[ROVERMAN]

I have to say this is looking more and more interesting. I have to wonder if the bike is brought here what changes, if any, they will make. A Twin would be rather tasty, or i could settle for a boost to 500 cc with F.I. This bike is making me nostalgic for my old Yamaha RT1 360.
Roverman.

[krusty]

To do well in the European market place abs and a beefy alternator would be desirable.  Everything else is bolt on.
Daily riding on tar roads is where 90% will end up. So sat navs, aux lighting and heated grips will need to be catered for.
Krusty

[ROVERMAN]

Does anybody know if or when the Himalayan will come to the States?
Roverman.

[mattsz]

Does anybody know if or when the Himalayan will come to the States?
Roverman.

From yesterday's post to the Royal Enfield North America Facebook page:

As of current, the Royal Enfield Himalayan that was introduced in February 2016 is an Indian market specification model. A future EFI variant for North America is anticipated, but is not guaranteed at present.

If and when allocations of the Himalayan become available in the North American market, Royal Enfield will conduct a presale/crowd funding effort to help gauge interest and ideally accept bookings in advance of the official launch.

Royal Enfield will communicate these efforts as soon as plans are solidified.

In the meantime be sure to follow Royal Enfield here on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for further updates.

Not holding my breath; they can't even tell us where to buy their current north american offerings...

[ROVERMAN]

Um, thanks for the reply Mattsz. That is a little odd isn't it. I for one think that could be a missed opportunity.
Roverman.

[malky]

What an anti climax.

[High On Octane]

What?!  I guess that rules out the possibilities of me buying one.

[malky]

I could always book a holiday in India, buy a Himalayan and ride it home via China and Russia. That would be good .

[Farmer_John]

Um, thanks for the reply Mattsz. That is a little odd isn't it. I for one think that could be a missed opportunity.
Roverman.

On our front, I talked to Steve at DI earlier this week and RENA wants to keep them and they anticipate staying a RE dealer, though he's not comfortable with the mountains of red tape they're cutting through.

They'll have Benelli really soon...

[Ice]

 It takes one year minimum to wade through the EPA red tape requirements for import. RE's strategy makes sense from a practical point of view.

 It would not surprise me if the EPA test mules arrive here to begin the process within weeks of serial production commencing.

 FWIW there is supposed to be a big announcement next year.

 If I were a betting man I'd wager next years big announcement to be about the twin cylinder and at the same time the decision to launch of the Himalayan in North American within the next six months.

  Come to think about it keeping the first year of Himalayan production for the domestic market has a few benefits. It answers a demand, favors home market consumers and keeps the bikes easily accessible for the engineers for quick study and remedy in case of teething troubles.

[Ice]

I could always book a holiday in India, buy a Himalayan and ride it home via China and Russia. That would be good .

 No sir, that would be Legendary   

[Ice]

I have to say this is looking more and more interesting. I have to wonder if the bike is brought here what changes, if any, they will make. A Twin would be rather tasty, or i could settle for a boost to 500 cc with F.I. This bike is making me nostalgic for my old Yamaha RT1 360.
Roverman.

 The specs so far:
2016 Royal Enfield Himalayan Specs –
Engine – Single cylinder, air-cooled, 4 stroke, SOHC
Displacement – 411cc
Bore x Stroke – 78mm x 86mm
Compression Ratio – 9.5:1
Maximum Power – 24.5 BHP (18.02 KW) @ 6500 rpm
Maximum Torque –  32 NM (23.6 LB FT) @ 4000 – 4500 rpm
Ignition system – TCI, multi-curve
Clutch – Wet, multi-plate
Gearbox – 5 speed constant mesh
Lubrication – Wet sump
Fueling – Carburetor with throttle position sensor
Engine start – Electric
Chassis and Suspension
Type – Half-duplex split cradle frame
Front suspension – Telescopic, 41mm fork, 200mm travel (7.874 in.)
Rear suspension – Monoshock with linkage, 180mm wheel travel (7.087 in.)
Dimensions
Wheelbase – 1465mm (57.6 in.)
Ground clearance – 220mm (8.66 in.)
Length – 2190mm (86.2 in.)
Width – 840mm (33.07 in.)
Seat height – 800mm (31.49 in.)
Height – 1360mm (flyscreen top) (53.54 in.)
Curb weight – 182 kg (401 lbs)
Fuel capacity – 15+/- 0.5 lts (3.9 gal.)
Brakes and Tires
Front tire – 90/90 – 21″
Rear tire – 120/90 – 17″
Front brakes – 300mm disc, 2-piston floating caliper
Rear brakes – 240mm disc, single piston floating caliper
Electrical system – 12 volt – DC
Battery – 12 volt, 8 AH VRLA
Headlamp – 12V H4 60 / 55 W
Taillamp – LED
Colors – Granite and Snow

