Adventure on a budget?
India is predominantly a “One bike garage” country. So if you are looking for a decently powered “do it all” motorcycle that can carry your grocery bags on the weekdays and jerry cans on the weekends, we recommend this motorcycle.
2023 was a blockbuster year for all things on two wheels. We saw as many as five new motorcycles in the 400cc class. Out of that lot, one of the most awaited launches was the Royal Enfield Himalayan 452. The new Himmy is now lighter, and faster and has a lot of updates over its previous iteration.
To start with, the talking point is the heart of this machine, the Sherpa engine. This single-cylinder liquid-cooled DOHC mill now puts out 40PS and 40Nm, a considerable bump from the 411. This means the new 452 will not be a lumbering elephant on the tour. Not that the 411 was boring but it surely lacked that eagerness for its displacement. Other noteworthy features include a Shova suspension on both ends, a larger 17-litre fuel tank, and a round TFT display that can cast Google Maps by screen mirroring your phone. At the front, the Himalayan features a new LED headlamp unit, earlier seen on the Super Meteor and the Shotgun 650. This upgrade has naturally led to a price hike, making the Himalayan now sit much closer to the KTM 390 Adventure X.
On the other end of this spectrum, we have the updated 2024 Yezdi Adventure, a motorcycle that was heavily benchmarked against the 411. Even though both motorcycles were mechanically similar concerning suspension travel and wheel size, the Adventure featured a technologically advanced “Alpha2” engine, a liquid-cooled DOHC single-cylinder mill that puts out 30.3PS and 29.8Nm. It was faster, more agile and an equally competent tourer out on the highway.
The 2024 iteration brings in a lot of good upgrades to the engine, gearing and refinement for better performance in higher gears. With that, the motorcycle now welcomes 4 new colours and an “Est. 69” sticker on each side of the fuel tank. This update has made the motorcycle roughly 5kgs lighter, with a kerb weight of 187kgs.
The Adventure is still not a perfect machine though, service experience and premature rusting of parts have been the Achilles’ heel in the Classic Legend’s story. There have been numerous complaints from the owners for poor paint quality and rusting of the bolts within the first few months of purchase. That being said, earlier this year, Classic Legends conducted service camps across the country for vehicle health check-ups and free replacement of parts. Going forward, we hope that these issues don't occur in the new bikes.
With the arrival of the new 452, these two machines don't sit as closely as they used to be. The 452 is much more sophisticated, powerful, well-finished and so, more expensive than its counterpart. This means the Yezdi will now sit between what was the old 411 and the new Himalayan 452, making it a great option for customers who don't have a three lakh rupee budget but also want a potent adventure motorcycle.
The price gap between the Yezdi and the new Himalayan is about seventy thousand rupees and by December 2024, it is expected to increase. If we leave the 452 out of the equation, the Adventure is left with three rivals, the Suzuki Vstrom 250, the KTM Adventure 250 and the BMW GS 310(this one is kind of a stretch). India is predominantly a “One bike garage” country. So if you are looking for a decently powered “do it all” motorcycle, that can carry your grocery bags on the weekdays and jerry cans on the weekends this is a motorcycle we would recommend to you. Yes, there have been concerns with older Yezdis, but with all the recent updates to the motorcycle, we expect the brand to stand up to its expectations.
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