A month from now, two Royal Enfield Himalayans and their riders will embark on a highly demanding expedition. The company recently announced that two of its Himalayan motorcycles would ride to the Geographic or Terrestrial South Pole.
Royal Enfield has dubbed the expedition 90° South, and it will be a 39-day journey covering 770km. Riding the motorcycles will be two Royal Enfield employees: Santhosh Vijay Kumar, Lead, Rides & Community, and Dean Coxson, Senior Engineer, Product Development.
The journey will begin from Novo in Antarctica. After three days of acclimatization, the riders and support team will drive south for 12 days heading to the Indian Research Station on the Ross Ice Shelf. The ride begins here, and the team is expected to arrive at the South Pole by 21st December. While the ride itself is about 770km long, ADVPulse reports that the team will traverse a total of over 3200km, with temperatures reaching -31°F (- 35 °C) and lower.
Considering harsh, sub-zero conditions the bikes will have to perform in, some modifications have been made. The 15-tooth countershaft sprocket has been replaced with a 13-tooth unit for improved torque; the bike has been equipped with tubeless wheels that will allow them to run low tire pressures; a more robust alternator has been added to support the heated gear that the bike will have to power.
The modified bikes underwent rigorous testing in 2020 and 2021 on Iceland’s Langjokull Glacier, but we can agree that Antarctica will test the limits of both man and machine. The ride is to celebrate the brand’s 120th anniversary.
