks to that 21 inch big spoke wheel in combination with this amazing suspension, the motorcycle feels capable and ready when you see a big pothole or deep depression, As a rider, you are less worried about breaking your back. Even the rear suspension is amazing, thanks to 200 mm linkage type mono-shock suspension.
Color options an variants
What are the different color options which are offered in new Himalayan 450? Hanley Black, Kamet White, Slate Himalayan Salt, Slate Poppy Blue and Kaza brown are some of the colors which are on offer. Talking about the variants, the Himalayan 450 exists with 3 options – Base, Pass and Summit.
Check 2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Colors with Photos
Price details
The price of Himalayan 450 starts from Rs 2,83,000 (featuring Kaza Brown) for the base variant and goes up to Rs 2,98,000 for the summit variant ( featuring colors like Kamat White and Hanley Black). There is also Himalayan 450 Pass variant featuring Slate Himalayan Salt and Slate Poppy Blue color options.
Our Verdict – Should you buy the new Himalayan 450?
The all new Himalayan 450 is not only a huge bike with great road presence having the capacity to take on the off-road conditions but it is also one of the very few best motorcycles equipped with best-in-class technology like high quality navigation system – thanks to Google Maps integrated with the centrally placed digital TFT circular console. The ability to change the riding modes (ECO, Performance and ABS preferences) not only improves your ride quality but is also a great way to conserve fuel. It was amazing to witness, a performance motorcycle like Himalayan 450 offering a mileage figure of 30-32 Kmpl when ridden in ECO-mode. BUY it, it is a steal deal!
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