Visordown’s Simon Hancocks got the lowdown on what’s happening with the electric Royal Enfield Himalayan that’s been in the works a while, straight from the horse’s mouth. Turns out it’s not going into production in the near future.
Hancocks’ exclusive piece is worth a read: having spotted Instagram shots of a seemingly production-ready version of the bike being tested up in the Himalayas by big names in motorcycling and racing, he reached out to Mario Alvisi, Chief Growth Officer, Flying Flea and Royal Enfield Electric Vehicles, to find out whether something was afoot.
Addressing the question of when the Him-E, as it’s been called, might roll off the assembly line, Alvisi said, “we don’t have a plan for that.”
Royal Enfield
Indeed, the Electric Himalayan is “purely a test bed,” notes a press statement. And the Himalayas are where Royal Enfield likes to stress-test its bikes across a variety of terrains and climate conditions; that includes everything from the powertrain to the battery at different temperatures, to the electronic riding aids.
Honestly, I’m glad to hear it. I love the idea of Royal Enfield getting into electric motorcycles, but I simply can’t get on board with the idea of an electric Himalayan specifically at this point.
As things stand, you can’t get very far on an electric motorcycle. The Zero DSR/X promises 179 miles (288 km) on a full charge, while Ultraviolette’s rugged but not exactly off-road ready X-47 does a decent 200 miles (323 km). That’s fine for punting around town and the occasional weekend jaunt beyond city limits.
But the point of an adventure bike, and especially one with a legacy like that of the Himalayan, is getting off the beaten track. An electric motorcycle affords you all kinds of fun, save for exploring less traveled parts that don’t have a lot of charging infrastructure in place.
It’s also worth noting that range is less of a problem for electric motorcycles when you’re in the city, as you’re riding at slower speeds, and you have a lot of flexibility around how and where you recharge them. On longer trips out of town, you’re looking at lower efficiency when covering freeway miles as you’re constantly cruising, facing a lot of drag, and not recovering much energy through regenerative braking. According to Road & Track, you can expect to see your range gauge drop by 2-3 miles for every mile traveled at highway speeds of 70 mph (112.6 km/h) on some electric motorcycles.
Simply put, we can’t yet get the range we want out of an electric bike, owing to the current state of battery chemistry and the economics of it. Adding range means adding weight in the form of a larger and heavier battery, and that’s not good for handling or making an adventure bike easy to live with out on broken roads.
Royal Enfield
And that’s all before you reach a trailhead to venture off into the wild with a lot less charging infrastructure. Whether you’re alone or riding in a group, having to juice up your bike will slow you (and your group) down, because fast charging isn’t common on the current crop of electric motorcycles.
All this implies we haven’t quite got what it takes to enable the ultimate electric adventure motorcycling experience just yet, even from a major manufacturer. It’ll almost certainly happen in a few years’ time. Until then, I’d rather not see an impotent electric ADV with a battery pack slapped on just to round out a brand’s catalog.
It’s likely that the lessons from testing the Him-E out in nature will trickle down to future Royal Enfield electric models. The company is likely going to either be among the first to figure this out, or at least get a ringside seat to see how it’s done. It’s already building Flying Flea electrics for the city with a launch slated for early 2026, and it’s an investor in the mighty little Stark brand that makes the most powerful electric dirt bikes on the planet.
What’s more, Alvisi noted that Royal Enfield is thinking about riding experiences and their impact on the Himalayas more broadly: “… we were experimenting with sustainable exploration and adventure with some charging points in hubs, and then having a bike that can really explore these mountains in a different way.” I like the sound of that, and I’d love to see what the brand arrives at up there soon.
Source: Visordown
