2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Review

Since its release in 2016, the Royal Enfield Himalayan has always been regarded as a basic, but capable motorcycle at an affordable price. Its “everything you need, nothing you don’t” ethos has earned countless fans and helped establish Royal Enfield as a legitimate contender here in the US.

Editor’s note: we also recently test rode Royal Enfield’s Scram 411 during the How Versatile Is the 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411? article and video.

Enfield’s stated goal with the original Himalayan was to “democratize the adventure bike” into a simple yet capable machine that was both budget- and beginner-friendly. Most would agree they succeeded in that regard, as the little ADV has quite literally carried adventure riders all the way around the world without issue.

But adventure-touring with the outgoing Himalayan and its 411cc oil-cooled engine has always felt like bringing a ball-peen hammer to a gunfight: Sure, it’ll get the job done with a little luck and determination, but there are more appropriate tools for the task if you’ve got the money to spend.

Related: Best Affordable Adventure Bikes of the Year

And that’s exactly why Royal Enfield built the bike we rode this week, the all-new 2024 Himalayan 450. Enfield says this clean-sheet redesign solves all the common complaints with the outgoing bike while also improving on all of its strengths. We took the new Himi on an all-day jaunt through the Utah backcountry to see if it delivered the goods.

Royal Enfield is out to prove something with the new Himalayan 450. When most of us think of budget-friendly adventure bikes, we imagine scale models of the real thing that lack the size, power, or sophistication to tackle true 50/50 riding competently. This ain’t that.

Take the Himi’s new Sherpa 450 engine, for example. Enfield’s first-ever water-cooled mill makes a claimed 39.5 peak horsepower, which is a whopping 81 percent increase over the previous oil-cooled motor. It also makes class-leading torque for the segment with a 29.5 lb.-ft. peak at 5,500 rpm, 90 percent of which is already on tap as low as 3,000 rpm.

Related: 2020 Royal Enfield Himalayan MC Commute

If that sounds like the ideal power spread for off-road shenanigans, it should. We had a little rain before taking off on our test route, and out in Utah a little rain makes for a very muddy ride.

We expected the Himalayan to be well out of its comfort zone in any sort of technical terrain (reminder: we’re talking about a $5,799 bike here), yet our route included dozens of steep rutted hill climbs and knee-deep mud puddles. We were pleasantly surprised, however, as the engine’s smooth and steady torque delivered downright shocking traction plowing up, over, and through anything we threw at it, even on the heavily street-biased Ceat tires.

Of course you could say the same about the original 411cc Himalayan, and that’s where the forged piston, four-valve head, and dual overhead cams of the new motor come into play. Where the old bike generally topped out around 75 mph wide-open in top gear, the new Himalayan 450 quickly zips up to an easy 75 mph cruise. There’s still a little passing power left on tap from there, and you can even hit a 100-plus mph top speed with a good tuck and a little patience.

These big improvements continue in the Himalayan’s new chassis, which employs Showa suspension on either end to great effect. While the fork is nonadjustable and the shock is preload-only, both are shockingly well damped and their off-road composure is particularly good. Neither big hits nor small jumps ever seemed to upset the Himi, and while its almost eight inches of suspension travel and 9 inches of ground clearance aren’t exactly enduro figures, the Himalayan feels much more like a big-bore dual sport than a repurposed streetbike out in the dirt.

With that being said, this is an adventure bike we’re talking about here, and proper adventure bikes need proper road manners. Royal Enfield says touring prowess was a major priority for the new bike, and the added power and addition of a sixth gear are both big improvements in this area. A decent windscreen, a wide bar, and surprisingly roomy ergonomics for a 6-foot-1 rider also made the Himalayan a nice place to sit during the long freeway stretches of our journey.

Related: Motorcycle Adventures: Riding the Path of Exploration

Another major highlight of the new 450 is its full color Tripper dash, a 4-inch round TFT display that looks like it was pulled from a bike twice the Himalayan’s asking price. We felt the display did a great job of putting all the most important bits front and center (speed, tach, gear indicator, and fuel level) while removing any unnecessary info-clutter from the equation.

It’s through this nifty Bluetooth-enabled TFT that Enfield also delivers the crown jewel of its no-nonsense tech package: a big, bright navigation screen that leverages Google Maps as its native engine. Enfield says its goal with the new dash is to remove the need to mount your phone to your bars at all, so the turn-by-turn directions are delivered wirelessly straight from your smartphone whether it’s in your pocket or your panniers.

This works well in theory, but in practice most riders will still need to mount their phones to the bars as navigation and other Bluetooth-enabled features like music and messaging tend to be power-hungry. Luckily, a USB-C outlet is spec’d as standard equipment between the Enfield’s bar risers, so you won’t have anything extra to wire up before setting off.

While we’re on the topic of tech, we’ll also note that although the Himalayan keeps its electronics as user-friendly as possible, the new bike does benefit from four selectable rider modes. There are two “on-road” modes and two “off-road” modes, with each giving the option for Performance or Eco throttle response. All four modes deliver the same peak power, while the two off-road options disable ABS at the rear and mellow out its intervention on the front.

These modes work well enough, but our main complaint is that much like the Yamaha Ténéré 700 we’ve ridden and tested extensively, the system defaults to full ABS each time it’s switched off, so you’ll have to reselect your preferred mode each time you restart the bike. We’ll also note that while the ride mode selection seems to have improved since we rode the Himalayan’s Guerrilla 450 counterpart, we still had a few instances where the bike refused to change modes on the fly and had to be stopped and restarted to get into an off-road setting.

All things considered, Royal Enfield has delivered a great all-around ADV machine, and after factoring in the recently confirmed $5,799 MSRP in the States, it’d be tough to argue anything else delivers better bang for your buck in the segment. This bike is way better off-road than it has any business being, and is also dramatically improved on the street, whether that’s a curvy mountain pass or an open freeway.

Our complaints here are few and far between. The ByBre brakes are good, not great; another 5 to 10 horsepower would be ideal; and the rear rack is only rated for about 15 pounds, which makes side panniers more or less mandatory for long-distance travel.

Minor gripes aside, the Himalayan has evolved into a true contender in the adventure space, and when we refer to its “performance” going forward, we’re no longer talking tongue in cheek. It’s also important to note that Enfield is offering a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty as standard for both the Himayalan itself and any factory accessories you might add (like hard bags or the one-piece Rally seat due out later this year), further solidifying the ridiculous value on offer here.

“You can buy this bike, ride it all around the world for three full years, and it’ll still hold its value better than a certain German competitor that was bought new and never left the garage.” —Ross Clifford, business head, Americas, Royal Enfield

If dirty, cheap thrills are your bag, the Himalayan 450 is worth every penny and then some. This bike is ready and willing to explore further off the beaten path than most ADV riders care to go, and does more things right off the showroom floor for less money than anything else you can currently buy.