In its 120th year, Royal Enfield is going all out to find new routes and conquer uncharted territory on two wheels. Two riders have completed a 3200km expedition in around 15 days to become the first pair to reach the South Pole, riding two Himalayan motorcycles which were built for purpose.
Last month (26th of November) Santosh Vijay Kumar and Dean Coxson of Royal Enfield set off on their expedition, landing in Novo and spending a few days acclimatising to the harsh, desolate & inhospitable conditions of Antarctica - the last continent that had never (until now) been explored on two wheels.
First testing the Himalayans on the Longjokull Glacier to get Antarctic-ready, modifications were added including tubeless wheels designed to run at low pressures for snow and ice riding, winter studded tyres, smaller front sprocket and electronic upgrades to handle -40ºC temperatures. No sight of a 650cc engine, yet...
More info on the Himalayan.
As a result of adverse weather conditions and an unexpected blizzard, the team had to alter their start point from 86 South to 87 South, but managed to complete the 770 km voyage from the Ross Ice Shelf to the Amundsen-Scott Pole Station in 15 days.
The team arrived at the geographic South Pole on the 16th of December 2021, even managing to snap a photo at the actual South Pole - and we’re genuinely quite surprised that there’s a tourist-esque pole dug in for photo opportunities.
Side note, it appears the photo was taken with an actual potato it’s so pixelated, but it’s all we could find online.
Two Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycles reach the South Pole in time for Christmas
With the expedition complete, the team now load the custom Himalayan’s onto the arctic support trucks, heading west for the Union Glacier for their flight back to civilisation.
It’s a huge achievement for Royal Enfield, who are celebrating 120 years of building bikes ‘like a gun’ - massive congrats to Santosh, Dean, and the 90 South team!
Sources: Car and Bike, Bike Wale, India Today
