Chassis snapping or breakdown is a known issue with older Royal Enfield Himalayan 411 and has happened on multiple instances
Royal Enfield New Himalayan 450 has earned quite a reputation for being a rugged off-road machine that can take anything India has to throw at it. It boasts robust construction along with a reputation of being indestructible (relatively). However, new images from the internet have made quite a splash, showing a few potential chinks in Royal Enfield Himalayan 450’s armour.
Himalayan 450 engine mount snaps on two bikes
A recent event from Tinsukia, Assam state, sparked a debate on social media platforms and other forums regarding structural integrity and soundness of Royal Enfield’s newest ADV. We can see in the images that the bike’s left chassis part has been damaged and it appears like a clean shear of the bike’s tubular trellis frame.
Damage looks like it occurred close to the bike’s left-side engine mount and subframe mount. However, the engine is still in place as the right-side engine mount could have been intact. Radiator hose pipe looks like it came right off and there was quite some coolant spillage on the road. Considering this was a one-off instance, it seemed like there was user error or some external factors involved. Soon, another Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 (Tamil Nadu registered) encountered a very similar situation.
Only this time, damage was more severe, both side engine mounts were damaged and the engine ‘fell’ right off its frame. In Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, engine is a stressed member and is an integral part of its chassis. It is held bolted onto the main frame at multiple locations.
Royal Enfield Explains What Happened
All of the top mounts holding this engine seem to have been damaged and the engine just ‘fell’ off the bike’s mainframe. Looking at the motorcycle, it doesn’t look like it was in a crash. So what went wrong? Rushlane reached out to Royal Enfield, and as per initial analysis by their tech team, the 2nd incident is similar to the 1st one.
Speaking about the 1st incident, Royal Enfield says that it happened because the owner had installed an aftermarket crash guard which was not approved by RE. It is likely that the engine mount was damaged because of an aftermarket accessory, which resulted in the incident. Royal Enfield have fixed the Himalayan 450 from Assam and the said customer is happy with the result. The 2nd incident also happened because of the same reason, says Royal Enfield.
Owing to its off-roading appeal and go-anywhere capability, buyers looking at a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 will expect a certain degree of over-engineering to achieve a durable product that doesn’t break down with minor incidents. There have been multiple instances where Himalayan 411 has had chassis damage and the company must have logically worked on it when developing the new Himalayan 450.
Notably, Royal Enfield provided Rushlane with a long-term Himalayan 450 review sample and it was ridden on trails, hill climbs and other off-road scenarios and we didn’t face a similar issue on our unit.
