Yes, it’s been widely speculated that the Royal Enfield Himalayan 650 will launch sometime in 2019 in the Indian market. However Siddhartha Lal, CEO at Royal Enfield, had stated that new emission regulations had led to the postponement of new product blueprints and no new models could be used on the platform used by the 650 Twins for at least two years.
Sometime earlier, Rudratej Singh, the President at Royal Enfield, also stated that there were no immediate plans to launch the Royal Enfield Himalayan 650. All new launch strategies have been kept on hold as the company is currently upgrading its current models to adhere to upcoming BS-VI emission regulations which are expected to be implemented from April 2020.
The Royal Enfield Himalayan 650 which is clearly already a “developed” product which is just not launched, is expected to sport a more contemporary design with new features. It is expected to have a strengthened split cradle half duplex chassis to integrate the larger engine.
The Himalayan 650 will feature a parallel-twin 648 cc engine that is used for the 650 Twins. This engine currently makes 47 BHP and 52 Nm and is paired to a six speed gearbox. Royal Enfield may consider a unique tune state for the Himalayan 650 in a bid to offer improved power delivery at lower revs. The Himalayan 650 may also get switchable dual-channel ABS as a standard feature in tandem with the endure mode. The bike may be priced anywhere around INR 2.80 lakhs (ex-showroom).