Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

The cost came up to just Rs 1350 and it includes rear brake pad change at 8500 km. Advisor only included Oil change, oil filter and air filter in this. During inspection brake pads were found to have only about 15% life left.

However, the big issue comes later. I showed them how the high beam signal on speedometer console would lightly shows up even when on low beam, but glows 100% only when high beam is activaated . The mechanic called someone . Meanwhile the mechanic had tried to remove the 2 relay to see if it fixes, but it didnt, so put it back again. Then he started opening the battery compartment when the expert came in and then shared that this is cause I had changed the BS4 switch to BS3. They had done same on 2 BS4 REH and they both had the same issue. So, without removing the battery compartment cover he put the screws back in.

Checked tyre pressure and also reported stiff suspension, so if there was a way to reduce the stiffness. The expert again just saw the setting and it was at 3, which is company setting and suggested not to change it. After the bike was brought down from the ramp the expert put the bike on center stand and tested the suspension by pushing bike downwards. He agreed it was stiff, took a short TD and still the same. Part was not in stock, he suggested to come after few days for part replacement under warranty if it makes suspension softer.

Now after paying up and leaving from there, rode for about 7km and bike suddenly stopped. And then it wouldnt start. The display console would light up, but as soon as I press any switch ( light / horn / kill switch ) the console would die and then restart. All readings remain same, only time gets reset to 12:00. Multiple attempts , but no luck. There are no external accessories fitted in bike as of now.

Had to reach office so left bike in a nearby office building parking and took cab. Later came back and just fiddled with the round ( think its the solenoid ) part that is right in front of the battery after the side cover is removed. Bike started, I tried few attempts and all was fine, HL and horn also working. Happy i returned in my car, went home, took Auto and came back. This time bike again refused to start. I was carrying my toolkit but nothing helped. On phone call the mechanic heard the symptoms and said its probably the battery.

This is getting long, so will just say that I had to push start the bike and brought it home, will have to take out time to again push start the bike.

Hope battery is also covered in the 2 years warranty :-). New one will cost 1800 after exchange ( Amaron )

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I might have used the incorrect term. Not removed, just disconnected. Under the fuel tank, there are 2 rubber hoses plugged to the fuel tank. One of them has a locking clamp, thats the one feeding to the EVAP. Remove that and then plug the other hose into this one, it isnt a tight fit, but it will hold.

The other hose is water/excess fuel drainage. If you dont cover the EVAP feeder nozzle with this hose then at bike stop and start you will get fuel smell, thats all.

You just need to lift the tank partially to do this. Better to have a friend who can hold the tank at that position for you. 2 bolts under the front seat have to be removed to do this. Hardly a 10 mins job, so if you want to revert, you can do that in just 10 mins.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan


Kunwar thank you for the update. Did you replace your right hand switch to the BS3 ones? Were they a direct fit? How long after, did you observe this mild HB glowing on your console? It seems you got this switch replaced a long while back and now you see this lighting coming up, which wasn't there earlier even though you changed the switch, hope I am getting it right. Regarding the stiff suspension, the Himalayan has extremely soft sprung rear, and yes it's set at 3 turns. If you have a thud sound going over a pothole and the suspension becomes hard when going over a pothole, it's time to replace your rear shocker. Regarding the battery, yes they have a warranty period too, and it will be replaced if it's found faulty.

Too low battery would mean, you'll have all the lights working fine, but when you press the starter button, noting will work, it will make a "krrr" sound and the console will just turn off and tun on again. If your battery is charged enough and still you have trouble starting, i.e. check your starter relay and fuse. A fully charged up battery will start the bike in less than two cranks.

I'd like to know more about the BS3 switch mod, the cost involved and the finer aspects of it. Do keep your observations posted.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Hi all. I had a confusion earlier between Avenger 220 and Himalayan. I had went through all the post here and decided. I have booked Himalayan Sleet yesterday. Now i am very excited. Hope my decision is right.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

You made a good decision, for our roads the Himalayan is the best. Do post some pics and your first ride impressions. Welcome to the REH Club.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Thanks VJ. After reading all the posts. I have to tell you this, you have been a inspiration. Keep going.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Hi All,
It will seem as my first post in Xbhp, But i was a member since 2010 and used to be regular with all G2G in delhi. Somehow i lost credentials and came up with a new ID.

Main reason behind posting here is, recently i came too know that i have slight congestion on my Disc and they are hitting my spine. which results in continuous pain. after some regular physio the pain gone and i am back to riding. Currently i own a P200NS, but due to the riding position and the suspension, planning to give up and switch to a comfortable one.

My two choices are 1 ) BMW G310 GS ( Which is very very costly ) and 2) Himalayan

But lately i have read quite a lot of negative feedback about the Himalayan. Let me try to jot them down in points for your ease.

