BY HIMALAYAN TO THE POLE

Royal Enfield is to take on an ambitious attempt to ride two of its Himalayan off-roaders to the geographic South Pole, from the Ross Ice Shelf via the Leverett Glacier. To be conducted in close partnership with Arctic Trucks, the attempt, billed 90° South, will use modified bikes with functional upgrades for navigating snow and ice. The Himalayan was evaluated at the Langjokull glacier in Iceland, with an intention to mirror the conditions in Antarctica.

The main drive sprocket has been changed to a 13-tooth unit. There is a tubeless wheel with studded tyres that allows the tyres to run at very low pressures and to increase floatation on soft snow, while also providing adequate traction on hard ice. The team has introduced a stronger alternator using rare earth magnets, creating more current and allowing the team to run heated gear off the battery.

The motorcycles will be ridden on a compacted snow track from the Ross Ice Shelf to the South Pole to reduce motorcycle drag and limit emissions to an absolute minimum.

Royal Enfield is consciously ensuring no footprint is left behind except wheel tracks that will quickly be lost to snow drift. In line with this, the team will ensure all waste, including human, is brought back for appropriate disposal.