 You probably caught Sid Lal's comments in the video about EFI and ABS being already to go for where required.

 What I want to know is how thick is the cylinder barrel wall and how thick is the cylinder liner ?

 If there is enough thickness in the liner to overbore 3mm the result would be 428cc and with 10.5:1 compression that would be notable with the Mk1 butts dyno.

 If there is enough material in the cylinder barrel to bore and sleeve to 86mm then it would be square 500cc lump if my math is any good. 

 I wonder what sort of surgery it would take to graft in a kicker ?

[The Old Coot]

I love it Ice. Can't get the bike, may not be able to get one ever but ready to jump in to the fray and mod that sucker!  A true Motorhead. 

No worse than me wondering if I could shove a Musket motor into a GT frame.   

[AmBraCol]

The specs compare quite favorably against the 350 cc series of bikes.  Not so much against the 500 cc, especially as it's not that much lighter.  It will be interesting to see the public's reaction once they start hitting the streets, highways and trails of India.

[High On Octane]

It takes one year minimum to wade through the EPA red tape requirements for import. RE's strategy makes sense from a practical point of view.

 It would not surprise me if the EPA test mules arrive here to begin the process within weeks of serial production commencing.

 FWIW there is supposed to be a big announcement next year.

 If I were a betting man I'd wager next years big announcement to be about the twin cylinder and at the same time the decision to launch of the Himalayan in North American within the next six months.

  Come to think about it keeping the first year of Himalayan production for the domestic market has a few benefits. It answers a demand, favors home market consumers and keeps the bikes easily accessible for the engineers for quick study and remedy in case of teething troubles.

I'm not sure about motorcycles EPA testing processes, but I did used to be a Vehicle Evaluater for a certain high end German car manufacturer.  My job was to test drive prototype vehicles that were about 3 years out from production, and complain about everything and log it on paper.  Now these cars were always a hoot to drive, experimenting with buttons and switches, testing turbo spool, sport shift, and even experimenting with the first ever models that had radar controlled cruise control (now that was exciting!).

While these cars were extremely luxurious and rarely had problems with emissions testing and catastrophic failures, we also tested another Indian made truck line called Mahindra.  If the vehicles at this business were an actual family, the Mahindra trucks would be the equivalent to crack babies.  Extremely poor performance, the heater was an absolute joke (winter test drives required me to wear my full winter boots with extra socks and ski jacket), constant mechanical failures that were so bad we were informed to keep an eye out for co-workers stranded on the side of the road, pick them up and bring them back to the facility.  We also had to test drive with and without ballast (1500 pounds of rubber mats) in the bed of the truck.  One ride while going down the interstate at 65mph with ballast, I had to swerve to avoid some broken debris in the road.  The handling was so poor the truck almost flipped over!  It took every bit of driving skills to get the truck back under control and in a straight line again.  I requested to not have to drive them ever again after that.

Coincidentally, the program was shut down just a few months later.  The fact that the trucks were broken almost more than they were running is one thing.  But, they never could get them to pass federal EPA emissions.  Something like 200+ dealerships got screwed because they already had orders placed and the trucks were never approved for sale in the USA.

Now this obviously doesn't mean the Himalayan won't be issued to the US, but if they haven't started testing already (which they probably haven't because they have been testing for the Indian market), it will likely take much longer than a year to be issued for sale here.  It usually takes a MINIMUM of 1 year of road testing a vehicle before it can be approved for US sales.  At that point they could consider mass production for export.  My guess is that if the Himalayan is released to the US market it won't be until 2018 or 2019.