Besides the road-biased Himalayan, Royal Enfield is also developing a new Himalayan with a more powerful 650cc parallel-twin motor
Towards the end of last year, Royal Enfield claimed that it will be launching one model every quarter for the next four years here on. The company has been testing prototypes for upcoming new models round the clock throughout the year. This indicates that the bikemaker has plenty on its plate to cover.
Recently, another updated test mule was caught on camera. This prototype is likely to be a road-biased version of Himalayan. Now, another image of this variant has gone viral which brings its design to light. This prototype of road-focused Himalayan is a clay model and shares a lot in common with the current off-road capable Himalayan.
2022 Royal Enfield Himalayan – Updated Styling & Features
While the overall design is more or less similar, the new model also features noticeable styling variations which makes it distinct. For instance, the upcoming road-biased model misses out on a large windscreen. Also, Himalayan’s signature exoskeleton has made way for newly designed tank shrouds. Further, tank shrouds are seen imprinted with ‘411’ signifying that it will continue to be powered by the same engine.
Like the test mule spotted earlier, this clay model stood on a smaller 19-inch front wheel. The regular Himalayan gets a 21-inch front wheel. Both modes however get similar wire-spoked rims shod by block pattern, dual-purpose tyres. The tail section also seems to be redesigned with the relative positioning of its taillamp and rear turn indicators appearing slightly different from the current bike. It also misses out on its signature luggage rack.
Another interesting piece of difference is that the road-biased model gets revised front and rear mudguards. It also misses out on a traditional beak-like fender as seen in the current Himalayan. A redesigned headlight mask has been added for a cleaner look. It is also being speculated that Royal Enfield will be offering a slightly smaller and simpler instrument console in this road-biased Himalayan which will include Tripper Navigation as well.
Less Components, More Value
Additionally, the tail section also gets a new grab handle and a new single-piece seat. The recently spied test mule did not feature fork gaiters which this clay prototype features. In a similar manner, the clay model did not showcase side pannier boxes which were spotted in the testing prototype previously. This suggests that these components are more likely to be offered as optional add-ons from the official accessories package.
With components such as the windscreen and luggage rack removed, a simpler instrument cluster and a smaller front wheel on offer, this road-biased version of Himalayan could be more affordable than the current model on sale. This would make it accessible to a larger section of consumers.
As mentioned earlier, this new road-biased Himalayan will likely be powered by the same 411cc single-cylinder air-cooled SOHC that returns an output of 24.3 bhp and 32 Nm of peak torque. There might be a little tweak to its suspension setup which would focus more towards on-road dynamics.
IMAGE SOURCE
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
