Automobile Desk: The new adventure bike Himalayan 440 of the giant Royal Enfield, which has a strong hold in the two-wheeler segment, is being accepted in the Indian market. In view of the rush of customers at the showrooms and the record-breaking bookings, the company has currently temporarily banned taking new bookings for this bike. The kind of response this bike has received as soon as it was launched was not expected even by the company itself.
According to the official information received from Royal Enfield, within a very short time of its launch, the orders for the next 6 months of this powerful bike have been completely booked. This is the reason why the manufacturing plant is under pressure beyond its capacity. The company says that its first priority is to provide timely delivery to those who have already made their bookings. For this purpose, new bookings have been stopped for the time being so that the old pending orders can be completed without any delay.
After increasing the production capacity, the company is planning to restart its bookings very soon. During this period, customers who have booked bikes will be updated about their delivery schedule in a phased manner. It is noteworthy that this adventure bike was recently introduced during the company's special 'Himalayan Base Camp' event organized in Ladakh, after which there has been a lot of buzz in the auto market about it.
This success is also very important for Royal Enfield because the company's 'Himalayan' brand has completed 10 years of its journey in the Indian market. Ever since it was launched as an off-road adventure bike a decade ago, this model has become the identity of the brand in the country and the world. If we look at the global figures, more than 3.2 lakh units of the Himalayan series (which includes the old 411 model and the new 450 variant) have been sold so far. The Himalayan 450 alone has crossed the 1 lakh sales mark worldwide, becoming the most preferred bike in its segment in major markets like India and Brazil.
The company has kept the new Himalayan 440 quite different from the 450 variant and a bit practical. Talking about the design, it has a signature round headlamp, long windscreen, comfortable seating position with 21-inch front and 17-inch rear spoke wheel. Due to the seat height of 800 mm and ground clearance of 220 mm, it goes easily even on rough roads. It has a fuel tank of 15 liter capacity and its total weight is 199 kg.
In terms of performance, it has a 443cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine, which generates power of 25.4 bhp and torque of 34 Nm. Compared to the old 411cc model, its power and torque have seen an increase of 4.5% and 6.5% respectively. Equipped with 6-speed gearbox, this bike runs easily in city traffic and gives excellent pickup in low and mid-range. On the highway, this bike cruises quite smoothly at a speed of 100 kmph, while during testing it has recorded a mileage of around 30 kmpl. Coming at a starting price of ₹ 2.29 lakh (ex-showroom), this bike has basic and essential features like LED lights, tripper navigation and Type-C charging port.