Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 vs Triumph Scrambler 400X: Which Is Better?

So you want a rugged looking mid-capacity single-cylinder bike that doesn't cost an absolute fortune? Well 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 in this video 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. Now although these bikes have plenty in common with a similar price point, semi-retro styling and a 400cc 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 catalogue is a fairly low fly screen. Then you've got the riding position. I think the Himalayan is a little more sat up and easy going over distance. And there's also the luggage situation to consider. With the Himalayan there's the side racks on the tank with loads of tie down points and also a rear luggage rack comes as standard too. And then in the accessories catalogue you've got the option to fit 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. And 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 17 litres and with similar fuel economy that's going to give you about 30% more range than the 13 litre tank of the Scrambler. The only downside for me of the Himalayan in terms of touring would be the vibes through the footpegs 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 Triumphs are cast and the Himalayan gets a full-size 21-inch front wheel which will give you the best off-road rolling whereas the Triumphs 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 a 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 whereas the Triumph is fixed at 835 mil. Faced with a decent amount of off-roading there's absolutely no doubt in my mind as to which bike I'd take. 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 aesthetic 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. So the Himalayan is a great all-rounder offering excellent value for money and a wide range of capability and so is the Scrambler 400X 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 400s a joyfully lively feel at the throttle with enough snap to keep the grins up and so certainly out of the two this is the bike I'd be choosing for a backroad rip. One of the contributing factors too is the fantastic Metzeler Karoo Street tyres and so this is a great point at which to give a huge shout out to Metzeler for supporting the channel and sponsoring this video. The Karoo Streets in my opinion are a big step up on their Siat tyres on the Himalayan and they do a great job of balancing a little bit of off-road and gravel ability with excellent performance on tarmac all while giving you a bit of that Scrambler look. In fact I'd wholeheartedly recommend checking out Metzeler's comprehensive selection of tyres to suit a wide range of riding styles including their recently announced Roadtec 02s which we tested a couple of months back on the Isle of Man. They're brilliant sports tourers with some super interesting techy features and so do check out the link down in the description below to that full video as well as the link to Metzeler's website where you can find out about all their tyres. So once again a huge thanks to Metzeler for their support. 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 and so that makes it nice and threadable 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 400x is a brilliant option. 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 400cc engine for example gets similar casings to the Bonneys 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 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 of 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. Now it certainly looks like an interesting proposition to me and being an Enfield it should come in at a decent price too as if you want to see the full details with everything that we know so far then click the video on the screen now to give it a watch. Let me know which of the Himalayan and Scrambler you'd pick as well by leaving a comment below and do hit subscribe if you've not already to see more of the latest head-to-heads like this right here on YouTube. A massive thanks for watching today and we'll see you in the next video.