Royal Enfield made a ruckus at the 2023 EICMA trade show with its electric Him-E adventure motorcycle concept. Nearly two years on, we're finally getting a glimpse of what the brand's been cooking up with this recipe, as a test mule has been spied up in the mountains of Ladakh, India.
Motoring media outlet Rushlane spotted the electric bike at a hotel in the rugged northern Indian union territory. Unlike the early concept it previously showed off, this new Royal Enfield machine looks pretty polished. The design seems to be based on the recent Himalayan 450, albeit with more flowing lines across the seat and faux fuel tank, a ridged motif across the top of the fuel tank and battery cover, and sculpted mainframe and subframe bits.
You'll also notice some nice componentry on board. There's a gold-tinted adjustable Ohlins rear mono-shock paired with fully adjustable upside down front forks, knobby Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross tires wrapped around spoked wheels, off-road footpegs, a LED headlight in front of a tall windshield, and a rally-style dashboard mounted high up.
Scroll horizontally through the photos in Rushlane's Instagram post below for a closer look:
All in all, it looks pretty stunning, and there's nary a wire out of place on this build – indicating this could be a production-spec unit or something close to being ready to roll off the assembly line.
We've only got this report and its accompanying pictures to go off of at the moment, so there's no word on what sort of performance figures or pricing to expect.
The Him-E was a radical departure for the company, which has typically focused on traditional styling and engine technology to deliver a pleasurable old-school motorcycling experience. Up until then, its only signal of interest in electric two-wheelers was a 10% stake in Spanish battery-powered dirt bike maker Stark Future (which makes the fastest vehicle in its class).
Clearly, Royal Enfield is keen on an electric future. A year after the Him-E, it showed off the Flying Flea C6, a design-forward beauty drawing from its military bikes from the 1940s and aimed at urban riders. This Flea is slated to arrive early next year, and come in at a little under US$8,000. There's even a scrambler-style variant in the works.
Back to the Him-E: I'm not yet sold on the idea of an electric adventure bike, since the idea with such machines is to get away from creature comforts like electricity for charging. It's really hard to add a lot of range to your bike without making the battery really big and heavy, so with the current state of tech, you'll likely have to compromise on how far you can go with this thing, or how agile it will feel in comparison to a purpose-built combustion-engine bike.
However, Enfield did say in 2023 that this was more of a platform, and not just a concept for a one-off bike. So it's possible that this Himalayan will be aimed first at a small clutch of enthusiasts who will find ways to enjoy a rugged off-roader given its range constraints – and then the brand can go off and build other models in different and more practical styles.
Source: Rushlane
