Royal Enfield Himalayan 650 will get two variants, will debut in 2024

The upcoming Royal Enfield Himalayan 650 will get two variants which will include a sport-tourer and an adventure tourer.

India's leading two-wheeler maker Royal Enfield is planning to launch several new motorcycles in the country, most notably the Super Meteor 650 and the Himalayan 650. According to recent reports, the Himalayan 650's launch plan started around 18 months back and it was not a part of the company's initial plan.

The company believed that using the 650 cc, parallel-twin engine in an adventure bike would be extremely difficult, but the company has now given the green signal to the project. While the bike will sport the Himalayan nameplate in its production version, nothing can be said for sure at the moment.

According to the news, the Himalayan 650 can be introduced in the country with a new name and the bike will not be a true adventure motorcycle like the current model. The motorcycle can be offered with both alloy wheels and spoke wheels. the alloy wheel variant will be positioned as a sport-tourer and the spoke wheel variant will be positioned as an adventure tourer. 

However, Royal Enfield will not market the Himalayan as it did for the 410 version. Hence it is likely to be launched as a safe, road-oriented bike and soft-roader. The upcoming Himalayan 650 will not get a 21-inch but the 19-inch front wheel and the seat height is also likely to be higher than the current Himalayan.

The upcoming Himalayan 650 will also have good ground clearance, but most importantly, the bike will carry 80-85% of the Himalayan styling. So this bike may be slightly different compared to the current model. The company will keep the exhaust of the bike high and it will also have a better braking system.

In terms of features, the bike may also get a TFT screen with Bluetooth connectivity, multiple riding modes, and a one-level traction control system, and its global launch is planned for the last quarter of 2024. Powering the upcoming Royal Enfield Himalayan 650 is likely to be a 650 cc engine powering the 650 twins i.e. the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT650, which is a 649 cc, air-cooled, parallel-twin engine. This engine develops maximum power of 47.65 Ps and torque of 52 Nm. It has a slipper clutch and is linked to a 6-speed transmission.