Automobile Desk: The country's leading two-wheeler manufacturer Royal Enfield has temporarily closed the booking of its new adventure bike Himalayan 440 for some time. This bike, which was introduced during the first 'Himalayan Base Camp' event held in Ladakh, has received a tremendous response in the Indian market, much more than expected. As soon as it was launched, there was such a huge surge in demand that within just a few days the entire production stock of about six months was booked. Due to this unexpected demand, the company has accumulated a huge backlog of orders, due to which it has had to stop accepting new orders for the time being.
The company's primary objective now is to deliver deliveries as quickly as possible to customers who have already made bookings. According to Royal Enfield officials, the brand's entire focus is currently on increasing its production capacity in a phased manner. After the manufacturing speed at the plant increases, when the company has sufficient capacity to meet the demand of new customers on time, then the booking window will be opened again. Till then new buyers will have to wait for the booking process to officially start.
The Himalayan 440 has actually been designed by the company keeping in mind the suggestions received from customers and riders. Many important technical changes have been made in it while maintaining the utility and strength of the old 411 cc Himalayan. The biggest attraction of the bike is its new and more powerful 443 cc single-cylinder, air-cooled engine. This engine generates maximum power of 25.4 bhp at 6,250 rpm and peak torque of 34 Nm at 4,000 rpm. Talking about bore and stroke, it has a bore of 81 mm and stroke of 86 mm. To make long distance touring easier, it has been paired with a 6-speed gearbox with wet multi-plate clutch, which gives a better cruising experience during highway riding compared to the 5-speed setup of the old Himalayan.
This bike has also been kept quite balanced in terms of design and hardware. It has a 21-inch spoke wheel at the front and a 17-inch wheel at the rear. To deal with bad roads and off-roading conditions, it gets a 41 mm telescopic suspension with 200 mm travel at the front and a linkage monoshock suspension with 180 mm travel at the rear. The generous ground clearance of 220 mm keeps the bike safe from rocks and potholes, while the seat height of 800 mm makes it comfortable even for short riders.
For safety and braking, the bike has a 300 mm front and 240 mm rear disc brake, with dual-channel ABS as standard. Rear ABS can also be switched off for better control during off-road riding. It has a fuel tank with a capacity of 15 litres, which eliminates the hassle of frequent refueling during long journeys. The total weight of the bike is 199 kg and its payload capacity is fixed at 176 kg. Apart from this, the company has also provided a strong rear luggage rack that can carry up to 10 kg of luggage.
Keeping in mind the modern needs, features like analog-digital instrument cluster, tripper navigation pod, all-LED lighting setup (headlight and taillight) and Type-C port for charging the smartphone have been included in it. Launched in Chennai at an ex-showroom price of Rs 2.29 lakh, this adventure bike has emerged as a strong option in its segment, the effect of which is clearly visible on its sales and long waiting list.