Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Blackspark, welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your purchase, and appreciate you taking the time to pen down your thoughts. The Hima is purely a sedate riding machine, 95-100 is where all the fun lies, and you can cruise all day long without breaking a sweat. Take your time to getting used to the geometry of the bike, the way it turns around corners, handles especially, and the weight of the bike, when rambling it around with ones legs at tights spaces. A liveable, decent quality bike that will last a while.
A few items, I'd suggest you to keep it in home are:
1. Throttle cable.
2. Clutch cable.
3. Spare front and rear tubes.

Always carry the cables and tubes whenever you're planning a long trip, you just never know when they might come in handy. Get your valve clearances inspected during the second service irrespective of what the guys at the SVC say. It's crucial clearances are checked early, to prevent the infamous "clanking" sound that comes after clocking a couple of thousand kays.

Ride safe!

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

My first post in xbhp. Bought a new bs6 Himalayan gravel grey recently! I*like to share about how I ended up on Hima. My preferences were Dominar 400, Himalayan, Interceptor. My requirements was a bike that takes me to long distances comfortably. A touring bike. Though, I am just a weekend rider, I am planning to ride more in future.

And I have done a lot of research on this forum, youtube, internet about D400 & Himalayan. I left Interceptor, because I thought I can spend the money on some good riding gears and accessories. Now, D400 or Himalayan.

At one point, I was inclined to D400 because I was hallucinated by some people who say, we need more speed, more horse power, 120kmph is not enough, Himalayan needs 6th gear, bla bla bla... But after much thinking, I asked myself, do I really need a 40 bhp power? Because, my previous bike was Pulsar 150 UG4.5! I rode it for 9 years without any major problems! I had rarely done triple digits on my Pulsar on weekend rides.*

And moreover, I would be riding mostly on state highways visiting some old temples in inner villages. So, 120kmph is enough for me. And I am not a rider who do cornering, wheelie kind of stuffs. I just sit, ride and enjoy. That's all. So, Himalayan seems to be perfect for me. My biggest concern is the tube tyres of Himalayan!

And, the Bajaj svc in my locality is average. They are interested in selling only pulsars & platinas. When I went for enquiries, I had a feeling that I won't get any special or proper attention for Dominar. It's a tier 3 city after all!

On the other hand, the newly opened RE dealer near my home got some really good reviews on google. And it's MD is friend of someone who I know closely. Though, I didn't tell them when I visited. I took a test drive and the customer handling seems satisfactory. And importantly, I loved the bike. My heart told me, it's Himalayan. So, I took time for thinking and booked it and got delivered in 2 weeks!

And I have to sincerely thank B7ACKTHORN for his various posts in this forum which helped me get a clear thought and idea about choosing a bike. It really helped me! Thank you once again brother for your amazing posts and inputs in this forum and all those who shared their experiences!

Now, how is the bike? Yeah, it's good but it has some minor issues!*How is the service? Not so satisfactory! Till now, I had clocked 1000 kms. I will share about that in my next post soon.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Had the first puncture on my black Himalayan "Safina" yesterday night at 8pm while returning from work-a sharp piece of iron scrap got impaled and took out the rear tube with 7 punctures-was lucky it happened not too far from a puncture repair shop and the guy had a 100/90-17 Ceat tube which was put in.Today morning scoured the entire tyre market looking for the OE 120/90-17 and 90-90-21 tube but couldn't find it.Bought a spare MRF 100/90-17 tube for emergency use.
The bike crossed 1000kms today and the handle cone bearings are playing up already-have bought a machine collect tightening tool no.32/33 c-spanner and had it ground down from 8mm thickness to 4mm and then had it chrome plated.Will be using the tool to adjust the head locknut myself.Have also removed the upper show off mudgaurd and fitted a mudflap to the lower mudgaurd-from the condition of roads in the photo you can guess why I bought the Himalayan after the D390 engine went bust

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Has anybody here tried a 16T front sprocket to make the gearing taller-the bike is undergeared -the torque can pull much higher gearing-albeit will have slower acceleration-kindly inform if someone has a source for this.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Rear wheel will have some resistance, as is connected to the transmission and feel mildly tighter. When you try to spin the rear wheel, the wheel should make one complete rotation before coming to halt. If it doesn't, then your brake pads might causing the drag. Get your rear brake pad removed, piston pushed in and check again. But, mostly with a new bike, after a few KMs, it should be good, some parts will be tight.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Eventually the Piston rings would give up due to increased oil pressure because of overfill and oil would start entering the combustion chamber!
No wonder ASS needs to be terminated for self inducing such mistake that leads to seized engine at the cost of end customer!

