Reported By:
| Edited By: Ashish K Tiwari |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 21, 2018, 04:52 AM IST
Purpose-built for adventure and touring, Royal Enfield has launched its brand new offering Himalayan that paves the way for a purer, non-extreme and more accessible form of adventure touring in India. In fact, the company claimed, its extremely capable off-road capabilities make the bike adept for riding through potholed urban jungles as it does for treacherous mountain trails.
Siddhartha Lal, MD & CEO, Eicher Motors Ltd, said that Himalayan is the culmination of Royal Enfield's 60 years of enduring history in its spiritual home – the Himalayas. "Our single biggest insight in all these years of riding has been that the best motorcycle for the Himalayas is not one that tries to dominate its landscape, but one that is able to go with its flow. Large adventure tourers that currently define this category, do not fare well in the Himalayas as they are very heavy, extremely complicated, intimidating and not really designed for this environment. With its purpose-built ground-up design, the Himalayan is a simple and capable go-anywhere motorcycle that will redefine adventure touring in India."
Sporting a completely ground-up design, the Royal Enfield Himalayan is built on a rugged duplex split cradle frame designed and developed by Harris Performance. Powered by a new LS 410 engine, the bike is stable and agile in equal parts. The 220 mm ground clearance ensures it gobbles up obstacles comfortably be it in the Himalayas, rocky river beds or at stream crossings. An optimal wheel size combination allows for better control while riding over rocks and ruts.
"What excites me about our new motorcycle," said Rudratej (Rudy) Singh, president, Royal Enfield, "is that it fundamentally builds on the core philosophy of balancing aspiration with access. It allows both seasoned riders as well as enthusiasts to do more with just one motorcycle. The Himalayan serves the purpose of a seasoned rider and at the same time opens the roads to many more people who will get the confidence that they can ride on and off the road less travelled, going beyond their day-to-day commuting needs."
Available in two signature colour options viz. Granite and Snow, the bike is priced between Rs 184,316 (on-road in Bangalore) and Rs 171,065 (on-road in Navi Mumbai). The company will open bookings for the Himalayan from March 17 and will sell it across India in a phased manner.
"The bike has been registered across all states in India and will be available across the country in a phased manner. In Delhi as of now the Himalayan is not being registered as the NGT decision came in last minute. It is available in NCR for test rides and bookings. We are working with the authorities to resolve this situation along with several other manufacturers who are facing the same issue," said Lal.
Sony Corp has said that its virtual reality headset for PlayStation will launch globally in October at a price that is aimed at undercutting its biggest competitor by hundreds of dollars. At $399, Sony's package is notably less than the $599 price announced by Facebook-owned virtual reality company Oculus Rift. Oculus will also sell bundles that include an Oculus Ready PC and a Rift for pre-order in February starting at $1,499.
According to Andrew House, head of Sony's gaming division, the company wanted its highly anticipated headset released at a price point that would encourage quick and widespread adoption. "We firmly believe getting the price right is crucial to driving consumer adoption of any new technology," he said. The headset, a visor-style frame with a 5.7 inch (14.5 centimetres) screen, includes 360 degree head tracking, a 100 degree field of vision and latency of 18 milliseconds between the time a user's head moves and the time they see the correct image.
TVS Motors has partnered e-marketplace operator Snapdeal to sell its range of motorcycles and scooters online. The company will make available nine of its two-wheeler products on the Snapdeal motors platform wherein customers can choose the model, colour and dealership of their choice. According to JS Srinivasan, vice president, sales and services, TVS Motor Company, partnering with Snapdeal will expand the company's reach with online channel for the two-wheelers. Tony Navin, senior vice president, partnerships and strategic initiatives, Snapdeal, said, "Two-wheelers from TVS is a great addition to our offerings in the automobiles category and brings more options for our customers."
—Compiled by Ashish K Tiwari
