“Royal Enfield calling Honda. We thought you should know that we’ve just released U.S. pricing for the 2025 Himalayan 450. Our new ABS-equipped single will retail for $5799, $700 less than your CRF300L Rally with ABS. How do you feel about that?”
Kaza Brown
“Hello, Enfield. Honda here. Sure, our 286cc single doesn’t have the horsepower or torque of your new water-cooled machine. However, it’s an update to a powerplant proven by thousands of riders over the past 10 years. And our company is known is known for building bullet-proof singles. We also know from experience that the first year of a new model may flesh out problems that testing didn’t uncover.”
“Honda, Honda, Honda. Please don’t paint our company with your failures. We were making motorcycles long before you and learned a thing or two along the way. Let’s see what the riders think before jumping to conclusions. Besides, our 2025 Himalayan has tech that goes far beyond yours. There’s ride-by-wire throttle control and four ride modes, not to mention a color TFT display that integrates nav and entertainment functions.”
“Well, Enfield, that’s a lot of stuff, alright. Must be why your moto weighs 100 pounds more than ours.”
“Click.”
Slate Poppy Blue
2025 Himalayan Pricing
This is all imaginary, of course, but with Royal Enfield finally releasing North American pricing for their new Himalayan 450 there may be a few OEMs showing real concern. The cost of the new machine depends on color choice. The basic Himalayan comes in Kaza Brown, for $5,799. Both Slate Poppy Blue and Slate Himalayan Salt will be $5899, and the gold-trimmed Hanle Black will run $5999. These prices make the new 450 very competitive with several motorcycles in this class.
Smaller Bikes, More Fun?
The idea of what constitutes an adventure bike continues to evolve. Early on, large motorcycles seemed necessary to carry all the gear we thought we had to take. Eventually the required motorcycle size began to shrink in favor of less weight (although the KLR650 was popular from the late 1980’s). Then we saw bikes like the Ténéré 700 and KTM 790 Adventure take the stage. Now there’s a new cadre of even smaller motos that, depending on how you approach adventure touring, are capable mounts for extended exploration. The 2025 Himalayan 450 is one of those machines. Still, some have shown that it’s not the size of the motorcycle but the fun of the ride that counts.
Slate Himalayan Salt
Totally revamped from propulsion to suspension, and with digital wizardry shoving aside analog limitations (though the look is still there), the new Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 has the chops to compete with the best. For just $5799.
Hanle Black
Read more: Himalayan 450
Images: Royal Enfield
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