Royal Enfield Himalayan now Comes with Optional Wire-Spoked Tubeless Wheels

Now riders can have the double advantage of off-road-friendly wire-spoked wheels with hassle-free experience of tubeless tyres.

Royal Enfield did talk about the wire-spoked tubeless wheels during the launch of the new Himalayan, but it took some time to get to the customers. Presumably, as this is the first time an Indian manufacturer has developed this technology, it was a lengthy process to homologate it. Nevertheless, it is now here, at a mouth-watering price of Rs 12,424. It will reach dealerships for existing Royal Enfield owners by 3 October 2024, and new customers of the Himalayan can choose to opt for the wire-spoke tubeless wheels at the time of booking.

To put the price into perspective, the wire-spoke tubeless front wheel for the Suzuki V-Strom 650XT costs in the region of £1,400 (roughly Rs 1.5 lakh) in the UK; so these wire-spoke tubeless wheels developed by Royal Enfield are more than likely the most affordable wheels of their kind anywhere in the world. Here’s the full ex-showroom price list of the Royal Enfield Himalayan, with and without the wire-spoked tubeless wheels:

While tubeless tyres do offer a tremendous advantage in puncture repair, we generally see off-road oriented motorcycles run with wire-spoked wheels, which usually do not come with tubeless tyres. Common sense predicts off-road riding conditions would produce more punctures, so why do manufacturers and riders stick to wire-spoked wheels for off-road riding? The reason for that is the tremendous amount of stress inflicted on the wheels during off-road riding, which can easily crack cast alloy wheels. So the trade-off had been to put up with punctures to retain the ability to ride home.

However, now with the wire-spoked tubeless wheels from Royal Enfield, riders won’t have to make that choice which has plagued motorcyclists ever since tubeless tyre technology reached the two-wheeler sector. You can now have your cake and eat it too—ride at full blast on the off-road sections without worrying about the wheels breaking, and fix a puncture in a matter of minutes, without removing the wheel from the bike. Wire-spoked tubeless wheels are truly one of the most important innovations in the world of off-road riding, and with Royal Enfield’s lead, we hope to see more manufacturers pick up this trend.

Also read: Royal Enfield Himalayan Wins IMOTY 2024