ZigOpinion: Hey Royal Enfield, Take Your Time With The Himalayan 450 LC

You’ve got to hand it to Royal Enfield. If anyone made the adventure motorcycle popular and accessible to Indians, it is RE. But unlike the smooth ride that it offers, the Himalayan’s journey has been full of trials and tribulations. We’ve all seen the horror stories of the first lot of bikes; and even after so many iterations, the product is far from being perfect. 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sid Lal (@sidlal)

So, when Royal Enfield’s Sid Lal took to Instagram and shared a reel of him crossing one of the many river streams of Ladakh astride the highly-anticipated Himalayan 450 LC, the internet lost its collective s***. Launch timelines, prices, spec analysis and what nots are being planned on countless websites (including ours in due time). But today, here’s my plea to Royal Enfield: take your time and don’t eff it up.

The Hype
Remember when everyone went mental after the Interceptor 650 arrived and wanted a Himalayan 650 too? I wasn’t as intrigued. However, we had heard a few murmurs during the India launch of the 650 twins of an even more exciting plan with the Himalayan. That was 2018. 

It took four years and a pandemic for us to finally get a glimpse of what was being planned. And those murmurs turned out to be true because Royal Enfield was embracing modernity. Liquid-cooling, an upside down fork, all-LED lighting and these are just the bits that we could spot on the test mule. The Himalayan 450 LC had definitely got us hooked. 

But from the first sightings of the test bike to Sid Lal posting the teaser, it has barely been more than a year. Is it being rushed?

Why This Matters More
Unlike 2018 when the market for adventure bikes was virtually non-existent, we now have a lot of options for every sort of adventurer. From those who just like the ADV look to those who live for the muddy stuff, we have options galore. So, the stakes are higher.

Royal Enfield cannot go in with the same relaxed approach like it did with the first-gen Himalayan. Remember C S Santosh’s jump that took off a footpeg in the ad video? Or the catastrophic chassis failures? Or even the countless other issues that forced Himalayans to spend more time in workshops than in the Himalayas? Royal Enfield faced a lot of flak, and rightly so, for it. 

The current Himalayan is a far better motorcycle, one that we’ve come to love. It has proven itself to be quite an all-rounder, offering unrivalled capabilities and friendliness.

Not only does the upcoming Himalayan 450 LC have to live up to, and exceed, the standards of current Himalayan 411, there’s another homegrown challenger taking shape too: the Hero XPulse 400. Hero has benefited a lot from its Dakar ventures, putting whatever it has learnt in the gruelling rally into the upcoming bike. Unlike the smaller 200, this XPulse 400 will have the tools to give the Himalayan a proper run for its money. And to combat that, even Royal Enfield is looking to do something which it hasn’t done in over six decades: going rallying.

Dakar Ambitions
Yep, the Himalayan 450 LC isn’t just going to be for scaling the Himalayas. That feat has been done and dusted easily by the current model. What the next one intends to do is ruffle up some feathers with the big boys of two-wheel rallying – Honda, KTM and Husqvarna. 

In order to line-up in Saudi Arabia (in a few years’ time, of course), Royal Enfield will not only need a competent engine but also a sturdy frame, sophisticated hardware and some ballsy riders. For the first three, the groundwork has to be solid which will reflect directly on the Himalayan 450. Ballsy riders will eventually arrive.

Optimism
Royal Enfield’s two new platforms, the 650 twins and the new J-platform, have seen a remarkable improvement in quality, fit, finish and reliability. Conscious efforts have been taken to make sure that the bikes rolling out from the Oragadam plant are meeting the highest standards. The Scram 411, as a result, left us saddened and it was proven that the 411 platform still needs some improvement. 

This new 450 platform will spawn the Himalayan as well as a Scram, and things are bound to improve. Yes, the bikes will feature bits that no other Royal Enfields have had before, and with that come newer challenges. But Royal Enfield has earned the trust back with competent and quality products that are great to ride and own.

So, like I mentioned right at the start, dear Royal Enfield, take your time with the Himalayan 450 LC. We are eagerly waiting for it and can wait a bit more. Get it right.