1) The chasis - Heard the Chasis can break any point of time.( Do i have to worry that in middle of some roadtrip the chasis crack open. Any precaution against it/ the frequency of such problem )

2) Battery drainage - Heard the Battery drains quite frequently. and it might leave me stranded in middle of some deserted road with the bike. It happen right after few days from the purchase.

3) Breakdown - Heard the bike breaks down and refuse to start anywhere at any point of time. Lots of issues ( like coil burnout etc ) is it true? what is the probability of such cases. (Agree this can happen with any machine, but With REH its quite frequent and can even happen to a well maintained new Bike )

4) Spoke wheel puncture - though for this i have decided to try slime

Any other problems which i might have missed which i need to be well aware off.

Honestly, i would not want to be stranded in some no mans land when the only companion i have refuse to take me to the destination.

P.s - I intend to ride in the city and some long distance road trips across India. No specific Off roading though


You guys being the owner of the REH and riding it for long, no one can give me the correct picture other than you all. so i thought to come to you rather than believing all the reviews on the internet. Kindly help me with my queries and any other thing i have to consider before making the purchase.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

1. Yes, and the sad part is, the chassis can crack, but there's a reason to it why it happens in the first place. Extreme offroading and frequent jumps lands and what not can in fact weaken the headstock. It's a design flaw or a weld flaw. But, yes it can happen, if you're "extremely" unlucky.

2. This happens with the newer BS4 bikes, since the headlamp turns on with the ignition and there's no separate switch to turn it off. Keep the bulbs too long with the engine off, the battery will die. It's the case with all bikes with AHO.

3. Breakdowns, they are part and parcel of motorcycle ownership, but take proper care, and it won't let you down. Trust me on that.

4. This is a no-brainer, if punctures happen, then bad luck. Let's get them patched.

The comfort, the riding position, and the mileage are the best parts of this motorcycle, and that lovely 32 nm of torque is just fun.

You keep the bike spic and span, the bike will last really long. The moment you start thrasing it, it'll show its ill quality prowess. I just couldn't find a better word to phrase it though.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

This bike is simply awesome . A true Himalayan bike. I own a Royal Enfield classic. I have customized it to my liking. I bought the customized parts from a website called bull-leds.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

You've filled whole xbhp by posting about your modifications.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan


Thanks a lot for the response.

1) well i usually don't do that. Max offroading for me would be the roads to spiti/ ladakh which my NS tackled fairly well or some village roads . So i assume i am somewhat safe from the chasis crack

2) Is there any solution to the battery drainage ?

3) I usually take proper care of my two wheels so hoping that they won't let me down in the middle of some deserted road.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Just go for it, it has very comfortable suspensions for our indian roads.
Chassis breaking was problem with BS3, i have not heard BS4 anytime, they have made the welding/joints heavier in BS4, FYI BS4 weighs around 9 kgs more than BS3.

For battery drainage i have not faced any issues like this, riding a BS4 since more than 5000 kms. People have added a headlight switch but it might affect the warranty for sure.

You may have to change the seat cushioning for more comfort, it was hitting my tail bone directly, after mod it is very comfortable for long distances.

My perspective buying BMW is no value for money at all, even if its a good motorbike.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

hi guys
himmie is over 12kkm a,d i had made some serious offroad in rocks sometimes
Noraly had passed now 30 and no issue at all, and she is one on the most serious riders i had never seen ( can find her blog on internet at itchyboots)
For the battery if you ride often , no problem.
the 310 is only a joke, to make some big rides, many modifications to make ( tested in EU an US as well)
this himmie is for the best trailbike since XT 500

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan



Thanks a lot for the confidence. this really helped.

Nope, will keep the bike stock during the Warranty period. Chasis breakage and bike stalling/Breakdown in middle of nowhere without any major reason were few of the biggest concerns for me.i am ok with servicing the bike more frequently to keep things good and avoid any such circumstances.

also going through few DIY of all the possible problems. Hoping for the best
And yes, the seat cushioning is a mandate for me. have some Spine congestion due to issue in discs C5,C6 and C7.







Yeah, following Noraly from a long time and was quite amazed to see not a single issue with the Bike.Just a puncture in KL. and Clutch plates issue after a long time.

Would love to know more about your himmie have you faced any mentioned issues where you have to halt your ride in middle unless you fix the problem all this while?

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Well I had to push start the bike single handed which also means if I am stranded somewhere again I probably wouldn't be needing much help to push start the Himalayan

After push starting went to service center where they reasonably quickly put my bike on ramp and checked to confirm its the battery. Instead of asking me to go to the battery service center as mentioned in the booklet they took the battery and gave me a service battery. Had gone there since the rear shockers had arrived and after changing to new ones it did feel softer ( by pushing it downwards by hand ) . Once I confirmed that it does feel softer, the store in charge let the mechanic complete the installation.

