Royal Enfield didn’t have anything production-ready at the EICMA 2019. However, the manufacturer did have a couple of its quirky custom build motorcycles on display. While these were showcased earlier as well, the Italian audience had a good dekko at them for the first time. However, of importance to us back in India were the Royal Enfield Himalayans that were on display. No, there wasn’t any Euro-V or BS-VI compliance to the powertrain. Instead, Royal Enfield presented the Himalayan in new colours. These colour schemes were very different than what we have here. Royal Enfield gave the Himalayan metallic colours. The blue and white as well as the red and black themes looked quite good. So good that in fact we are tempted right now to go and buy one.
Unfortunately, Royal Enfield is tight lipped about when these colours will come to the Indian market. We expect the BS-VI versions that will come to India to get these colours. As is usually the case, most of the manufacturers are quite happy to add goodies with the BS-VI conversion. For example, many manufacturers like Yamaha had already confirmed that they will want to add new features to their BS-VI bikes to enhance the value-for-money proposition. These bikes will carry around a 10-12 per cent increase in price and to offset the same, the additional features will be provided.
The Royal Enfield Himalayan BS-VI is expected to run the same 411cc, single cylinder, air-cooled, DOHC engine. The power and torque numbers might vary slightly though the BS-IV unit produces 25hp and 32Nm. It is paired to a 5-speed gearbox. Expect a slight increase in the fuel efficiency though this will be confirmed during the official launch. The Himalayan is available for less than Rs 2 lakh at the moment while the BS-VI version should cost a bit above this mark.
