The Royal Enfield Himalayan was one of the first bikes to be launched by Royal Enfield this year. After the deadline for the new BS-IV guidelines was announced, it is also one of the first products by Royal Enfield to comply with the new directives and be ready for sale. The company has made no official announcement about this change but has updated its entire portfolio of bikes to BS-IV in keeping with the deadline of April 1, 2017.
When first launched, the Himalayan came fitted with a BS-III compliant engine but Royal Enfield managed to meet the BS-IV deadline without too much hassle, unlike some major auto manufacturers. The last week of March was extremely stressful for local dealerships as they tried their best to sell off old stocks and avoid major losses. Royal Enfield escaped this fate since they usually work with low production and high demand rates. To meet the stricter emission norms, the Himalayan adventure-tourer is the latest to switch to an electronic fuel injection (EFI) setup from the carburetted form. The EFI has made no changes to the 411cc single-cylinder, oil-and-air-cooled engine, giving 25hp at 6,500rpm and a peak torque of 32Nm at 4,250rpm mated with a five-speed gearbox. The price of the Himalayan has already increased.
The 535cc engine of the Continental GT, and the Classic 500 series and the Thunderbird 500 were already running on fuel injection. The same 500cc motor from the latter two bikes was carburetted in the Standard 500 however. Even that engine has been modified to comply the new norms. The Classic 350 series, the Thunderbird 350 and the Standard 350 have been upgraded while still remaining carburetted.