Uphill battle for Royal Enfield's Himalayan after court pulls up makers over manufacturing defects

Problems continue for Himalayan, the adventure motorcycle of Royal Enfield, a year after its much- hyped launch in India. Now, the all purpose motorcycle from the Chennai-based maker has been dragged to the consumer court.

Issues like stalling, rusting, electrical failure and rear tyre locking, to a name a few, are reportedly putting a damper on the riding comfort of the bike launched in March 2016.

The promotional video of the Himalayan was a harbinger of things to come. Dakar rally racer CS Santosh pulled stunts with the bike but when he landed back, the right foot peg of the motorcycle came off. Though he managed to bring the situation under control, the case would have been different if it were an amatuer rider.

The Himalayan adventure bikes were recently recalled by the company to rectify issues ranging from engine noise, hard gear shift, stand gap to change of sari guard.

The latest report of News9 indicate that a Himalayan owner, Puneet from Kolar, has decided to move consumer court disappointed over the poor response from the company apropos to the multiple defects he pointed out. Puneet, an engineer, has cited 40 defects on the adventure bike including the gearbox issues, leakage of petrol and oil, a noisy engine among others. The consumer court has ruled in his favour even as doubts loom large over the credentials of Himalayan.

We hope Royal Enfield sorts issues sooner than later to restore its credibility.

The Chennai-based two-wheeler manufacturer Royal Enfield recently launched 2017 Himalayan motorcycle at Rs 1, 60,500, ex-showroom, Delhi. The updated version of the adventure bike gets BS-IV complaint engine with fuel injection technology.

Built on double-cradle chassis designed by Royal Enfield's in house company Harris Performance, Himalayan rides on a 21-inch front wheel and a 17-inch at the rear. The front wheel gets 300mm disc with two-piston floating callipers, while the rear gets a 240mm disc with a single-piston floating calliper. It comes powered by a 411cc oil-cooled single-cylinder engine that can develop 24.5bhp at 6,500rpm and 32Nm torque between 4,000 and 4,500rpm, paired with a five-speed transmission.