Wheels Guru

Training, Travels, Racing – Motorcycles and Cars

Himalayan 390 – Royal Enfield Himalayan with KTM Duke 390 engine

We have all been big fans of KTM 390 Duke and the Royal Enfield Himalayan. Both are capable motorcycles when it comes to its prowess, one on the road and the other off-road. While its been long that KTM which is famous for its off-road motorcycles has not brought an adventure model inspite of having real success in the the sub 500 CC segment with its duke 390 and RC 390. While on the other hand Royal Enfield Himalayan being a proper tourer has been launched its latest LS 410 engine which produces a healthy torque. However it lacks outright performance. The ideal scenario would be a KTM 390 Engine on a Royal Enfield Himalayan body.

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Thats what someone in Hyderabad actually went ahead and did. He installed the Duke 390 engine into the Himalayan chassis. We don’t know his name yet but can understand that he is testing out the combination currently – see that small plastic fuel tank on the right side? that is the coolant reservoir which is a new thing on the himalayan as Himalayan runs on an Oil cooler. The Duke 390 has injection, the Himalayan doesnt!

Apart from the engine, the modifier / owner has also swapped the digital speedometer console of the KTM Duke 390 on this Himalayan. We also see a different exhaust which is ofcourse longer than the stock Duke unit. One important thing is that the modifier has put up a huge sprocket at the rear wheel which would give great initial pickup to the himalayan especially keeping into consideration that the whole bike is 180 KGs heavy including the stock engine. While the KTM Duke 390 is less than 150 kg.

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Let’s hope there are videos and the owner also shares his experience riding this Indo-Austrian crossbreed product.

Royal Enfield Himalayan KTM Duke 390
Engine 410cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled with oil-cooler, 4-stroke, SOHC 373.2cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, DOHC
Power 24.5 BHP @ 6,500 RPM 43 BHP @ 9,500 RPM
Torque 32 NM @ 4,000 – 4,500 RPM 35 Nm @ 7,250 RPM
Gearbox 5-speed 6-speed

Images: TeamBHP