To me, motorcycling is an emotional event. It has never been about chasing lap times or trying to keep up with some hooligan on a gravel road. I love to travel alone so I can stop where I want, for as long as I want.
Way back in 2003, I had quite a serious off on my BMW F 650 GS, and that put a stop to my riding for a while. But something in me still stirred, and one day I just realised: “Man, I miss my motorcycle!” And so began a slow re-entry into the world of motorcycling. I started reading stories of people who undertook trips, and one particular gentleman in George took extended trips with his son on farm roads. The kid was eight years old at the time and rode an 80 cc dirt bike. Progress was slow as a result, but he made me want to ride again so badly that I got myself a Suzuki V-Strom 650, and with that bike, I went literally everywhere.
On one of my trips, I saw a Royal Enfield Himalayan in a shop in Cape Town. It was only the 411 version, and it looked agricultural at best. Two things stood out for me, though: it was light and simple. It had no fancy electronic wizardry. Sadly, that model never made it to South Africa.
Fast-forward a few years, and that basic Himalayan was replaced by an all-new bike. When I first saw the 450 Himalayan, I knew I wanted one. But with no Royal Enfield dealer here in South Africa at the time, I could only watch videos of other people riding and enjoying theirs. Even Noraly of Itchy Boots fame reviewed it. Then, at the back end of 2024, news came that Royal Enfield was returning to South Africa. Without even knowing the price, I put my name down for one.
I took delivery of my Kamet White Royal Enfield on the 30th of April 2025 and immediately set off in every direction to get the 500 km service done as soon as possible. The comfortable riding position and the compliant suspension impressed me. You can hustle the 450 on a twisty tar road, as the Showa front suspension has been dialled in properly. Hard-core enduro riders will probably lament the fact that it is not adjustable, but the Himalayan was likely not built with them in mind. It was built for ordinary people who love to experience adventure at a much more sedate pace; however, should the going get tough, you don’t have to turn around.
As is the character of a single-cylinder engine, the torque is available low down in the rev range, and you can putter along merrily on a goat track in first gear all day long. The Himalayan can also cruise at highway speeds if you need to, just remember it is a “single”, so higher speeds mean higher vibes; keep your speed relative to the rpms, and the journey is a pleasant one.
Being among the first to purchase a Royal Enfield from World Of Motorcycles, a few others and I were treated to a “Royal Night Out“. We took a trip to Clarens, and I truly enjoyed my time on the bike and with the like-minded riders.
In standard trim, the Himalayan was short on a few accessories that I deemed necessary. Fortunately, Royal Enfield has a full catalogue of aftermarket accessories that you can fit yourself or have the dealer fit for you. The first item I ordered was the OEM handguards. They really suit the bike well, especially with my white colour scheme.
One design element I really like on the 450 is the upper crash bars. They are contoured to the tank and stretch forward to the headlight. Any branch you hit should be deflected away from the tank rather than getting stuck between the crash bar and the tank. The next item on my list was to fit the OEM bags to those bars. They fit perfectly and can hold a fair amount of odds and ends, which eliminates the need for a tank bag. I also fitted a taller screen for the cooler times of the year. During our South African summers, the small screen allows air to hit your torso, keeping you cool, so I will be switching between the two as the seasons change.
The Himalayan comes with a very handy rear rack, which, over time, I saw myself upgrading to a SW-Motech rear rack. I travel light, normally only with my Turkana 20L Duffalo bag, and with the standard luggage rack, the bag had a very small area to perch on, so I opted for the SW-Motech and its additional tie-down points.
The Himalayan is a well-thought-out bike, and the switchgears feel robust. The round instrumentation cluster is simple yet comprehensive. The display is clear, and everything you need for your trip is clearly visible. It is all controlled with a small joystick on the left handlebar. One minor gripe I have involves the secondary display for trips and fuel range. Every time you switch the bike on, this display is blank. You then have to push the little joystick to get to the first display. I like to have my fuel range visible, so I have to fiddle with it every time I start the bike.
Royal Enfield also has an app that can mirror your phone to the screen to display a map for navigation. For it to work, your phone screen has to stay on, which isn’t an issue as the Himalayan has a USB-C socket on the handlebars to keep your phone juiced up.
I have owned the Himalayan now for exactly one year, and it is everything I had hoped for in a bike at this stage of my life. It is affordable, and you can start travelling with it straight off the dealership’s floor. The few items I added were just personal preferences. Over the course of my travels, I have averaged 4L/100 km. My best was during the run-in period, where I averaged 3.35L/100 km.
There is a trend where more and more people are moving away from big, heavy adventure bikes towards something smaller and lighter. For me, age is starting to creep in, and lugging a big bike around does not appeal to me all that much anymore, but I am not saying you should all sell your big bikes. If you regularly travel two-up and do long distances in a day, there are better options out there, and maybe even one coming in the near future from Royal Enfield itself, in the form of the highly anticipated Himalayan 750 Twin.
If you currently own a big adventure bike and find yourself riding less and less because it is becoming too heavy, then maybe a smaller adventure bike is the answer. If you then ride more because of it, you certainly have not downgraded. In fact, you have upgraded your happiness. There are plenty of options in the sub-500 cc category, and the Royal Enfield is but one of those. I chose the Himalayan because it suited my needs and my travel preferences, and in that, I have found my happiness. I urge you to go test ride the latest crop of smaller adventure bikes. Don’t get stuck on the numbers and the specs. Go ride them, you might just be pleasantly surprised!
Royal Enfield Himalayan 450
For more information on the bike that we tested in this article, click on the link below…
