Spy shots point to a more road-biased Himalayan 750
Spy shots taken in India show a prototype Royal Enfield Himalayan 750 wearing a cast front wheel.
The Royal Enfield Himalayan 750 seems like the Indian brand’s worst kept secret. So much so that Royal Enfield top-brass took to social media to show the bike undergoing testing - if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, it seems!
Until now though, we’ve only seen the bike in off-road-ready form, with long-travel suspension, and shod with rugged 19 inch spoked wheels.
That might not be the only version we get to see, though, as some eagle-eyed bike fans in India have caught sight of another Himmy 750 that was caught up in traffic. This machine is using cast wheels. And while they look to be the same size as the spoked items we saw in June, they could point to a more road-biased option.
You may also like to read our Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 review.
Spoked wheels are generally the preferred rolling stock for off-road riding. They can, in most cases, take more punishment than cast wheels, and also flex and twist in certain off-road situations which can make them feel more forgiving than a cast item. Thanks to having a tube within the tyre, they can also generally run lower tyre pressures than cast wheels - as the inner tube can help to re-seat the bead on the rim. If that happened to a cast wheel (which are generally tubeless), the air would bleed out of the tyre causing it to completely come away from the rim due to the lack of pressure.
That’s not to say that cast wheels don’t have their own set of advantages. They are much easier, cheaper and faster to produce. And unlike spoked wheels, which generally have to be laced/built and then trued by hand, a cast wheel slides off the production line in a much more ready-to-go state.
It’s for all these reasons that spoked wheels are generally favoured for off-road work, and cast for more road-biased riding. Which leads us to believe that is what Royal Enfield has planned for the new Himalayan 750
Road touring Himalayan 750 seems like a no-brainer
Having a more road focused bike in an adventure bike lineup is a very safe way to appeal to more riders. Many folk understand that most adventure bikes rarely venture off-road, but the lure of a big tank, comfortable ergonomics, expansive weather protection and easy going handling are very strong.
We’ve seen Suzuki do this successfully with its V-Strom 800 range, with the DE covering the off-road side of things while the RE looks after the on-road touring side of the segment. It’s also what we think Yamaha might be doing with its latest RW700 Explore trademark filing, although we could be miles off the mark there.
We could also be miles off the mark with the cast wheel Himalayan 750. This could just be a case of Royal Enfield slotting the cast rims on the bike because the spoked rims they usually run were damaged during off-road testing. Only time will tell.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
