Speaking exclusively to RealRiders at the Wheels & Waves custom bike festival in Biarritz, Arun Gopal, Royal Enfield’s head of international business, confirmed that the 411cc single-cylinder adventure bike Himalayan WILL be coming to the UK. The company is aiming to have it on sale by the end of 2017.
Gopal was explaining RealRiders about the importance of the custom scene, and how the Indian company’s bikes, thanks to their accessible price, rideability and ease of home maintenance/modification, make them a perfect fit for an ever-expanding market.
When confirming that the use of Keihin and other big-brand parts for the fuelling, ABS etc. on its bikes would mean Euro 4 regulations should not cause any major issues for the brand, John questioned the position of the Himalayan, a bike that – with no ABS or catalytic converter – was previously said to be for the Indian market only. Gopal stressed that the machine will maintain the accessible nature that’s characteristic of all Royal Enfield’s bikes, but would gain the additional equipment required for it to make what we expect will be a popular debut in Europe.
The Himalayan is currently priced at just 1.55 Lakh – that’s a little over £1600 – and weighs 182kg when fuelled, but we’d expect to see both those figures creep up by the time the bike reaches our shores. The 15 litre tank is said to give a potential range of 280 miles, with Enfield claiming up to 85mpg in the current guise.
Labels: News Info, Royal Enfield
