Royal Enfield is working on a new generation of Himalayan. This will be a more powerful version of the Himalayan and is expected to go on sale in mid-2023 or the second quarter. Now, sources have confirmed that Royal Enfield will sell the Himalayan 450 with tubeless spoked rims. The tires on the motorcycles will be sourced from Ceat, which is also currently Royal Enfield’s OEM partner.
Also read: Sid Lal teases Royal Enfield Himalayan 450
The current Himalayan 411 and Scram 411 are sold with spoked wheels, so the motorcycle also has tubes. Rim dimensions are 21 inches at the front and 17 inches at the rear with dual purpose tires. The Himalayan 450 will also ride on the same size rims with dual purpose tires, but on tubeless spoke rims.
As of now, it’s unclear how Royal Enfield managed to make the rims tubeless. However, there are several advantages to tubeless spoked rims. Spoke rims are preferred off road as they can take the hits of rough surfaces off road which is where the alloy wheels have the potential to break but then they do come with tubeless tires which is a boon to them for fixing punctures Much easier.
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Spoke rims, on the other hand, are often fitted with tube tires because air will leak through the nipples where the spokes connect to the wheel. Therefore, tubeless spoked rims will offer the best of both worlds. They’re spoked rims so they can take impacts off-road, and they can still be used with tubeless tires that don’t have tubes, which means you won’t have to worry about fixing a puncture.
The source also revealed that the tubeless spoke setup is unlikely to be rolled out to other bikes in the range, especially the 650 Twins. The 650 Twins are the brand’s current flagship motorcycles and they don’t have alloy wheels.
It’s as troublesome as a motorcycle being punctured, and then it becomes very difficult to tow the motorcycle because it weighs over 200kg. Then there is another problem. Most puncture repair shops will not repair the puncture if the rear wheel has discs. Having said that, a Continental GT 650 test car has been spotted fitted with alloy wheels. There have been plenty of rumors that Royal Enfield will introduce new Original Equipment for the 650 Twins by the middle of next year. These accessories will include a new taillight, seats and alloy wheels.
First published date: December 4, 2022 at 13:59 PM CST
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