The switchover from BS-III emission norms to BS-IV has left quite a few manufacturers in a tizzy. Even after getting a full year to put their BS-IV bikes into showrooms, it was a mad scramble for most manufacturers a couple of days before the April 1, 2017, deadline to clear their old BS-III stock by offering massive discounts. Some, however, managed to get things in order, with Royal Enfield (RE) being one of them thanks to its comparatively low monthly production and extremely high demand.
Royal Enfield didn’t make any big announcement, but had already converted its portfolio to BS-IV. To meet the stricter emission norms, its latest model, the Himalayan adventure-tourer, which was launched early 2016, was the latest to switch to an electronic fuel injection (EFI) setup from the carburetted form. There were a lot of talks throughout last year about an EFI version of the Himalayan on the horizon, and it seems this emission norms’ implementation was the perfect opportunity to make it happen.
With the addition of EFI though, there was no change to the engine’s specifications, with the 411cc single-cylinder, oil-and-air-cooled unit putting out the same 24.5hp at 6,500rpm and a peak torque of 32Nm at 4,250rpm. The five-speed gearbox too stays unchanged. While there was no official word after the inclusion of EFI, the Himalayan’s price has been increased.
Meanwhile, the 535cc engine of the Continental GT, and the Classic 500 series and the Thunderbird 500 were already running on fuel injection. But the same 500cc motor from the latter two bikes was carburetted in the Standard 500. Now, even that has switched to EFI to comply with the BS-IV norms. However, the company managed to make all its 350cc bikes compliant with BS-IV while still keeping them carburetted. These include the Classic 350 series, the Thunderbird 350 and the Standard 350.