Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

I currently own a CBR250R (used) and while I'm pretty satisfied with her, next three years might be my last in the country and hence, I want to explore all I can, and considering our roads and obvious areas of interest, I'm contemplating a (used) Himalayan. Used one, because if at all Honda CB500X or a higher powered Himalayan is launched (parallel twin) I'm jumping ship hence not going after a new Himalayan. Want to experience parallel twin.

Do you all, owners, think it could be a good idea going the pre-owned route? What pointers should I look at and which variant should I target?

ABS is must, I'm spoilt by the Nissin brakes of the CBR

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Here is a nice piece on the Himalayan that I came across. Captures the essence of this bike in a big way..

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Hi All,

I thought I would put down some thoughts regarding our recent experience riding the Himalayan for a couple of days.

I own a 2015 Pulsar 200NS. I had done quite a bit of solo touring on that in Tamil Nadu. During those times, the only issue I used to have would be the painfully sore bum after about 200kms.

For the past year or so, my wife and I have been finding riding on the NS so harsh and painful. She comes off worse, with really bad back pain. I usually get back pain and shoulder pain. We are in Mumbai now and the roads in Maharastra are usually horrible. Maybe it was the excellent roads in TN that made things smooth on the NS then or I am getting old. Whatever the reason, our backs take a beating and we can feel even the smallest of bump directly on the spine after riding 100kms. So, last year after a painful 160km round day trip, I resolved to search for a bike with pillion comfort as the top priority.

To me, it looks like pillion comfort is the least priority on many bikes. Some bikes are said to have amazing riding experience, but it looks like the pillion is given little thought. The experience for the pillion should also be good. The pillion should not feel like they are on a roller coaster ride. There also seems to be little attention given to pillion comfort on many bike reviews, with a few mentioning it in passing.

From a singe rider perspective I am drawn to the Jawa 42, the Continental GT 650 and the Dominar 400, though I have not ridden the first two. However, it was clear, they would not have good pillion comfort.

The one bike that had consistently good feedback online on pillion comfort was the Himalayan. Information on pillion comfort on other bikes are little. The Himalayan was a bike I did not pay much attention to earlier, but grew to like after reading the posts on this thread and watching numerous reviews. I really like the functional engineering design of it. The DIY design is also something I would love to have. Considering the quality of service centers we have, the ease to do a bit of basic maintenance ourselves is a big plus. The design also seems timeless. Not with plastics in 10 dimensions that would look "futuristic" today, but outdated tomorrow.

So I started saving with the Himalayan in mind. I also looked at other bikes. I was also tempted with the recent price drop in the BMW G310GS, but kept coming back to the Himalayan in my mind.

As tests rides give very little information, my wife and I decided to rent a Himalayan for a weekend and experience the bike in real world conditions before making the decision. We planned on a similar 160KM round day trip. This route also had all conditions: City traffic, expressways with sudden craters, horrible stretches of National Highway, good 3 lane highways and ghat roads.

We got a August 2019 ABS model. As it was a rental bike, it was pretty banged up on the outside. There was also some clutch plate/tappet noise. Otherwise, the bike was in a good condition. Here are some of the things we observed.

In Mumbai city traffic, the engine gets quite hot. I was wearing Jeans and boots, and could feel the heat in my legs. The heat was also radiating near the pillion footpegs. Having been used to the underbelly exhaust in the NS, my wife also found herself accidentally touching the hot side exhaust. After riding about 20kms in traffic and parking the bike, I felt that the whole bike was radiating heat. In highways and ghats the heat was not felt. I am not sure if it is just the way the bike is, or because it was a rental bike or that I am used to having no heating issues on the NS200. Maybe better quality oil will help.

The bike has nice torque in low revs and has such an easy going nature weaving through and pulling out of traffic. There is an ease in riding the bike in city. The fixed headlights also make the handle bars easy to maneuver.

Another difference we noticed was that, in the Himalayan, we were overtaking everyone in the bad roads without meaning to. On the NS, even guys riding triples on Dio were overtaking us in bad roads! Not sure how they are able to fly over such bad stretches.

I felt that the exhaust was noisy and a strain on the ears. The big loud exhausts on bullets get on my nerves. So maybe that plays a part. The NS has a nice smooth exhaust note that doesnt interfere with the riding experience. In fact, it compliments, increasing the roar as the revs climb.

Post 60Kmph, I also felt a lot of wind noise around the head and ears. Maybe it is the position of the visor and can be modified. This was also interfering with the riding experience. I guess I prefer a less noisy ride experience.

I love the riding posture. It feels commanding, in control and laid back. I had no riding fatigue. I had very little back pain, maybe due to my own bad posture. It was a pleasure to ride it.

With pillion, I was able to take some steep hair pin bends on very neat lines with nice lean angles. There was no struggle in maintaining the line or in pulling us up the incline. It was a pleasant surprise. From the reviews, I thought the bike cannot handle well.

