More powerful Royal Enfield Himalayan in the pipeline, confirms CEO

Siddhartha Lal, the 43-year-old CEO of Eicher Motors -- owners of Royal Enfield, is a passionate biker. The company is now producing over seven lakh motorcycles a year, a significant jump from mere 25,000 units when Lal took over as CEO in 2000. During an interview with Motorcycle Magazine, Lal opened up about the future plans of Royal Enfield.

Lal admitted that there is demand for bigger engined Himalayan, not just for export markets but also from the home country India. "We have selected which models we will be making bigger and more powerful versions of that we have today, and the Himalayan is one of those – but because our Indian customer says so, not anyone overseas," the publication quoted Lal as saying.

Lal also stressed his brand's focus segment in motorcycle make. When asked if Royal Enfield will restrict to 750cc, he replied: "Yes, we won't go beyond that, and we won't go below 250cc either, though I don't expect to go below our current 350cc capacity – that's the playing field we have set for ourselves for many different reasons."

"In the next five-year horizon, we intend Royal Enfield should be No.1 in global sales in the middleweight segment," he added.

It needs to be noted that the company has been working on a 750cc mill for quite a long time and test mules under the Continental GT's skin have been spied on Indian roads. The final product is expected to be revealed at EICMA show in Milan next month. The all-new 750cc mill believed to churn out 45-50bhp and a peak torque of more than 60Nm. It looks like this engine will also power the bigger Royal Enfield Himalayan.

The current Himalayan on sale is powered by a 411cc oil-cooled single-cylinder mill with fuel injection. It develops 24.5bhp at 6,500rpm and 32Nm torque between 4,000-4,500rpm, paired with a five-speed transmission.

Source: motorcycle-magazine.com