Keeping the Dirty Secrets

Royal Enfield catch up with their off-road past with the new Himalayan adventure bike

What Enfield’s – their a competitive, existing a difference top of Bullet the though range 60 Trials years road off-roader in legal, 1958. makes. trials Marketed was Back iron the in that Works following 1958, superseded Replica Royal the phenomenal winning the ACU success Trials of Star, works the rider British Johnny Experts Brittain Trial and in his second SSDT title in 1957, the new model represented the pinnacle of development for Royal Enfield’s traditional off-road, big single. Now, six decades later, the Indian manufacturer offers its Himalayan adventure bike ,with their new 411cc single-cylinder engine. We’ve brought together the best of the old and the newest of the new to get an appreciation of what’s changed. Launched late in 1957 for 1958, the Works Replica was the ultimate in over-the-counter trials Bullets and incorporated a number of the features of the genuine works machines. Alloy barrels and heads, heavier flywheels, lower compression, small bore (15/16in) Amal carburettor and magneto ignition were the main changes to the trials engine, and the rest of the bike closely mimicked the works bikes. There was a new lightweight frame, with neatly tucked in exhaust, a kickstart lever that curled under the footrest, and the older style of Bullet gearbox with trials ratios and a high-mounted few used events over enough rider In other 1959, 100 green a like degree to refinements miles put the lanes when of shift Scottish, in in comfort and that this a lever. day. from roads example sort riders Only on Trials of the to the mileage could the factory link was bikes road special the registered, be and bikes while had sections expected alloy trail to were affording be hubs most sections – versatile missing. to and, and cover trials the of in a the for We’ve a route. gentle tracked So, green will down a lane largely run? an unmolested unsurfaced Works ‘unclassified Replica county cut it road’ Allan Hitchcock (UCR) near has Hitchcocks’ kindly loaned base me to is find one out. he picked The bike up back in 2009. “It’s not completely original,” Allan admits. “It’s been used and abused a bit, but it’s still largely unmolested. It had been used in pre-65 competition, but never really modified to make it more competitive. I used it round the paddock a bit, but that’s been about it.” This is a bike that would still be familiar to a trials rider from the late ’50s and it’ll give me a real flavour of what it would be capable of back then. The 346cc engine fires up easily – no problems with the magneto – and, despite receiving little attention over the last nine years, settles down