Of all the upcoming Royal Enfield models, the Himalayan 650 stands out. A sensibly priced adventure tourer with a twin-cylinder engine has long been asked for by enthusiasts, and it looks like their prayers will soon be heard. We have laid eyes on the first images of the Himalayan 650 and there’s a lot to unpack here.
- Front wheel is likely smaller than a 21-inch unit
- First Indian motorcycle to use dual front disc brakes
- TFT display appears similar to Himalayan 450
Royal Enfield Himalayan 650: what can be seen?
Clearly visible in these spy images is the air/oil-cooled, 648cc, twin-cylinder motor from Royal Enfield at the heart of an ADV tourer motorcycle. What is different compared to the other RE 650cc bikes on sale today is the presence of an upswept two-into-one exhaust. This will make the Himalayan 650 the second motorcycle in the RE 650 range to use this exhaust setup after the soon-to-be-launched Interceptor Bear 650. We don’t expect output figures to stray too much from the 47hp/52Nm of the other 650cc Royal Enfields, although mapping and gearing will likely change.
A notable feature of the Himalayan 650 is its dual front disc brakes, a first for an Indian motorcycle. We can also discern the presence of a USD fork, with what appear to be damping adjusters on the tops. As this is an early prototype, the company may still be finalising the damping settings. It remains to be seen if the production-spec Himalayan 650 will include an adjustable fork.
Just like the Himalayan 450, the 650 gets the Tripper TFT display and indicators with the taillight integrated into them. It also shares a similar split seat setup and rear grab handle with the smaller Himalayan. The tank rails as well as the fuel tank on the Himalayan 650 also bear some resemblance to the Himalayan 450, but are likely to be new units.
Given that Royal Enfield has several models in the pipeline and this bike has only recently been spotted for the first time, its launch is likely still some time away.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
