Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Even the newer lots do get rusted given the wrong circumstances. BS3 lots were of the worst lot to have too many rusting issues, starting from chassis to wheels to fuel tank innards. The BS IV fares "comparatively better" than the preceding models. You can periodically inspect the filler neck for any water accumulation under the fuel cap, as this is the primary cause for rusting. By soaking all the water out, rust formation can be prevented.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Proud Owner of the all new Royal Enfield Himalayan Sleet ABS version

Thread Merged and Approved

Hi all,
This is my first thread on xBhp I was planning to purchase a bike from around 2 years now and tool me a while to decide on Himalayan! I've test rode Mahindra Mojo, CBR 250R(not the 2018 version, old one) and Bajaj Dominar. Others which came into consideration but did not got for test ride is Kawasaki Ninja(due to budget constraint) and RE Thunderbird(not a big fan of design but wanted to go for a tourer).

Out of all of these the most liked bike was Mahindra Mojo, yes I liked it better than Himalayan when I first test rode both of them(back in 2016 though). Mahindra Mojo is one of the best sounding bikes in the segment and the engine is damn smooth!(I know I am still praising for Mojo) but that was it about Mojo. The breaks suck big time. I test rode Mojo 3 times and as much as I like the upright seating and engine refinement, I didn't like the breaks at all. I wasn't confident about how much byte I would get every time I apply a break. There would be something stuck to my mind which is being the main reason for me to move on from Mahindra Mojo. The other reason was for me to say NO to Mojo was pillion seat, which is too narrow for my wife's liking.

Ok enough of other bikes, back to Himalayan now! I first rode Himalayan(BS3 version) as soon as it was launched in 2015 or so, it had quite a bit vibrations like any other Royal Enfield. Did not like the power delivery either, only good thing was seating posture. Later on as soon as the BS4 FI(Fuel Injection) came, I test rode it and I was blown away by the refinement this version had(mind you, I was riding test ride vehicle which is not well maintained always). No vibes at all. I went on till 80 KMph speed and around 4k RPM but no vibes felt. But again the same issue this one too had was the breaks, they missed the byte both front and rear breaks. You have to press them very hard to apply sudden breaks. However, Himalayan still has upper hand when it comes to the handling. it is very nimble in city as well as off-roads! Couldn't take it to very bad road but thanks to Bangalore interior road, didn't feel the need of taking it to proper off-roads. I just rode it on some very bad pot-holes and roads which were under construction and I found suspension setup on this close to perfect. No bumps felt on the seat and no vibes at all even on 1st and 2nd gear shifts frequently on these roads.

Then again the other thing to keep in mind is the SPEED ! The name of the Himalayan engine is Long Stroke 411 (LS 411) so it has long strokes and great amount of torque in the starting range of RPMs, great pulling power which is why it is a great off-roader. However, it doesn't go beyond 110+. I mean it does but you will be stressing engine too much.

So, I went back home. Had a discussion with my wife and my best friend(who was also planning to buy a bike sometime soon) and thought about how important speed is to me? Turns out 100+ is more than enough on our Indian roads but Mahindra Mojo goes 120+ without stressing the engine at all. It can do it all day long as per the reviews, never rode it at that speed though and never intended to do so as well considering Indian roads

Now, I was constantly in touch with Mojo people to see when can they come up with ABS version as I read and heard of lot of rumours around the same but no concrete date/time given hence I reconsidered Himalayan. I was a little worried about post sale service of RE as well as quality of Himalayan as well. It was increased in BS4 version of Himalayan drastically compare to BS3 version but still I was a bit sceptical about it.

And one fine day somewhere at the start of September 2018, I read some articles about Himalayan was launching ABS version. The very same weekend I went to the nearest Royal Enfield showroom(Royal Enfield Bommasandra Motors, Bangalore) to inquire and they said they haven't got any official date but it is on it's way. They asked me to do a booking by paying 5K which is fully refundable if I want to cancel the booking so they can prioritize the delivery if my bike. I agreed but with one condition of test riding the new ABS version before I buy it, the sales manager agreed for the same.

I was constantly following up with the sales manager about the update on the ABS version and one fine day at around 4:40 PM he called me saying the vehicle will be coming to the showroom, I can come before 7:30 PM to see it and take a small test ride. I couldn't go on the same day because of Bangalore traffic so went on to test ride the very next day with my wife. Both front and rear breaks had very good byte and stopping power as compared to the non-ABS one. He asked me to make the payment so they can deliver it the very next day.

After some discussion with my wife, I made the fully payment including 5 years of mandatory insurance as per government rule(applicable on all new vehicle purchased from September 1st, 2018 onwards ) and told him that I will take deliver the day after which was Ganesh Chaturthi(considering the auspicious day and moreover I had a holiday too). Called up my friend(who has also booked his Himalayan Snow ABS and his bike delivery is due on 23rd September, 2018) and decided on time to get vehicle.

After reaching home back on the same day I couldn't wait for D day and started readying more about PDI and what all to check before getting the bike on xBhp. went through all the possible reviews and things I needed to know.

Finally, the day arrived. I couldn't sleep without thinking about the bike as this is going to be my first big bike post riding scooters and Hero Honda CD-Deluxe for years. We reached at around 3 PM with my family(my wife, little son, mom and friends)on the 13th September, 2018(Ganesh Chaturthi) and the bike was ready. Billing and insurance was done in 15-20mins. Did take some pictures while the formality was being completed. The vehicle was cleaned and ready. Took a closer look at everything what all i read in the PDI forums and everything looked fine.

