[ebonho]

Originally Posted by i_rock098

Thing is for most new gen riders who have never owned Yezdi or Jawa or even seen one will not have that nostalgia factor associated with the brand. Thanks to Royal Enfield being in continuations production it has a far greater brand recall value. Hence it is even attracting the young crowd which the revived Yezdi no matter how good will be able to match hence even now I don't think they will be worried.

All first time Bullet owners like us at the turn of the millennium never had never owned a Bullet before either.

Even when they were being sold, like in the early 90s, Yezdis were never seen on the road as much as Bullets were. Maybe southside the story was different, I don't know.

Also, the Yezdis have gone more in Indian motorsport, be it rallying or track, than Bullets ever could or would.

It has serious street cred. And there are plenty still around. As there are generations of Indian riders who have seen and grown up with these and ridden them and still talk about them.

All of that builds a story and a mystique.

In fact, one could say the till now unattainable factory new Yezdi would be more attractive as a novelty than the very common and continually available Bullet.

Plus of course tgere are many like me who have never owned a Yezdi yet, and might want to own one now. Or have owned one before and might want to own one again.

Cheers, Doc

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by i_rock098

Thing is for most new gen riders who have never owned Yezdi or Jawa or even seen one will not have that nostalgia factor associated with the brand. Thanks to Royal Enfield being in continuations production it has a far greater brand recall value. Hence it is even attracting the young crowd which the revived Yezdi no matter how good will be able to match hence even now I don't think they will be worried.

And just as if on cue, exactly as I was saying, we see the exact same Indian homegrown retro chic brand tug theme in their teaser ads -

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...w-yezdi-4.html (Retro-scrambler motorcycle with dual exhaust spotted | Seems to be a new Yezdi)

Whether we like to admit it or not in our rebellious younger days, your dad is always your first superman. And as a man gets older he realizes more and more that he IS his dad.

My dad's first bike (on whose tank I sat as a kid) was a Jawa (the original pre Yezdi one).

His next bike was a Bullet 350 Deluxe (red and chrome).

Cheers, Doc

[rich_heart]

We could be kind enough to ignore the rendering
However I am more interested to see if it is technically possible to churn out 40+bhp from a 450cc engine? What parameters would need to be changed.
Would it require extreme high performance material and design? If that is true, RE might not go that route yet because the price tag will be out of reach for most.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by rich_heart

However I am more interested to see if it is technically possible to churn out 40+bhp from a 450cc engine? What parameters would need to be changed.
Would it require extreme high performance material and design? If that is true, RE might not go that route yet because the price tag will be out of reach for most.

I guess it's possible if RE reduces the stroke length so that the engine can rev higher. The newer engines RE is making already have a shorter stroke compared to their older ones. I suppose they can make a near square engine just for this one.

[Weathered]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Even when they were being sold, like in the early 90s, Yezdis were never seen on the road as much as Bullets were. Maybe southside the story was different, I don't know.

Also, the Yezdis have gone more in Indian motorsport, be it rallying or track, than Bullets ever could or would.

It has serious street cred. And there are plenty still around. As there are generations of Indian riders who have seen and grown up with these and ridden them and still talk about them.

During early 90s, Yezdis (mostly Classic & Deluxe followed by Roadking) were way more popular than Bullets in the old Mysore region. Almost every one of my uncles owned a Yezdi
Agree with you on the impact they had on Indian motorsport.

[nitro.1000bhp]

Originally Posted by rich_heart

We could be kind enough to ignore the rendering
However I am more interested to see if it is technically possible to churn out 40+bhp from a 450cc engine? What parameters would need to be changed.
Would it require extreme high performance material and design? If that is true, RE might not go that route yet because the price tag will be out of reach for most.

I think they can quite easily get 40hp out of a 450 engine, its barely 100hp/liter. The 390 makes that with just 375cc, with an additional 75cc the RE can produce that power without too much stress. The MX 450s available abroad make more than 60hp but they are highly strung and need frequent maintenance.

Nikasil plated cylinders and liquid cooling are adequate to produce that power safely and it shouldn't cost much when it comes to production costs. They will need to spend on the R&D though and that is where it'll cost them more for tooling, machinery...etc which, ultimately translates to the cost of the bike.

Ive seen RE's R&D facility here in chennai and its quite a substantial investment. They seem very committed and I wish them the very best. I just hope this time they test the bike properly and iron out all the issues before it goes on sale unlike the previous gen's fiasco.

