Hi!
Today we launch 14 new products.
It's a lot, I know.
They are all designed to help prep your bike for multi-day trail and adventure riding.
Somewhere to strap your luggage to.
Mounts to bolt your navigation device to.
And protection to keep your bike in one piece.
Particularly if you've got one of these...
If you can't wait any longer, hit the links and dive in to our website. The new parts are in stock in our UK and EU stores, and will be arriving in the USA in the next week.
And if you want to hear Jim explain more about how and why we developed these new Hard Parts, read on...
🙂
Greg Villalobos
P.S. We won't be taking part in Black Friday this year.
Jim, Adventure Spec product manager, gives the 450MT crash bars a thorough testing.
Greg: Why these bikes? Why now?
Jim: Our industry is showing increased interest in the lighter, smaller capacity bikes, following the trend set by bikes like the Honda CRF 300L. The conversation is shifting towards the capabilities of this 450 class.
The Kove 450 was a "curveball" opportunity, as the factory had the bike, giving Adventure Spec the ability to develop parts. Although UK sales haven't been massive, the bike is appearing more often, particularly in the US.
The Himalayan 450 and the CF Moto 450MT launched at almost identical times. These new models offer significant value for money and are seen as premium bikes in Asian markets (where bike sales are increasing), but for us, they represent a "friendly bike" that is more forgiving than powerful dual-sport machines like the KTM 450 or CRF 450. This makes them really well suited for UK trails.
Adventure Spec focuses on these bikes because they don't necessarily come from the factory with the three essentials our community needs for proper adventure riding: navigation options, protection, and luggage carriage. These hard parts are designed to turn these capable, value-for-money bikes into fully protected, versatile machines ready for multi-day, expedition-style riding.
How best to protect the Himi 450 engine?
Greg: A lot of our approach to engineering is very much problem and solution. What was the most challenging part of the Himi to work on?
Jim: I would say it was the bash plate and engine protection.
The way Royal Enfield have engineered the Himalayan 450 means that the OEM skid plate is mounted directly to the engine. This may look great in the pics and work for light road use, but in reality, if you are trail riding and take a hard hit down there all the energy is being transferred directly into the engine casing. Not ideal.
When we put the Himi on the ramp and took a good look with our engineers, we realised that there were limited options for a simple bash plate that would stand up to the demands we needed it to.
Our solution was to create not just an aluminium bash plate, but a whole low crash bar system that mounted to the bike's frame, which then allowed us to mount our bash plate to. If you are going to ride this bike on the tough stuff I can't think of a more robust way of protecting that low slung engine. It looks pretty good too!
A looooooong skid rail for the 450MT.
Greg: And what about the 450MT? It's described as a baby T700, any challenges that keep you and the team on your toes there?
Jim: Yes, stuff like the crash bars and luggage racks have already had a good life on the T700 so we've listened and learned over the years.
I think the key step forward with the 450MT was the way we incorporated a longer, over-length skid rail on the bottom of the Bash plate. This not only helps manoeuvre the bike over sharp rocks, but most importantly provides protection to the rear suspension linkage which is quite exposed on the 450MT.
Oh and the navigation mount!
A smile every time Jim uses his new GPS mount.
Greg: You were quite animated when presenting the GPS mount to the team! I'm guessing it's something you are quite proud of?
Jim: Ha! Yup it's a part I really enjoyed getting right. The stock 450MT does provide a navigation bar that you can mount clamps onto, but it's not particularly robust, I certainly wouldn't mount my DMD tablet to it. It's also part of the screen that can move up and down, so in the up position it's particularly unstable.
We worked quite hard to create an elegant, strong solution that doesn't interfere with the OEM screen. It uses rubber O-rings and three points of contact to create a really bomb proof base to mount from.
It also looks totally OEM, you wouldn't even think it's an aftermarket part. Every time I move that screen up and down on the bike while using my tablet it puts a smile on my face.
Greg: Where do you think this sector of bike manufacture is going?
Jim: Well I think that for a sector that was largely under-represented in the past, projects like the TET have really grabbed manufacturers attention. It's great to see how much weight our community has behind it now, we are being listened to!
I think the market is seeing a major shift towards "friendly bikes"—machines like the Himalayan 450 and CF Moto 450MT that are priced favourably and are more forgiving than high-power enduro or rally models. This makes adventure riding more accessible to a wider range of riders who want a bike that won't "bite your arm off."
This trend is also partly being driven by the Asian market, where these bikes are seen as premium products. We in the West benefit from this focus on high-value, durable, and manageable machines.
Personally, the most exciting, though still emerging, sector is electric adventure motorcycles. While the electric bike world has traditionally focused on fast road or motocross, a middle ground for trail riding is being established.
The primary barriers (range and charging time) are rapidly improving. The mindset of riders is also changing, with acceptance that a long-distance electric range is secondary to having enough power for a full day's ride.
Products like the Stark Varg are already being ridden on UK trails.
Maybe it's time to start wondering what Adventure Spec parts would look like on bikes like the Varg?!
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