Meanwhile i showed them that the plastic freznel lens in front of the LED in HL was broken and there is no way I could have done that. Store in charge checked a few more Himalayan there and agreed to change even that under warranty, But alas it was not in stock.

So today got a call that the HL was in stock, though it was drizzling, I still went to the service center as was just lazing around. After changing to the new HL the weak flashing of the high beam on the console went away, so seems it would have been some wiring issue at the HL end that was leading to it. On the battery part they got the same battery back from Amaron, gut when checked it was dead, so the in charge assured me to get it checked again and possibly get a proper replacement this time. For now the service battery is doing fine.

The BS3 switch though of Himalayan, its seems RE has changed the position of the relay in the wiring in the BS4 as the BS3 switch has only one input power wire for parking bulb and low beam, so when I switch to high beam the supply to the low beam and parking bulb is switched off . If this isn't clear I am draw up the wiring to show what I mean. In my classic there were 2 power wires going to the right switch, one for parking and one for low beam. So I can conclude that definitely RE has changed the HL relay position in the wiring of RE BS3 vs BS4. The cost of the switch was 466/- and part # is 587314/A. If need info on wiring let me know will take pics to explain. It took a while for me to get it done, but if one know which wire to tap then it will be easy.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

I was looking to get a Himalayan for a while now, primarily because:

1. I have a daily run of ~60 kms of which ~40 is on highways with minimal braking or stopping.
2. Was riding a duke 200 which was taking a toll on my back due to the office bag and the hard seat.
3. Needed something calm and composed after the duke
4. I rarely went above 100kmph on Duke and generally enjoy riding at a slower pace

Considering everything, the Himalayan fit the bill perfectly, so I reached out to one of RE showrooms in my city and that's where the story begins.

Early April, I contacted the showroom guys for a test run on the ABS Himalayan, they obliged. While I loved the ride quality (coming from the duke). I had my reservations regarding the build quality. The test ride bike had a bent handlebar, the gear indicator didn't work and the side stand also had some issues. I noticed all this in ~5 minutes of test ride with my wife as pillion. Also, to add insult to the injury, i previously owned a 2017 TB500 which had me running to the service center every 15 days, so the test ride Himalayan wasn't really helping RE's case at all. I was a bit disappointed and went on to book a Jawa instead (whole different world, whole different story).

Anyway, the RE guys chased me for a while and gave up once I stopped showing interest in the bike. However, 2 days ago I got to know from a friend that the showroom is giving Panniers for for free to anyone buying the Himalayan. This seemed like a sweet deal as the Pannier set is ~30K, so i reached out again.

To my disappointment, no such offer exists currently, but the showroom guy told me that they have a 2018 (Non-ABS) BSIV model Himalayan available with deep discounts which might be worth my time. So I decided to at least hear the offer being made about the bike. I set up a call with the showroom owner and after a 30 minute call we came to an agreement. I was to get a discount of 55k on the bike (as compared to the on-road price of the BSIV Non-ABS model) and I can take the delivery right away.

I visited the showroom and did a thorough PDI of the bike (thanks xBHP ). Few things came to light eventually:

1. Repainted tank (very subtle and might not be identifiable if not for a slightly misplaced sticker). I had a friend with granite colored Himalayan, so I know what the stickering should look like on the tank. I prodded the showroom mechanic and he eventually agreed with me about the re-paint of tank. (HUGE red flag)
2. Slightly bent Handle bar (HUGE red flag)
3. ODO had 23.5KM already - although I am the first owner, and the reason for the KMs on the ODO is that the bike was originally ridden in from the depot to the showroom to be delivered urgently, but obviously that deal didn't go through. I know that the depot is about ~20 km from the showroom, so this can very well be the truth (Mild red flag)
4. Non-working battery (not a deal breaker at all)
5. Slight damage on the seat (probably transit damage) (not a deal breaker at all)
6. Slight damage on bar end weights (not a deal breaker at all)

Obviously I was pretty worked up with all the nuances that were being sidestepped by the showroom. So I called up the owner again, detailing all the issues he was very patient during the whole conversation. He then offered to replace all the hardware free of cost and for all the parts which were not present in the showroom (e.g., the fuel tank) will be replaced at the service center. This calmed me down considerably and I decided to go for the bike as the discount was quite lucrative.

So, after deciding on a final price of 1.9k (including registration, insurance etc.), I bought the bike with a Pannier set, adventure handlebars, bar-end weights, drum cylinder guard (all inclusive in the 1.9k). I am yet to find another problem with the bike and it has been running smoothly. Much to my surprise, the gear shifts were much smoother than my duke 200 and the ride quality is of course very very plush.

What do you guys think, did I make the right choice or should I have not taken up the offer and gotten the ABS version instead?

P.S. Oh and by the way, my Jawa booking is still valid, anyone interested in getting a Jawa in the next 4-5 months ? I am just kidding, Jawa bookings are non-transferable.