The Royal Enfield Himalayan | I finally fell for it, Again?

  • Published August 23, 2026
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Alan has had an up and down relationship with the Himalayan and after the Royal Enfield Himalayan Odyssey Explore ride the feeling is “Up” again, or is it?

Royal Enfield Himalayan

Falling for It

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 was a bike whose development I keenly followed. All because of a trip my wife and I made from Leh to the Nubra Valley, when my eyes were opened to the older Himalayan 411. In its element there was no way to criticize it. It did nothing badly. Climbed easily, chugged along when the air was too thin and skimmed over water crossings without ever having to get your feet wet. We had such a good trip that my wife, someone who had dreaded the idea of a motorcycle holiday, now wanted to see and travel across the country on two wheels. But only if I could replicate the experience we had in Ladakh. And I knew that the Himalayan was a big part of that with great pillion seat comfort and good comfortable suspension.

Royal Enfield Himalayan

Wanting More

But down in the plains I wanted more. “Just a little more power, and maybe liquid cooling? But that’s it” I told myself, not pulling the trigger and picking up a 411 the minute I got back home after the trip. And then came the news that a new version was coming out. I even got a close glimpse of a test mule on a trip to Chennai and instantly fell in love with the tiny exhaust, the fat tank and the promise of “just a little more power and liquid cooling” and when it was finally launched I was super excited. I spent days playing with an online configurator and adding on the rally seat unit, bash plate and crash guards. 

Royal Enfield Himalayan

The More

And finally it came to our office as a long-term test bike, so you can imagine I was super excited. But when I rode it, something that I expected to click just didn't. It felt a little top heavy, I felt or actually didn’t feel a connection to the rear wheel and I just couldn’t get along with it. That said, at the time I was riding my fully kitted out, Duke powered 390 rally bike with custom suspension, back-to-back with it. So not quite the fair comparison, and a little sadly the Himalayan faded a little in my vision. That is until the Himalayan Odyssey Explore edition was planned. 

Royal Enfield Himalayan

Falling for it again

Now any reason to ride in the Himalayas gives me joy, though I wasn’t particularly excited to be riding the Himalayan 450. But when you spend nine days riding a bike for around 8-10 hours each day you get to know it a lot. How it behaves, what it likes to do, what it doesn’t and day-by-day the Himalayan 450 was starting to grow on me. 

Rugged Build

Royal Enfield Himalayan

The stand out of course is something Royal Enfield seems to get right. They are rugged. 20k plus rental kilometers on the bike I was riding and there were other bikes in our group with double that. And they all rode straight and completed nine more days of riding with us without any complaint. Yes, there were one or two fuel pumps that failed but considering that’s officially attributed to “Contaminated Fuel” that’s clearly not the Himalayan’s fault (IYKYK). And mind you these are bikes ridden by hundreds of tourists with varying degrees of skills through some of the most insane roads, watercrossings and oxygen-starved mountain passes. 

Comfort Pro Max

Royal Enfield Himalayan

The suspension. For a stock setup, the Himalayan was always impressive. With a wide working range that keeps riders of different shapes and sizes comfortable even on long hours in the saddle, Royal Enfield has to be doing something magical. Either that or everyone else is doing a really shitty job. I loved the suspension. Yes, there’s no adjustment but if it’s so good why do you need any adjustment.

Performance

Royal Enfield Himalayan

Compared to that first experience in the mountains, the 450 Himmy’s pep was just what I wanted! “Just a little more power (actually quite a lot more) and liquid cooling”. It had enough grunt and more when needed. Be it to power through water crossings, power through deep sand or power my 130kgs of person and luggage up to 19,000 ft. Could this really be the motorcycle that my wife asked for? Could we finally set off on that tour across the country, throwing caution to the wind and having only the open road as our only master? I was completely in awe of the Himalayan again!

The Question

Royal Enfield Himalayan

The Himalayan 450 is brilliant. I love the look, the power and the way it made me feel back up in the mountains. It gave me what I promised myself I needed - “Just a little more power, and liquid cooling”. Now that I’m back in the plains again I really have half a mind to drop another booking amount on the Himalayan 450 right now. I’d pick the Mana Black version which has the rally seat unit I wanted, maybe I’ll pair it with the gold tubeless spoke rims. Then I’ll get a slightly more throaty exhaust, a fuel X Pro+ to smoothen out the fueling even more and then have that perfect bike to explore the subcontinent with.

But… There is a problem. One of Royal Enfield’s own creation. The Himalayan 750! Spy pictures tell me that it’s got, you guessed it - just a little more power, liquid cooling… Actually no liquid cooling, but two cylinders. I’ve got to have two cylinders now, don’t I?

Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Video Review

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Delhi Rs. 3,55,343
Kolkata Rs. 3,61,503
Bangalore Rs. 3,92,244
Hyderabad Rs. 3,86,146
Mumbai Rs. 3,67,664
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