P120
COMPARISON I LIGHTWEIGHT ADVENTURE BIKES
What You See Is
What You Get
>
2025 ROYAL
ENFIELD
HIMALAYAN 450
Royal Enfield, India's retro-cool
manufacturer (with British
roots), has updated its Hima-
layan lineup with impeccable
timing, giving us the Himalayan
450. Our testing crew all agree
the upgrade from the standard
Himalayan (411cc of air-cooled
sleepiness) is significant. The
new Sherpa 450 engine is much
more capable without giving up
the charming Royal chug as it
scoots along. It isn't a rocket,
and it's certainly the least excit
-
able ABS and KYB suspension.
It's only $6500. The Royal En-
field is the least expensive bike
in this test by $700, and even it
has four ride modes and a new
DOHC, liquid-cooled engine, a
navigation-capable dash and
Showa suspension. It costs
$5799! All three bikes have LED
lighting. These are not low-qual
-
ity machines. While they may
be affordable and efficiently
built, entry-level today certainly
doesn't mean "cheap."
Does Entry Level=
Cheap?
>
All these bikes are imported
from China or India. The percep-
tion of low quality from those
places of origin is evaporating
quickly. Here's why: Two bikes
here (KTM and Royal Enfield)
have ride-by-wire throttle, and
the KTM has lean-angle-sen
-
sitive rider aids and three ride
modes for $6999 plus optional
quickshifter and cruise-control
add-ons. The CFMOTO has
a parallel-twin 449cc engine,
holds almost five gallons of fuel,
and growls with a 270-degree
crank firing that sounds like a
small race truck as it acceler
-
ates away. It also has switch-
This is the class of the
future, a future of affordable
adventure riding.
