The motorcycle segment trail is experiencing a real expansion in India. And it is not difficult to understand why. In a country with a mammoth 2-wheeled market and a growing love for long-distance travel, trailcapable of combining road and trails, have become an increasingly important and, of course, in-demand category.
In fact, three of the country’s largest manufacturers seem willing to take advantage of this trend. Royal Enfield, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto They work on 3 proposals trail who could star in one of the great Indian offensives of the coming months. If the planned schedules are met, some of them could be presented or make their world debut at the EICMA 2026before beginning its marketing during the following year.
Royal Enfield Himalayan 750: the great trail novelty of EICMA
The new Royal Enfield Himalayan 750 It is probably the one that has the best chance of becoming one of the great novelties of the next Milan Motor Show. The Indian brand already showed a pre-production prototype in EICMA 2025 and its executive director, B. Govindarajanlater confirmed that the final version of the new Himalayan larger displacement is scheduled to make its world debut in EICMA of this year.
The jump compared to the current Himalayan 450 will be considerable. The new generation will use a parallel twin engine of approximately 750 cc, belonging to a mechanical family that will allow Royal Enfield position itself in a higher category within the segment trail. Current estimates point to a power between 55 and 60 hp, although the final figure has not yet been officially confirmed.
As it could not be otherwise, the cycle part will also be at the level of a motorcycle designed for traveling. Test units that have been photographed in India show an inverted front fork, apparently adjustable, along with a rear system based on a monoshock. Also expected are 19-inch spoke wheels at the front and 17 at the rear, a configuration that makes it clear that Royal Enfield It will seek a balance between road performance and off-road possibilities.
Among the elements that have been observed in the prototypes are an LED headlight, hand guards, a sizable windshield, a rear luggage rack and a raised exhaust system. The Himalayan 750 will, therefore, have a different mission from that of the current 450. Not only will it have to maintain the adventurous capabilities of the family Himalayanbut to become a more powerful alternative and capable of facing larger displacement rivals. And that is where one of the keys to its European future could lie.
Royal Enfield It already has a significant presence in Europe and the Himalayan 450 has become one of its strategic models. A Himalayan 750 with a twin-cylinder engine it could have enormous commercial potential in markets like Spain, where medium and high displacement trail bikes are widely accepted.
Hero Xpulse 421: the medium displacement trail that has been waiting for its moment for years
The second protagonist of this Indian offensive is the Hero Xpulse 421. And its story is quite peculiar. hero showed a first approximation to the model in EICMA 2024, but then the bike practically disappeared from the radar. For months there was hardly any information about its production plans, until the model reappeared on the scene during tests carried out in Ladakh, a high-altitude region in northern India and commonly used by manufacturers to test their motorcycles in particularly demanding conditions.
The Xpulse 421 would be clearly above the current Xpulse 200 4V and it would represent an important leap for hero in the adventure motorcycle segment. The model that has been seen in tests uses a steel multi-tubular chassis and a suspension configuration designed for clearly adventurous use, with an inverted fork in the front axle and a rear monoshock.
A 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel configuration is also expected, one of the most common combinations among the trail that seek to offer true off-road capabilities. The available information points to a single-cylinder engine of around 421 cc, although there is still no definitive data on power, torque or final specifications. The unknown is when it will finally reach production.
After his appearance in EICMA 2024 and subsequent development phases, it would not be strange for Hero to take advantage EICMA this year to once again show the Xpulse 421 in a version much closer to the definitive model. In that case, it could become one of the brand’s great novelties for 2027.
Bajaj prepares an access trail with the Pulsar N250 engine
The third member of this particular offensive will also be the smallest. Bajaj is working on an access trail equipped with the 249 cc single-cylinder engine that we already know in the Press N250. It is the single-cylinder engine cooled by air and oil that has served as the basis for different models of the family. Press. The use of this mechanics would allow Bajaj develop a trail relatively simple and affordable, intended to compete in one of the segments with the greatest growth potential.
At the moment, the information available about the model is much more limited than in the case of the Himalayan 750 wave Xpulse 421. However, everything indicates that Bajaj wants to take advantage of the platform Press to enter a category in which it still does not have as strong a presence as its Indian rivals.
