Chennai-based, India's oldest motorcycle maker Royal Enfield, today commercially launched the Himalayan bike at Rs 155,545 (ex-showroom, Maharashtra).
The Himalayan is an all-new bike from the Eicher Motors-owned Royal Enfield and is designed to ride on rugged terrain. Powered by a 411cc engine this would be the most affordable bike in its class.
The Himalayan was showcased first early last month just before the start of the Auto Expo. Deliveries of the bike is set to commence from this month. On-road price of the bike in Mumbai is Rs 17,8872.
Having created a new brand Royal Enfield had been testing the bike since the past two years in the rugged hilly areas near the Himalayas.
Royal Enfield's other brands are Classic, Thunderbird, Bullet and Continental GT. The Classic 350 is one of the highest selling models for the company.
The Himalayan comes with a 411 cc, overhead camshaft, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine. It is tuned to produce 24.5 bhp of peak power at 6500 rpm and 32 Nm of torque at 4500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox.
While there is direct competition to the Himalayan given its, off-road capability, engine size and power there are, however models like the Beneli TNT25 and KTM Duke which are street bikes with slightly similar design characteristics.