[Bike kharido]

Royal Enfield is usually known for making everything large and macho. But, such a strategy is set to change with the launch of the Himalayan 450 as the latest adventure bike is every bit un-Royal Enfield.


https://bikekharido.in/news/royal-enfield-himalayan-450-exhaust-spied-looks-sleek/

[AzCal Retred]

I'm not seeing a financial reason for RE to deviate from their long-stroke fuel efficient "Meteor" & UCE platforms. Offshore sales are small, in-country sales are low of these types of play-bikes. I'm not seeing anything here that would actually indicate that this is an RE test bed other that the statement of the photographer. It is very out of character for RE, and the sales payback opportunities seem very limited.

You can put 460cc of piston in an existing Himalayan for literally zero production line cost - why would they build an entire new motor? KTM, Husqvarna & many others already have the "persnickity to maintain, "performance" fake dirt bike" genre well covered.

[Bike kharido]

After the latest price revision, Scram 411 is priced from Rs 2.03 lakh to Rs 2.08 lakh. Interestingly, these are the same prices of Scram 411, from the time it was launched in earlier this year. Prices were increased in April 2022, and now have been reduced by Rs 2,846.

[AzCal Retred]

So the Twin & "Old School" machines continue to sell well and the "New Design" hardware needs a sales incentive? Again, the existing Himalayan can contain a 460cc displacement. It's EFI. Doesn't it make a lot more sense to boost its displacement literally for free than do a lot of R&D on another "New Design" machine?

If R.E. entered Paris-Dakar and competed with a Twin and a new 450 motor version (that has enough street legal copies to qualify: 200 or so hand-made copies?), AND the new engine machine did very well while the Twin finished at least mid-pack, they you might have some basis to pursue a truly new design. Racing does sell hardware, but it's not cheap advertising. I've never seen R.E. show any interest in moto-competition.

I think the Twin is a terrific effort. The Meteor as a 350 & also a 500 would just be business as usual for them. The Himalayan is an outlier; a very good effort, but not selling as well as the more traditional singles. Again, it would really puzzle me as to why R.E. would launch a second, virtually identical, "trail machine" modern single effort when they have no competition based advertising driven reason to do so.

[gizzo]

Royal Enfield is usually known for making everything large and macho.

I wouldn't consider anything about Royal Enfield large, or macho. Amusing, interesting and engaging, absolutely. Large, macho, certainly not. To paraphrase something I heard years ago about parenthood: RE riders and non RE riders feel sorry for each other.