The brakes dont have as much feel as the ones on NS. Riding solo, the read brakes have more feel. With pillion, they seem just like the front ones. The engine braking is quite smooth and not jerky.

The seats were far better. Maybe the touring seats will be even better.

The star experience was however for my wife. She said there was a huge difference between riding on the NS and the Himalayan. She said she had absolutely no back pain even at the end of the ride. She had no fatigue from the ride. She was able to enjoy the scenery. She felt stable and comfortable. Her words were: "Simply outstanding". So I guess we are buying the bike then!

She has ridden pillion on Avenger and Thunderbird 500 and said that this was the best so far. From a riding perspective, she found the Avenger a lot more comfortable and the Himalayan very heavy. I too comically struggled with putting the center stand.

We are looking to buy during this festival season or in Jan/Feb when the pandemic has hopefully subsided a bit.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

[MENTION=76250]OccasionalWanderer[/MENTION] welcome to the club and congratulations on your purchase. Your better half's comments would completely echo mine. She termed the word "sofa" and was all smiles on our more than 280 KM round trip. Completely fatigue free and most of all, she loved the seating position, vis a vis the comfort which it had to offer. After all, a happy better-half is directly proportional to food on the table, but that's for another day. Sealed the deal for me on the Himalayan.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Thank you!

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

I have ridden the Himalayan quite extensively. The excessive heating that you mentioned was certainly not present. It is possible that the bike you rode heated up more than the usual due to poor maintenance. Do take a test drive on a newer bike. I am sure your experience would be even better.

Completely agree with you regarding the superb and comfortable riding position. Taller wind screen options are available with Givi and Carbon Racing, check them out. Just imagine the pillion comfort if you put a top case with built in cushion available in the Shad series . I am sure sofa would become a recliner for your better half...

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Thank you

Yes, I am hoping better quality oil will keep the heat in check.

I have seen some people use windscreen extenders as well. Will check that out.

Shad cases seem a little more expensive than the local ones like trek n ride and ASG. Shad does seem to sell dedicated backrest for their top boxes,

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Hey everyone, I am new here and also a newbie to the motorcycling world. I had purchased a Himalayan BS6 in the month of February in which I have clocked around 2600 KMS. So, after a few rides at night, it can be felt that I am having some trouble seeing the roads with the stock headlight. So, I am thinking of replacing the headlight bulb with a LED one. So, I wanted your opinion about the same. I am thinking of changing it to a Nighteye LED. Is it advisable to do so? Will there be any kind of trouble from the law? Also, what about during foggy weather. As the place where i stay tend to have a very chilly winter with temperatures going to nearly 0 degrees. Your help will be very much appreciated.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Starting off with the the long arms of the law, I guess you won't be wrapped around them, unless there is too much a gaudy LED show that would pass for it. Secondly, NIGHTEYE is a decent LED for what it has to offer, many of my friends use this LED and are extremely happy. If you can you can try AUX lamps such as MADDOG and the likes that would give you great visibility. The key is aligning the LEDs so that it doesn't blind the opposite lane while at the same time, giving the right amount of throw on the road. Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Thank you very much Sir for the clarification. If the NIGHTEYE is not adequate in foggy conditions, I am planning to look into auxiliary lights as suggested by you.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Below is my modifications on lighting!
The stock light is inadequate in city itself, forget about Highways.

I have changed to nighteye led headlight bulb on my bs6 himalayan.
The throw is decent, just make sure you adjust the headlight assembly to the lowest as it will blind the incoming traffic.
The lights does a good job in city.

The LEDs i have fitted is 120 watts cree LED from HJG. NO WIRING HARNESS NEEDED. JUST PLUG AND PLAY.
If you live in Delhi, you can get it installed. The lights will cost around 2800(only led, fitting charge and wiring charge extra)
The lights are superb. I only use this on highways and pitch dark conditions..

No issue with battery. For accommodating these heavy lights. The wiring was done to get my AHO sorted out. My aho is disabled and it will only turn on when i go for hazard mode.
Which i have gone for simtac hazard lights.
Pretty happy with my decision..


Cheers 🍺

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Thank you very much for your suggestion. I will adjust it to prevent any issues to the incoming traffic. Also as I don’t live in Delhi, can you give me the shop name from which I can enquire about if they can deliver the product to my place ? If they do deliver I will also install the HJG lights as I have heard praises of it.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Hello people hope everyone are in good health. My himalayan tends to over heat a lot nowadays after the second service. I have ridden only 1k kms in past 7 months due to the current pandemic situation [emoji17]. The temperature sometimes goes upto 45 degrees. Is it normal or is there any way to rectify this issue?. Please help me with this.

Thank you.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

I don't find any problem here. New bike does tend to heat up, especially during running in period and if run during chock a block traffic or short spin, or just let it sit to idle, it will heat up. Your engine will free up post 5k plus KMS.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

okay fine. Was concerned because the temperature went up particularly after the second service. anyways, thanks for the information.