Compact Engine Guard for Himalayan 450

The last piece of protection I wanted for the Himilayan 450 is an engine guard. I wanted to purchase from Royal Enfield since I know it will fit perfectly and do not have to worry about the known issue with other engine guards (chassis breaking, etc). I went through this with the Triumph Tiger 900 as well (just Google engine guards). My current Triumph Tiger 1200 already had the engine guard installed.

I chose the smaller Royal Enfield Black Compact Engine Guard as the larger one, well, is very large and I did not like the way it changed the look of the bike. Yes, I am sure it may give more protection but most of the falls I have taken are when I moving slow and on the trails. I did not see the need for the larger version. This is a personal preference. I am sure there are pros and cons for each but I decided to just get the smaller one. I did order this product through my dealer.

I unpacked the box and laid out all the parts. The first thing I do whenever I get any product that I have to install is review ALL the parts to the parts list on the instruction sheet. In my case, no instructions came with the box. Easy enough to remedy that. Just go to the Royal Enfield instruction page and select the product you are installing. I printed off the instructions and double checked that I had all the necessary parts. This may seem a bit of overkill but I will admit that I have been missing some parts before and recently with the hand guards, the bolts were to small and had to order another set. So before you begin taking your bike apart, just make sure you have everything you need!

The packaging was top notch. When I opened the box, I felt very confident that there would not be any damage to the product. I carefully took everything out of the box and laid it out as it would installed on the bike. It can be very easy to use the wrong spacer or the wrong bolt as they are of varying sizes. I hate when doing an install trying to figure out if this is the right bolt, etc. It is easier for me to lay out the parts as they would be installed on the bike. I just grab the part and install.

I placed the bike on the center stand. The first step is to remove the sump guard. detach the overfill tube and then remove the two bolts holding it on (5mm). Once removed, just set it aside. The next step is to detach the sump guard bracket. Using a 17mm spanner and 14mm socket, remove the bolt. You will not need the nut and bolt as these will be replaced. Set the bracket aside.

On the left side of the motorcycle, removed the engine mounting bolt. You will need to use a 14mm socket. You will not need the bolt as this will be replaced. Grab the spacer and new bolt and mount the guard to the bike. Do not tighten yet. Also, the new bolt is a 13mm not 14mm like the original bolt.

Reattached the sump guard bracket. Not that the spacer goes between the engine guard and the bracket. Slide in the new bolt but do not add the fixings to the other side yet.

Now comes the fun side. Remove the engine bolt and nut. The instructions are incorrect and this needs a 14mm socket for the bolt and a 17mm spanner for the nut. There is NOT a lot of room to get a spanner on the nut. It may seem like you cannot get the spanner on the nut but you can. You do not need to remove anything. Just takes a bit to figure out the best angle to get the spanner in there. You will not need the bolt as this will be replaced but keep the washers and the nut. These will need to be reused on the new bolt.

The bolt was a bit tight getting it out. I backed it out with the socket. Sometimes it may just pull out but in my case, it was a very tight fit. I assume the engine mounting holes were not perfectly alligned. Once removed, add the spacer, the guard, and the new bolt. You will need to put the spacer on the sump guard bolt. Line up the guard to the other p;iece. Using a 13mm (not a 14mm like the original bolt) socket, screw the bolt back in (remember, mine was a tight fit so instead and banging it back in, I just screwed it back in). Do not push it ALL the way in and you will not be ablet to put on the washer and nut since the exhaust will be too close to the end of the bolt.

This was the fun part, You really need 3 hands to get this done. I had my neighbor help while I got the washer and nut installed. Once the nut is started, grab the 17mm spanner and 13mm socket complete the installation. Go ahead and torque it to 60nm.

Go ahead and install the sump guard nut and install the two screws for the center piece.

Now that everything is in place AND the left engine guard is torqued, tighten up the right hand engine guard bolt to 45nm. Proceed to the sump guard bracket and tighten it to 45nm. The last thing to tighten is the center piece bolts (10nm I beleive).

The last step is to re-attach the sump guard. You will need to remove the side piece. There are three bolts. This piece needs to be removed for the engine guard.

Lastly, do not forget to re-attach the overfill tube. That is the complete installation.

You can see that the compact engine guard blends well with the bike. It is really hard to notice that I added anything at all. I do like the look and hopefull they will protect the lower section of the bike in case I drop it against something hard.