Maybe my age is finally showing? Maybe I've finally wised up? Or maybe, just maybe, I've learned what the secret to everything really is? No, not 42, that's a different secret.
I'm not sure what the case is, but what I've come to learn is that horsepower, that all-important figure that is fought tooth and nail over in the comments section of this website, across forums and Reddit, and among friends in pubs and bars around the world, truly means jack shit to my overall enjoyment of a motorcycle. Case in point, the motorcycle I couldn't stop talking about last year, the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450.
That motorcycle, and its diminutive displacement, was truly perfect for what I love to do and that's ride. Its 40 horsepower was suited both for slaying trails, muddy puddles, and even water crossings and, when you got to the pavement, I dragged my knee, drafted my fellow riders, and came to a stop with a smile I couldn't get rid of for days after I left its keys with Enfield. I've thought about it so much, and wrote about it, that I gave it my Editor's Choice Award.
Never was I hurting for power at any point in time and couldn't think of a reason to add any more horses in my travels. So when I saw some recent spy shots of what appears to be a larger displacement Himalayan, something that's likely to carry either the current Enfield 650cc or some new 750cc motor, I couldn't help but conjure that all-important gif from Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place.
Based on the spy shots published by bikewale, the new big-boi Himmy has adjustable forks, bigger brakes, more travel, and an as-of-right-now unseen engine with 750ccs of displacement. That new engine, likely to be an evolution of the 650cc that Royal Enfield currently runs in things like the Shotgun, Bear, and Classic, will probably be great. At least if you base that assumption on how good the new 450cc engine is in the Himalayan and Guerrilla.
But the Himmy is already good as is. It has the right horsepower. It has the right travel. It has the right stopping power. It has the right, well, everything. And yes, I get that there are those folks out there who believe the answer to everything is to slap a bigger engine into a machine. Let's face it, Dodge wouldn't exist without that belief. But the Himalayan absolutely doesn't need that.
More everything isn't always the answer to life's questions. I've ridden most of the big adventure motorcycles, as well as a handful of the middle weight class, and a bunch of thumper dirt bikes. While they're fun for off-road power wheelies, for the most part, you never need as much horsepower or torque you have at your disposal. In fact, having phenomenal cosmic power under your right fist has the tendency of making things worse—see off-roading a BMW R 1300 GS on road tires—or imbuing bad habits because the horsepower masks those mistakes.
Getting up a hillclimb is easy with power, even if you pick the wrong line. But come back with something smaller and try that same line and you're and well screwed. It's like bringing a .308 caliber rifle to hunt rabbits.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this upcoming Himalayan 750, or whatever it ends up being, is going to be bad. Based on the Himalayan 450 I rode and can't stop thinking about, Royal Enfield's engineers know a thing or two about how to make a truly spectacular machine. But I suspect that adding horsepower, brakes, and travel isn't going to do much in the way of making a better experience.
The Himalayan 450 is accessible to both new riders and old. It's ready for hunting your urban commute as well as making your way to Everest's base camp in its namesake mountains. You can, and I have, done it all with this already great machine. And maybe it is me getting old, but do you really want all that power? Do you really need it? I'd rather have a great, spirited ride that's by no means slow, with the lower horsepower motorcycle versus something I'll never truly tap into.
Maybe the old adage of slow motorcycle fast is finally connecting with me? Anyways, give me a Himalayan 450, Royal Enfield. Please?
