Royal Enfield Australia and New Zealand has confirmed pricing and availability for the impressive all-new Himalayan 450.
Royal Enfield's all-new Himalayan is due to arrive in Kiwi dealers in January, with pricing for the entry-level adventure bike now confirmed as starting at just $8,990!
Pre-orders for the first shipment of the new Himalayan units are now live at www.royalenfieldmotorcycles.co.nz or at your nearest Royal Enfield dealership. Secure your seat with a refundable deposit of $500, and be one of the first in the country to take delivery of this highly anticipated Adventure motorcycle.
The Himalayan 450 will initially be available in New Zealand in 4 colourways (Kaza Brown, Slate Salt, Slate Poppy Blue, Hanle Black), with the first shipments of the Himalayan 450 are due to be delivered to pre-order customers from early March 2024.
The all-new Himalayan takes the original concept and brings it up to a truly global level. With a 40hp 452cc water-cooled single thumping at its heart, the new bike ups the spec across the board.
Power figures are up 65% on the old Himalayan 411, while peak torque registers in at a 25% increase with 40Nm on tap. Royal Enfield calls the engine the Sherpa 450, and it is the first engine from the firm to use water-cooling, a DOHC head, DLC coatings, an 11.5:1 compression ratio, and a six-speed gearbox.
The clutch is a slip-and-assist unit which allows for a lighter feel at the lever as well as prevents the rear wheel from locking due to improper downshifting. The engine is also mounted at a 21º forward angle to help the bike's weight distribution and handling. Service intervals are set at 10,000km and fuel consumption is a claimed 28.15kmpl according to WMTC testing.
The new Himalayan also utilises a ride-by-wire throttle (another first for RE) which allows for the bike to feature two throttle maps - eco and performance on which each can have the rear ABS deactivated for riding in the dirt.
This is controlled via Royal Enfield's new Tripper TFT Dash unit, a circular TFT which allows for Google Maps to be run through the Royal Enfield app and displayed on the top half of the screen. It is an incredibly light unit, and Enfield has cleverly developed it to be able to be updated via the app - essentially future-proofing the unit.
Lighting is all LED with the headlight shared with the Super Meteor. The rear indicators feature integrated brake lights as adding a traditional tail light limits rear wheel articulation.
The suspension comes in the form of 43mm USD Showa SFF forks and a rear shock with pre-load adjustment, both offer up to 200 mm of travel. The latter can be achieved easily thanks to the class-leading toolkit Royal Enfield is shipping the new Himalayan which features not only the usual spanners but a C-spanner to adjust the rear shock's preload collar.
Ground clearance is listed as 230mm while seat height from the standard seat can be adjusted with two positions - a low 825 mm-845 mm. A low seat option drops this down to 805-825mm while a Rally seat is one of 30 factory accessories the bike is set to launch with.
Rolling stock is a 21-inch front wheel and 17-inch rear wrapped in 90/90-21 and 140/80-17 CEAT adventure rubber.
While our original expectation was that the new Himalayan would see the brand offering a tubeless spoked wheel design for the New Zealand market ( giving Royal Enfield a real point of difference to its competition in the lightweight adv sector), Royal Enfield Australia and New Zealand have confirmed the bike will debut with tube type wheels.
An announcement is expected in 2024 regarding the availability of tubeless wheels on the Himalayan 450.
For up-and-coming adventure riders, a heavy bike isn't ideal for getting to grips with rough rides. RE has kept that in mind and the new Himalayan 450's all-important weight number is 198kg fully fueled and ready to ride.