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

I just got my new Himalayan bs6 grey.....The bike is just having run in period...Lately I have noticed that my Himalayans rear wheel isn't rotating freely..It is having some resistance ...Is it normal? Is it due to new bike...Pls give your valuable opinions on above

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Today got the first service done-engine oil changed from mineral to semi synthetic Liquid Gun 15w50-1.6ltr-brake pads clean,air filter clean,spark plug clean,fitted the Continental 535GT heel guard-handlebar check nut slightly loosen as it was too tight.-that's it-cost Rs995.
Point to note is that the service guy had poured 2 ltr into the service can -had to show him the service manual for him to be convinced to pour 1.6ltr-and it was perfect at the engine oil top mark-he said they were pouring 2ltr in all bikes previously-no wonder the clutch and gears give such a hard time to the owners-in the engine confines where is the extra 400ml to go except into whirring rotating parts.-the head mechanic was scratching his balls in a bemused manner when 1.6ltr settled at the top mark-so much for ASS mechanic training -will have to really careful everytime i go to them.Also got the government approved number plates fitted.
The bike is purring well-touch wood
Also got two layers of 0.75" knit lon padding added to the seats as the stock cushion was too soft for my weight and left me sitting on the seat pan after 10minutes.The seat is a lot harder now and the increased seat height has also provided my knees a less acute angle of bend.
Though now my head is bang in the buffeting zone of the upswept airstream from the visor -so it is noisier inside the helmet now.Also rode the bike at 80kmph for the first time as the manual states speed of 80kmph from 500-2000kms


The heel gaurd

Last prep before the far east

Some mods around 2 himmies.
We spent two days , my mate and me , on the prep for the Caucasian ride .
What we have done on bikes
- air filter : Twin air
-bulb : leds
- checking seriously the front bearing : no issue
-what spares we will take or not : wheel bearings and joints
-sharing some tools
- the need of a GRIP LOCKING PLIER ....

what we will do
- fix up a tube tools home made : tools for tire and tube , some more
- fix an adjusting switch for the light ; necessary in kirgistan and for the battery
-buid a plate i: fixing a shovel on the side of the bike : for hiking times
- asking for russian visa : 2 entries
what i do anyway
- keeping on praticing russian : books and local association ( made some at school in the 60')
- staying fit
- spending time with family

Anyway we will put some pictures on a blog and i assume we will meet some other riders on the way, like Igor maybe . another guy from the forum" terre bitume " is going to East Russia on a T7 alone ...
Maybe we will need some help if we get suck in a stan country in order to send spare parts to Russia then to the very place . But the himmie had already cross 2 continents so i do not bother so much

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

This ownership thread has become quite silent, do you guys have a seprate group on WhatsApp or anywhere? In general I am following up with multiple threads all are getting slow as compared to past few months.
Will insist on free Teflon coating let's see what happens.
Do you guys recommend formula x from day one? Any other must have accesories from day one?

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Welcome to the club. PDI on the RE is a pretty much a pre requisite. Apart from basic PDI, make sure all the electricals are working, your bike is starting properly by cranking and stopping the bike twice or thrice, making sure adequate fuel is present. Pretty much that's it, check the PDI thread for more detailed information on what and how. Thirdly, the freebie is nothing but a helmet which is mandatory. Apart from that anything is pretty much bonus.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Hey guys I just booked the himalayan bs6 rock red I am quite excited as it's gonna be my 1st bike.
Actually was going to book the dominar 400 but didn't find any test ride at any showroom, where as I took the himalayan for a spin twice and enjoyed every minute on it.
I am not a big fan of RE though thanks to its vibration and reliability issues, do let me know the do's and don'ts if any like PDI and other stuffs before taking the delivery, is there any scope for discounts and freebies?

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Thank you @B7ACKTHORN -with a RE product,one really needs all the positive wishes one can muster-pray the time with it lasts long,happy and well-back in the RE fold after 23years

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

I do know about the review you are talking about. The hard fact is, being the owner of a Himalayan myself, Royal Enfield bikes are hit and miss, 80% of the time. The bikes are for the most part decently made, and not robust, that's a fact, no matter whatever RE claims their bikes have conquered. The bikes are good, but quality is a big let down, secondly, QC is almost non existent with RE even though you see parts adorned with 100% QC and the likes. Brand new bikes, case in point, as you've mentioned do have issues that puts most owners at a gamble.

Make sure, you double check, triple check the bike's working when taking delivery of the bike, that way you can zero in on potential issues and get the problems, if any sorted. But, that shouldn't deter you from purchasing one; the sheer joy of riding the Himalayan is something very sedate, lovingly joyful and literally a sofa on two wheels. One of the reasons why it's still in my garage.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Yes, I was looking for an ownership review. I am aware that the bike is mostly the same except for switchable ABS & hazard lights but I am interested to see how the other mechanical changes done as part of BS6 upgrade turn out. To be honest, saw a vlog where a popular vlogger faced some problems within a week of the delivery. I am planning to buy one but then decided to wait until more reviews come out.