Royal Enfield has just introduced dual channel ABS on the Classic 350 Signals Edition, and is all set to introduce this life-saving safety feature on more motorcycles. The Himalayan is one such Royal Enfield that will soon benefit from the addition of ABS, and Autocar reports that dealers have already begun taking bookings for the same. Notably, the Royal Enfield Himalayan ABS is already on sale in Europe, which means that the bike’s ABS is already tried and tested. People opting for the Himalayan ABS needn’t be worried about being beta testers, and can go ahead and book the motorcycle.
We expect the Royal Enfield Himalayan ABS to be priced about Rs. 20,000 more than the non-ABS version. This puts the Himalayan ABS’ starting price at about Rs. 1.9 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. It remains to be seen whether Royal Enfield will go for a switchable ABS on the Himalayan considering that it’s an on-off road motorcycles. Such motorcycles need ABS to be switched off under certain off-road conditions, and such a system would be good to have. In fact, many on-off road motorcycles do have his feature, and we hope that Royal Enfield also offers it on the Himalayan. Apart from the addition of dual channel ABS, the Himalayan is not likely to get any other change.
The motorcycle will continue to operate with a 411cc, four stroke engine that’s air and oil cooled. A newly developed motor for use specifically on the Himalayan, this engine dumps Royal Enfield’s traditional pushrod set up for a more conventional, single overhead camshaft operated two valve set up. The engine is fuel injected, and makes 24.5 Bhp-32 Nm. A 5 speed manual gearbox is standard. The Himalayan gets a 220 mm ground clearance, long travel front and rear suspension, a large fuel tank and also luggage tie-down points. An upright riding position and comfortable ergonomics make the motorcycle an excellent long distance tourer.
Also Read: Royal Enfield Himalayan ABS bookings open