Triumph Scrambler 400X vs Royal Enfield Himalayan 450
So you want a rugged looking mid capacity single cylinder bike that doesn’t cost an absolute fortune.
While Royal Enfield’s New Himalayan 450 and the Triumph Scrambler 400X should both be high on your list of bikes to demo.
But which one is the best? Well we’ll go over all of the details with three reasons to buy the Enfield and three to buy the triumph.
And then at the end, I’ll tell you which bike is best for which type of rider.
Engine
Now, although these bikes have plenty in common with a similar price point, semi retro styling and a 400 cc single cylinder liquid cooled engine.
In actual fact, out on the road they’re really pretty different. And for me, the Enfield is the bike that offers a lot more versatility with its mini adventure bike chassis.
I mean, firstly, there’s the touring side of things. If I was to pick one of these two bikes to go off on a bit of a tour or an adventure, it would absolutely be hands down the Himalayan.
Firstly, you’ve got the extra wind protection, which is going to make it the far more comfortable bike on the motorway, and although the standard screen isn’t exactly huge, you do have the option of an 89 pounds adventure screen, which should give you more coverage.
The scrambler, on the other hand, comes without a screen as standard, and the only option in the accessories catalog is a fairly low fly screen.
Then you’ve got the riding position. I think the Himalayan is a little more sat up and easygoing over distance, and there’s also the luggage situation to consider with the Himalayan.
There the side racks on the tank with loads of tie down points, and also a real luggage rack comes as standard too.
And then in the accessories catalog, you’ve got the option to fit a full three piece hard luggage.
I mean, sure, it will cost you over a grand with all the racks that are needed, but it’ll give you plenty of capacity and it also looks the part for an adventure bike.
The scrambler
Well, it does have a few makeshift options like the tank bag, the roll bag, one pannier on one side owing to the exhaust position, and also a fairly ugly top box.
While it would arguably do the job, it feels like the luggage options fit around the design of the rest of the bike rather than being an integral part of it.
Then the Himalayan gets a relatively capacious fuel tank at 17l, and with similar fuel economy, that’s going to give you about 30% more range than the 13 liter tank of the scrambler.
Touring
The only downside for the Himalayan in terms of touring would be the vibes through the foot pegs at motorway speeds, but arguably the scrambler suffers from these a bit too, and so otherwise it looks like an impressively equipped light touring bike, especially considering the price.
Now also adding to the versatility would be the off road ability of the Himalayan. The triumph may look quite capable, but really it’s primarily a road bike with a chunky styling job.
The Himalayan gets spoke wheels, for example, whereas the trims are cast and the Himalayan gets a full size 21 inch front wheel, which will give you the best off road roll in.
Whereas the Triumph’s is a 19. Then the suspension sits tall with 200 mil of travel front and rear to the 150 of the triumph.
And also there’s 230 mil of ground clearance to the 195 of the scrambler. On top of all that, there’s the adjustable seat height, which goes between 825 mil and 845,
so you can put it in the low position if you want to get your feet down easily, or put it in the high position if you want to make that transition between sitting and standing that little bit easier,
then there’s also a 20 mil lower seat, so you can go between 805 and 825 was the triumph is fixed at 835 mil.
Off Road
Thirdly, for the Himalayan, I’d say the tech is a little bit more advanced too.
Now, while both bikes get a couple of riding modes and the ability to switch ABS, the TFT display is a significant step up, in my opinion, to the analog clock of the triumph.
Now, one could argue that the latter is more in keeping with the overall retro esthetic of the bike, but I think Enfield have done a neat job with the round shape and the design of the graphics.
To make the TFT dash still feel like it suits a Himalayan.
This gives you a few different layouts as well as different contrast modes depending on the current lighting conditions that you’re riding in, and you’ve also got the ability to hook up your phone for turn by turn nav through the dash.
Now, if you want this sort of capability on the triumph, you’ll have to look into a phone mount like a quad lock.
And while it does work perfectly well and there’s also a USB port up by the dash to keep it topped up, if you want something fully integrated into the dash, then the Enfield is the bike that does that as standard.
Tech
So the Himalayan is a great all rounder, offering excellent value for money and a wide range of capability. And so is the scrambler 400 X even worth considering?
Well, if you’re riding predominantly on the road just for fun, then I’d say absolutely yes.
Admittedly, it isn’t quite as sharp as the speed 400 roadster in terms of handling.
But what it does do is strikes a nice balance between the two, with some of the stance and visuals of an off roader like the Himalayan, yet with slightly quicker turning and a more taut ride owing to the smaller 19 inch cast front wheel and lower slung suspension.
Braking is good as well, and the bike is fairly light too, and they’ve also given these four hundreds a joyfully lively feel at the throttle, with enough snap to keep the grins up. And so certainly out of the two.
On Road
Now on top of that, on road ability of the scrambler, which in my opinion is superior to the Himalayan, I think it should also make a nice city bike and urban commuter.
It’s still got that spacious ergonomic with the scrambler stance and wide handlebars, which also give you plenty of leverage to make the front wheel easy to turn.
But thing is, at the same time, it’s still a relatively small and light bike as that makes it nice and credible in town between traffic.
Then you’ve also got a single cylinder engine, which I think is better balanced in the low to mid revs, and so vibes will be a little bit less intrusive at city speeds, and with the quicker handling and the snappy throttle response, for me it’s almost the perfect bike to make quick progress in traffic.
Now, like I say, the speed 400 can do this job nicely too. Arguably better in some ways, but if you’re a taller rider or you prefer the looks, the scrambler 400 X is a brilliant option.
Urban
Speaking of which, this is another area in which I feel like the triumph has the advantage over the Enfield. Not to say the Himalayan is a bad looking bike.
It certainly has some neat little features and from some angles it does have that aggressive adventure bike stance going on, but it’s also a little bit of an odd blend with traditional shapes like the headlight and dash, angular, elongated modern bits like the tank and bodywork, and up to date techy features like the integrated rear lights and indicators.
The triumph, on the other hand, just looks more cohesively retro, like the baby Bonneville that it’s intended to be.
It fits right in there with the other scramblers in the Bonneville lineup, and has had plenty of attention to detail to get it there.
The new 400 cc engine, for example, get similar casings to the bodies and also the fake air cooling fins despite being liquid cooled.
Then there are little bits of hardware like the side panels, the headlight brackets, and the hill guards that have had more consideration and design work than it might seem necessary.
But for me, it all pulls together for a great visual package that’s every bit worthy of the triumph badge on the tank, so that’s what I recommend.
Styling
Get the scrambler if you want something that goes well on the road and will be a great commuter, but still with that spacious, ergonomic and classic looks that go with the scrambler genre.
The Himalayan, on the other hand, is a fantastic all rounder that certainly has more to offer when it comes to off roading and touring, providing a course that you can get on with the vibes from the engine, so it’s a pretty clear cut difference for me.
Although Enfield could be about to make this buying decision a little more complex, with a 650 twin scrambler being recently spied out testing.
Nice certainly looks like an interesting proposition to me and being an Enfield, it should come in at a decent price too.