Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Motorbikes (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/)

-   -   Royal Enfield working on a larger capacity Himalayan (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/187182-royal-enfield-working-larger-capacity-himalayan.html)

Royal Enfield is working on a new bike in the Himalayan range, which will get a larger capacity engine. This information has been revealed by the company's CEO - Siddhartha Lal. The bike maker has shortlisted a range of existing products which will get a bigger engine option in the future, with the Himalayan adventure motorcycle being one of them.

Siddhartha Lal claimed that the company's main focus is currently on the Indian market, which amounts to 96% of total Royal Enfield sales. While majority of RE's sales come from the 350 cc motorcycles, interest in higher capacity engines has been rising from the past few years. Around 10% of the company's sales are now coming from 500 cc bikes, which equates to 60,000 units a year. The CEO claims that such demand is enough for the bike maker to think about a larger capacity engine for some of its motorcycles.

The CEO also commented that the presence of larger capacity engines in its portfolio will help the company in the international markets as well, where the interest in bigger bikes is a lot more pronounced. Siddhartha has further confirmed that there are no plans to develop engines larger than 750 cc.

The Himalayan was launched in India last year and marked Royal Enfield's entry into the adventure motorcycle segment. It is currently powered by a 411 cc single-cylinder engine that churns out 24.5 BHP and 32 Nm of torque.

Source: Motorcycle Magazine

Link to Team-BHP News

How about improving the already faulty Himalayan? There are many manufacturing defects with the bike, countless people have taken up the issue with the service centers as well as the company. But there still seems to be no solution about it.

RE needs to improve the quality of their existing bikes, before they think of bringing in newer models.

A profound sense of sadness envelopes me when I see this kind of a venture come to the surface.
1. Sack the clown who said that 25 or 29 BHP was enough, why do you need more? Sack him- more for the stupid remark than the need for more HP
2. They should buy every adventure bike in the market- Versys 650, 1000, the two variants of the Tiger, the XRx and XCx, then the Multistrada, and the BMW GS. Create a stable of these bikes so that their staff knows what to design for- albeit on a smaller scale.
Small things like a 700W alternator, a side stand capable of bearing a 100kg rider climbing on a baggage loaded bike...
3. Sack a bunch of jokers in the QA and QC department, and shift the balance to the Contracts division- and make them ensure good prices to their vendors and strict replacement policies. If HD India can give a 2 year unlimited mile warranty, its a damn shame we cannot offer a 50 K or 100K warranty. (please no makign price comparisons- as I did not ask RE to make substandard Himalayan at a throwaway price.) Another 10-20k would not have dented the sales, to the contrary had the quality of parts been better, the sales would have tripled.
4. Rope in the bigger bikes and touring community. Do not let go of riders- from inner Cities like Aurangabad, to Mumbai, to stars from Bangalore, and the sturdy burly riders from the North.

I sent an email to their Chief, Rudra T Singh, and maybe he is too busy inaugurating world stores that will be stuffed with the 350 and the 500... I hope to hear from him, so that I can take my club and visit him and his factory and share what experiences we have.

This will be interesting- and my wife tells me- "dont be a cynic-" so I wont. I wish them well, as Indian riders need a good touring bike. Even if we are just 10000 of us.

Sadly i share the same opinion as you sir. My brother bought a Classic 350 in 2012 with his first earnings from the armed forces as anyone there should ride a RE. On a recent ride his bike which was fresh out of service would not cross 100kmph. When he contacted the service center, they mentioned to add some oil with the fuel as sometimes the engines inside rust. Kinda strange that a 5 year old bike should rust so soon.

100kmph is not ok in the north american markets ever! Thats cruising speed which even simple vehicles can do.

On another note, i had been to a motorcycle show where all the biggies had displays. I went to the RE stand out of love for it. There was a weld job on the silencer for the o2 sensor which was such a crappy aftermarket roadside job which was clearly visible, i shook my head on who approved that. For a company whose share price has gone through the roof, QC is ridiculous. Am sorry i dont want to buy a bike which will end up in the dump in 10 years.

I own a ducati, which i bought used, and only recently i observed certain nuts in my seat rusting, but my engine is working fine. My dad owns a cd100 which is about 27 years old. This bike has never seen a full tank of gas and starts on the first kick. Thats what i care about.

Good luck with new products, but look out for existing customers too!

Maddy

Moving from 350cc to 410cc does it make any significant change? We had also seen this earlier, 535 in RE Conti-GT; Same 35cc displacement addition.

My point is are we seeing anything substantial or just the mature manufactering practice?

Any new interesting rumours on this bike?
Its time to buy an adventure bike. I would rather buy an RE- too much time and money invested in the relationships- Brand stores, dealers, customerservice@royalenfield.com, network of roadside mechanics and the likes.
I just added a note on some Himalayan thread on a good 80+km fast run with the BS IV Himalayan- and it was spectacular to watch.
Before I jump in on it- thought I would check out the rumour mills.
Thanks for any feedback.

Maxabout.com has published a sweat looking image of RE Himalayan 650 rendering by SRK designs. While we all know that Sid Lad hinted about a bigger Himalayan in the works during his earlier outings. As per the website, it will share the platform along with the newly launched twins.



Source: Maxabout.com/

And their source is an IAB article that confirms that RE is not planning a bigger Himalayan in the short term - for domestic or international markets.

Got it. Appreciate you clarifying quickly. But a delicious looking rendering nonetheless.