[mh09ad5578]

Always loved the Himalayan, apart from power for triple digit highway cruising. Thought the 650 Himalayan would be it but pleasantly surprised at this. Looks like this will be the first Royal Enfield I actually own. Bring it on!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Weathered

During early 90s, Yezdis (mostly Classic & Deluxe followed by Roadking) were way more popular than Bullets in the old Mysore region. Almost every one of my uncles owned a Yezdi
Agree with you on the impact they had on Indian motorsport.

Yup that's why while I had a vague suspicion that they were more 0o0upar down south I wasn't really sure. Here too in Poona in PARA there were quite a few Yezdi racers, Bullets too, but on the streets tgere was not too much of a presence. It was mostly RDs and the 100 cc's that ruled the roost through the 90s. And if course you had the ubiquitous black Bullet 350s here and there. A lot more common than Yezdis. Royal Enfield and Yezdi both had only one dealer for the entire city, both two streets apart in Camp.

http://yezdi.com/spiritually-all-you...cles-are-mine/

http://yezdi.com/from-a-guru-grandfa...guru-grandson/

Cheers, Doc

[Sudarshan42]

The launch is in 2023, but safe to say it's worth waiting till at least 2025 for RE to sort out its niggles based on feedback from their 'beta testers'. Till then, hope an XPulse can keep my backside comfy.

[WheelJack]

Being an X owner of BS4 Himalayan 400 (with abs), the 40 bhp offering will definetly amp the sales further. However not sure if the bike will still feel stable above 100 which was the main issue in 400cc version. Bike felt heavy and stable for city traffic but once on the highways trying to be at higher speeds was not comfortable due to immense vibrations above 80kph and quality of abs not being up to mark. Hope RE resolves these issues in 450 version so that cruising at higher speeds become comfortable similar to 390 ADV which is a bomb of a machine.

[Mr.Ogre]

What's wrong with the Himalayan 650. They already have a 650cc twin that makes decent power. Just plonk it in man and take my money.

[Godzilla]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ogre

What's wrong with the Himalayan 650. They already have a 650cc twin that makes decent power. Just plonk it in man and take my money.

One reason is the 650 engine is quite heavy and it would be weighing close to 220 or more kgs and compromising on the adv capabilities. 450-500 cc single seems reasonable with good power to weight ratio.

On another note even the KTM 490 Adv is making less sense as the added power will most likely be offset by the weight of the new twin cylinder. The 490 Adv may be a tad smoother but it would weigh more and likely to have similar power to weight ratio of the 390. So the current 390 would be a better off roader compared to 490 Adv due to less weight. I think this is one of the reasons why KTM is delaying the 490 Adv.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

One reason is the 650 engine is quite heavy and it would be weighing close to 220 or more kgs and compromising on the adv capabilities. 450-500 cc single seems reasonable with good power to weight ratio.

On another note even the KTM 490 Adv is making less sense as the added power will most likely be offset by the weight of the new twin cylinder. The 490 Adv may be a tad smoother but it would weigh more and likely to have similar power to weight ratio of the 390. So the current 390 would be a better off roader compared to 490 Adv due to less weight. I think this is one of the reasons why KTM is delaying the 490 Adv.

Weight is one of the single biggest factors that kills an Adventure for many riders.

Add an anemic motor and it becomes a lot worse.

To my mind a Scrambler, or a naked street with the right tyres, is the best of all worlds to really do adventure in India.

You get the weight, power, suspension, wheels and tyres, and ground clearance that you need, without the fatness.

If you want to cross deepest Africa, Mongolia or Siberia, then maybe not.

Cheers, Doc

[saitvsk23]

Okay soo..

Lets put the rumoured 450 aside and look at the 650 platform we have right now. Its quite a customisable one, right? That's what these folks have done here. It surely looks interesting and has quite a "crossover-ish" name too.

Take a look :

https://youtu.be/Z9CnOyNP50I

[DesertLynx34]

It's a really great time to be a rider when competition starts to build and push each other and slowly but steadily our ADV market is seeing the signs.

I believe a 400-500 displacement is a good spot for a dual sport to be in. Anything more, it starts to get uncomfortably heavy and anything less, we lose valuable horses. I currently ride a Himalayan and for my skills and riding environment, I'm well satisfied.

I have great hopes for both, an RE450, and the Hero 350/400, if these are indeed really being developed.
Hero, what with their enthusiasm in Dakar, if they try even a little bit can do wonders for this market, if you look at what they've done with the XPulse. Give us a civilian version of that Dakar machine without overly diluting it please, Hero?