Royal Enfield Himalayan 440 - Taking Care Of The Gap, Simply

Mechanically simple motorcycles don't go outdated. They may fade away for a while, but are generally timeless.

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 440 is the original that has been brought back stronger and better. But why?

The current, liquid-cooled Himalayan 450 has turned out to be the perfect successor to the original. As a Royal Enfield, it shattered the expectations of every rider who wanted a quicker, faster, and generally more capable Himalayan. The 450 didn’t just meet those expectations, it surpassed them. So, why a new original now?

The new Himalayan 440 is not here just to serve our nostalgia of the Himalayan 411, it makes good business sense too.

Because at just over three lakh rupees (ex-showroom), you’re looking at the lowest amount you need to be spending to buy a Himalayan 450, Royal Enfield’s only adventure motorcycle for a while now.

And even though this amount is considerably lower than the Himalayan 450’s closest rivals - the KTM 390 Adventure R and S, both of which cost ₹3,86,021 and ₹4,04,851, respectively, anything close to or above three lakh rupees is still not a throw-away amount for anyone, especially in the sub-500cc category.

Taking Care Of The Gap

So, Royal Enfield has created a lower-priced entry point into its adventure motorcycles by bringing back the original. Makes perfect business sense, among other things.

And I think we shouldn’t forget that even though the original Himalayan 411 left a lot wanting in terms of the overall performance, including braking, and the reliability of its electricals, it was still a very usable motorcycle. It was cheap to own and maintain, it was quick enough in the city and fast enough for open roads that didn’t consistently demand high triple digit speeds.

The engine was reliable, it wouldn’t unpredictably break down. Also, one of the best things about the original Himalayan was its exhaust sound - clean and distinct burble without mechanical clatter. It was one of the best engineering feats Royal Enfield pulled off on that motorcycle. It clearly had its place as an extremely affordable and mechanically simple adventure machine.

So now, at only ₹2,29,000, the new Himalayan 440 is a sweet entry point into Royal Enfield’s adventure motorcycle segment.

Chalk And Cheese

The Himalayan 440 seemingly fixes things that needed fixing in the original Himalayan 411 while retaining its original visual appeal. It is distinctly different from the more modern and capable Himalayan 450.

It’s not all about the money though, is it! More than a century of making old-school, simple motorcycles and the rising success have ensured Royal Enfield that people still love and want mechanically pure motorcycles that are free of complex software and electronic features.

Lots of riders appreciate and prefer technologically straightforward motorcycles. Not that the liquid-cooled Himalayan 450 is too complex, but the Himalayan 440 is straight as an arrow in comparison. Riders who prefer these kinds of bikes, all they want to do is put the key in, thumb the starter, and ride away without even thinking about any ride modes or ABS or traction control settings, etc.

They don’t care about the TFT screen or whether you could sync your phone’s contact list wirelessly or not! It’s all irrelevant to them and their riding experience.

In today’s highly advanced motorcycle industry where technological innovation is often considered an obligation, motorcycles like the Himalayan 440 can surprisingly come across as something refreshing rather than dismissive and outdated.

Better Than Before

The Himalayan 440 is nearly indistinguishable from the Himalayan 411. The visual differences come from the new digital-analog console, which looks less cluttered, and the new colour schemes, of course. It is, otherwise, virtually exactly the same motorcycle.

But the talking point is the upgraded single-cylinder, air/oil-cooled engine which is now 443cc. It gets a larger bore of 81 mm (compared to the 78 mm of the 411), but it’s still a long-stroke engine with the 86 mm stroke unchanged. The SOHC architecture with a 2-valve setup is also carried over.

The updated engine now makes 25.4 BHP at 6,250 RPM and 34 NM of torque at 4,000 RPM - nearly 1 BHP and 2 NM higher than before. Several other parameters such as the ground clearance, suspension travel and fork diameter, front and rear disc brake sizes, etc., are all unchanged from the original Himalayan 411.

However, there are a few useful upgrades executed on the Himalayan 440 that are not obvious to the naked eye, like the more powerful ByBre front brake 2-piston calipers, a 6–speed gearbox, dual-channel ABS that’s now switchable, and the rear top-box rack with the higher 10kg load capacity. Also, the headlight is now LED and there’s a usb-C charging port as well.

And more or less, that is it. The Himalayan 440, hopefully, only fixes what was broken in the first motorcycle. It doesn’t need to be radically better than its predecessor, because that job has been taken care of exceptionally well by the Himalayan 450!