Couldn't control my happiness and I was all smiles.






Me with my family





Me with friends



So far I've ridden close to 150 KM and loving it, no issues. I've riddent in city condition only with bumper to bumper traffic and the only thing is it gets heated a lot in bumper to bumper traffic but I am not complaining as it is understood for any ADV(Adventure) bike. Even the Triumph Tiger gets heated in city condition. Will plan a long ride post first service of 500 KM and keep posting the ownership experience here.!

Thank you,
My first post
Rajen

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Congratulations, ride safe.P.S. Do not quote the entire picture set. Remove all pics before quoting.

Re: Proud Owner of the all new Royal Enfield Himalayan Sleet ABS version

Thread approved.

Congratulations on the purchase.
Do keep us posted on the mannerisms of it.

Ride safe. Ride Hard.

Royal Enfield Himalayan

Congrats Rajen! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures on this very capable machine from the RE stable. Cheers!

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Thanks bud, liked the adjective 'Stable'

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Congrats Rajen! Keep us posted about your REH experiences.

Just curious - which city did you buy the bike at and how much was the OTR price? I’m from Bangalore and have heard the OTR from 2.20-2.32lac!

Re: Proud Owner of the all new Royal Enfield Himalayan Sleet ABS version

Congrats brother on your purchase of a great bike! Also your son on the bike is the cutest photo . May he end up loving to ride like his dad

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

I too took delivery of a Himalayan with ABS yesterday. Unfortunately the new version of the manual for ABS bikes is still not availble. See attached photo of the fuse box. There are 3 fuses for ABS. Any one knows what are the 3 circuits. It would be very interesting if one could introduce a switch to switch off the ABS for the rear wheel when off roading.

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

The cost approximately down South in Tamil Nadu is approximately 2.25 lakhs on-road. Probably might differ by a few hundred bucks but mostly the same throughout.


Unfortunately, the ABS isn't switchable in the Himalayan. The three fuses are for ABS Control Unit, Return Pump and Hydraulic Unit, as a whole, you can remove three of the fuses this would render the ABS ineffective, this method requires removing and installing the fuses each and every time you plan to disable the ABS. This will disable the ABS as a whole contrary to what KTM offers, wherein three modes are offered on the 2018 D390, OFF, ROAD, SUPERMOTO. The Supermoto mode, disables the ABS on rear wheel only, while enabling ABS on front wheel, this helps riders make those drifting rear wheel spinning beautiful stunts.

Now removing these fuses wouldn't hamper the basic braking, you'd still have the normal hydraulics working, without the aid of the ABS.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

So, theoretically, one could use a switch to mimic the removal of a fuse and switch OFF the ABS, right?

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Yes, by tapping the wires from the ABS fuse and installing an inline fuse with switch connected to the handlebar would mean you'd have switchable ABS. Interestingly I found an article in which he made his own switchable ABS for a few hundred bucks.



Cheers!
VJ

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

But have to be careful, I think this MOD might void the warranty. So, I would prefer to have a hassle of taking out the fuses for ABS in extreme off-road conditions(I am anyway not doing it for at least first 1k to 1.5k KMs )

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Since I went for Sleet, its 2K extra as I think we all know the OTR is 2.34 and some change. The cost went up almost 25K post ABS(11K extra for that) and because of the new government rule of 5 years mandatory insurance so I've got 1 year comprehensive and 4 years third-party insurance.
The third-party insurance can be upgraded to comprehensive one in the later period also so for now I went for this option but you can also go with 5 years comprehensive insurance which might cost you some 10-12K extra. But, I went for this option of 1+4 to keep the OTR low.

Hope that helps the potential buyers! Cheers

Rajen

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Thank you very much buddy!

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The first three are the ABS fuses is what I got to know from delivery guy who was explaining me the vehicle but I don't trust him fully However, if we go by the sequence of the first picture F7, F8 and F9 are the ones which says 25A, 10A, 5A respectively, and in the second picture the first three fuses from the top also read 5, 10 and 25(Yellow, Red and White) so I guess he's right.

The way to find out is remove them(all or one by one not sure) and check if ABS sign is ON or not while riding. If it is ON while riding that means ABS is switched off as per the user manual. If it is OFF, try removing all the fuses if you've removed only one or two and see.

Let us know the outcome if you try this. I also intend to try it out post my first service which is due now. Will give it for service this weekend and try.

Cheers!

Rajen

Re: Royal Enfield Himalayan

Indeed. Only a prawn full of brains would be gutsy enough to make an ABS switch modification to a new bike which is still under servicing period. pun intended Now, it's just so that we can get a better picture of the fuse tapping just in case a switch is to be required, but personally, I'd recommend not switching off the ABS even in sticky situations, unless one has mastered the art of counter-steering which would mean you can switch the ABS and have some fun.

Nonetheless, being a heavy machine, with a weaned out front tire and with front braking efficiency that's as slob as a drum, ABS is a boon that will help you when you least expect it. Nonetheless, I'd recommend you not to touch the electricals till all your free servicing is finished or at least under the warranty period. Royal Enfield is a slug when it comes to blaming it on the customer and rejecting warranty is their higher priority, so do keep this is mind.

Cheers!
VJ