Is This The Royal Enfield Himalayan 650 We've Been Waiting For?

Quick News Highlights:

- Modified 850cc ADV from Royal Enfield showcased at 2024 Goodwood Festival Of Speed

- It gets styling similar to that of Dakar rally bikes from the 80s and the 90s

- It is powered by a bored-out version of the manufacturer’s 650cc engine

At the 2024 Goodwood Festival Of Speed, Royal Enfield showcased a one-off 850cc ADV based on its 650cc platform. The showcase of this bike naturally prompted the question in our minds: could this eventually be the Himalayan 650 we’ve been waiting for? Well, this one’s obviously not a 650cc bike but what we essentially mean is a bigger Himalayan for the current Himalayan 450/411 owners to upgrade to. 

This particular bike gets a bored-out version of the 650cc engine powering the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Royal Enfield Continental GT 650. It has been developed in partnership with David Gwyther of Death Spray Custom and was inspired by Dakar Rally bikes from the late 1980s and the early 1990s like the Yamaha Tenere and the Honda Africa Twin. So, the focus was on recreating that era’s styling and engineering with the halogen lights and a bespoke fairing and bodywork. 

The retro looking adventure bike gets a modified headstock, long travel suspension, adjustable suspension from Öhlins and swingarm and exhaust from Harris Performance. The bodywork and the fairing is draped in a gorgeous pastel livery that gives out some cool synthwave vibes. It also gets an analogue-styled map book above the braced handlebar, to complete that Dakar look.  

Now, whether this bike will give birth to the Royal Enfield Himalayan 650 remains to be seen. Mark Wells, the Global Head of Product Strategy & Industrial Design at Royal Enfield, said that the 850cc ADV was purely made as a custom project and not as a concept for any upcoming bike from the manufacturer. He did, however, acknowledge that the demand for a 650cc ADV from Royal Enfield is pretty high in the two-wheeler market. So, does this mean Royal Enfield is planning to work on middleweight ADV soon? Well, we can only wait with excitement for now! 

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