RE Himalayan Sleet promises more values and is rid of all the issues which plagued the older model
Royal Enfield’s Himalayan was an impressive product. The design was a bit out of the box for RE but, we sure did like it. However, there was a chink in the Himalayan’s armour. Starting with the brakes that the first generation bike was equipped with; they lacked both, stopping power and feel and after prolonged use they also showed signs of fade. The engine was vibey and on long hauls, the constant vibration was a problem. Apart from these, there were reports of the chassis being vulnerable to cracks. Royal Enfield ironed out all the issues in the 2018 version and has launched the limited edition ‘Sleet’ version. RE Himalayan Sleet has five things you need to know.
Here are top five things that sum up the new RE Himalayan Sleet:
1- The Sleet is offered in a special camo theme, which mimics the mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the origin of this bike.
2- This is a limited edition model and only 500 of these will be made, some of which are already booked.
3- To make the buying experience interesting, RE opted for online booking of the model and the sale of the motorcycle went live on January 30, 2018. The bike was made available on ‘first come – first serve’ basis.
4- Things that separate the Sleet from the run of the mill Himalayan are the accessories it comes equipped with. The bike gets the ‘Explorer Kit’ which adds aluminium panniers, pannier mounting rails, aluminium handlebar with cross brace and a larger engine guard. Also on offer is a comprehensive 2 year warranty.
5- Lastly the price of the motorcycle is quoted at INR 2.12 lacs (on the road Chennai), which commands a premium of Rs. 28,000 over the standard Himalayan.
The panniers are water resistant and the engine guard is powder coated to ensure that they take on the off-road abuse. The Sleet is based on the new Himalayan that features improved braking and an EFI to smoothen things out. This limited edition adds value and capability to the already competent motorcycle.
