So at the heart of the 2020 Royal Enfield Himalayan is a 411cc single overhead camshaft, air-cooled, single cylinder, four-stroke motor. Enfield have been using the same pushrod valve operated motors in their Indian built Bullets since 1957, so the move to a SOHC motor was unprecedented.
With bore and stroke at 78mm by 86mm, the long stroke motor puts out a very modest 23.4 bhp at 6,500 rpm, with the maximum torque coming in between 4,000 and 4,500 rpm. Somewhat bizarrely, the power output on the 2020 bike is slightly less than earlier models, suggesting that meeting emission regulations has robbed power from the 24.8 bhp available in 2018. What certainly can’t help is the engine’s large dimensions, which in comparison to a more modern designed four stroke motor is simply enormous. That said, the service intervals on the RE are going to be a lot wider spaced than a KTM 350 EXC-F!
While the latest and most expensive adventure bikes like the BMW R1250 GS are getting slipper clutches and quick shifters, the Royal Enfield Himalayan just gets a no-frills multi plate clutch and a five-speed gearbox. Ignition is electronic, but don’t expect selectable riding modes and a tuneable ECU!
Although the initial version has a carburettor, thankfully Royal Enfield dropped this in favour of fuel injection a year later and the new model continues this for 2020 – an essential if you are actually taking the bike into the Himalayas – the early models could barely make it up Khardung La without removing the air filter, despite what the marketing video showed.
The bike runs a single exhaust exiting on the right side of the deeply finned cylinder, and a single side mounted end can which is pleasingly smaller than expected. The new bike now runs a catalytic converter that sits in the lump on the downtube of the header pipe.