Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 clinches off-road win in Wales
Royal Enfield’s Himalayan 450 has taken victory in the ‘Big Bike Single’ class at the Valleys X-Treme Lita Race in South Wales.
Jake Edey has powered his Cooperb Motorcycles-backed Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 to victory at the Valleys X-Treme Lite event in Glyn-Neath, Wales.
Edey took victory in the ‘Big Bike Single’ class by 51 seconds, which was good enough to see him finish in 60th place overall out of 240 entries. Had he been eligible for the ‘Big Bike Twin’ class, Edey’s finishing time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 20 seconds, would have been good enough for third place.
The Valleys Lite event is a two-hour race where riders try to complete as many laps as possible. The Welsh course saw riders tackle woodland sections and slick terrain, muddy ascents, and high-speed sections on fire roads.
The Himalayan 450 that was raced by Edey was mostly a production model, with only minimal changes made. These included fitting a Rally Seat, Rally Tail, and Arrow Exhaust from the Himalayan Genuine Motorcycle Accessories (GMA) portfolio.
Cooperb Motorcycles entered a total of three Himalayan 450s at the event, which took place on 10–11 January. It completed the setup by fitting knobbly tyres and adjusting the suspension. The other two bikes were raced by Ian Cooper (owner of Cooperb Motorcycles), and his son, Jack Cooper (director).
Speaking about his victory in the Big Bike Single class, Edey said:
“Conditions were properly tough. But the Himalayan handled everything brilliantly, the 450 engine is a perfect balance of usable power and smooth delivery, which made maintaining traction in the wet far easier than you might expect. I had no issues in the muddy climbs or tight woods and managed to pass several bigger bikes along the way.
“That said, by now I know just how capable the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 really is, no matter what the UK throws at it. The Himalayan’s lower seat height was a real advantage — when I needed to dab a foot to regain balance, the bike wasn’t already tipping past the point of no return. That gave me a lot of confidence over a long, demanding race.”
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.