Himalayan 450 Royal Enfield launch in Whanganui

The new Himalayan 450 Sherpa 452 moto.

The Himalayan 450 Royal Enfield, New Zealand’s top-selling new motorcycle in June, will have a special launch in Whanganui on Saturday, July 20, at the Red Eye Café in Guyton St at 10am.

The all-new Himalayan 450 adventure bike has been a strong seller around the world as existing adventure riders seek out a lighter machine to enjoy rides into the backcountry and rough road terrain.

The Adventure Bike segment has been a strong growth sector for the motorcycle community over the past decade with the likes of BMW, Triumph and KTM leading 1200cc machines, but the 800cc sector has been a strong segment with the Tenare T7 Yamaha, Triumph Tiger 800 and KTM790 all top sellers.

The new Royal Enfield Shotgun 650, a bobber-style 650.

“A mix of ageing riders looking for lighter machines, and new riders not wanting a big bike with intimidating power, has seen the growth of middleweight machine sales. KTM 390, BMW 310 plus a mix of Royal Enfield 350 & 411 machines produced in India are now joined by the Triumph 400 made by Baja of India,” said Robert Cochrane, president of Whanganui Royal Enfield Club.

“The Honda CRF300 and their 500 road models have sold well also and Harley Davidson launched a Chinese-made 350X and 500X twin in January. CF Moto has just launched its 450 ADV model and is also selling well in New Zealand.

“The all-new Royal Enfield 450 at $8999 with 40hp on tap and quality build is great value for money. In 2016 Royal Enfield launched the 411cc Himalayan Adventure Bike and they have sold extremely well and were joined in 2022 by the Scram 411,” Cochrane said.

The 411 “Himi” offered light weight and modest power at an affordable price, and were snapped up by commuters, tourers and weekend warriors.

Whanganui motorcycle enthusiasts and riders will get the chance to see the all-new Royal Enfield 450 in the flesh at Guyton St on Saturday, July 20 and pre-book a demo ride with Henry from AllRoad Adventure on 0800 255 762.

The new Royal Enfield Bullet 350 in standard maroon, in production since 1932 – the longest-running model of the company's line-up.

In addition to the new Himalayan, there will also be two other New Royal Enfield models on display recently released in New Zealand. The Bullet 350 was released in May using the existing J platform 350 motor with traditional styling, that harks back to the original Bullet of 1932, and the 1950s style.

The new Shotgun 650 only arrived in New Zealand a few weeks ago. Both the Bullet and Shotgun on display have been purchased by members of the Whanganui Royal Enfield Riders, and other club members will be in attendance to answer questions about their bikes, Classic and Meteor 350, plus 650 Interceptor, Continental GT and Super Meteor 650.

In 1925 the Red Eye Café building became the Percy Coleman original motorcycle shop and in 1930 Percy became the Royal Enfield Distributor for New Zealand, so it’s quite fitting that it becomes a pop-up shop for the local launch of a new Royal Enfield model, says Cochrane.

”We start a couple of our key events there each year.”

■ For information on local Royal Enfield rides or events contact Robert Cochrane on 022-154-0334, robertc72@xtra.co.nz.