Good luck finding a store that will express ship to Central Asia. You'll generally have to get a friend back home to DHL (DHL is the only really reliable option) and that can cost well over $100. And even with as fast as DHL is you're usually sitting around at least a week for parts to get to friend -> friend to ship -> DHL to arrive.

True, but regardless of the make, chances are the dealer/shop will have to do the same thing

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Just bought myself one for my 2019 project bike.
Should be an interesting machine.
See the website for more.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

i'm still looking for a one bike does it all steed and the himalaya is high on the list but not sure how it would keep up with some of the enduro machines I green lane with? wondering if the crf 250 l would be the better bike for this task and general riding? I like the rally but it seems a lot of extra cash over the L for a taller screen and extra plastic to break?

I don't there is any reason why a new or nearly new Himalayan won't make the trip.

And how much are they brand new ? £5000 ?? Great value too.

However. They are slow, heavy and their quality is obviously built to a budget. Not really a capable off-road machine either is it. Depends on your trip I guess.

The early models were appalling but I think a lot of those early problems have been ironed out.

If I were spending £5000 on a travel bike , I don't think I would use one.

There are so many other options for the same money. Which in my opinion are much better quality bikes and higher specification. A three year old Jap bike will be the same cash and will far superior.

But in the end. It's your trip and you should ride the bike that YOU like.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

More like £4k with several very low-milers or ex-demos from 3500.
A big difference. Plus equipment wise, you get a lot for your money, saving further spending (not that that stopped anyone).

With Enfield's reputation, people are understandably worried they'll merely get what they paid for, as with some Chinese shockers.
From what I've read and am finding myself, that does not seem to be the case.

But for UK green laning, I'd sooner get a lighter CRF or KLX.

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Well, that's certainly a cheap bike new.

I think I'd still rather be on a five year old Jap bike though.

You can also pick up a nearly new CRF250L Rally for that price. Probably better for the trip too.

You could even buy an immaculate re-conditioned low mileage and upgraded XRV750 for that too.



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__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I own both a Himalayan and a CRF250l. Performance and quality wise ita pretty much a wash between the two. The big advantage for the Himalayan is its a purpose built travel bike, the honda isn't. Off road the Honda may have a bit of an edge but on all other roads there really isn't any comparison between the two. I've spent thousands on the Honda to try to get the Honda to do what the Royal Enfield does oit of the box, a simple economical all road travel bike.

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I did take the Micky out of the looks of the Royal Enfield when it 1st came out. Then surprise surprise a friend turns up at my place and he's bought one.

Now being a little bit bike mad to the point of obsessed and owning over 300 bikes ( not all at the same time I hasten to add ) I was looking forward to see what the new RE was all about

Later that day I had my 1st long ride on one.

First impression of it was far better then I thought it was going to be . The handling was quite good. I could not fault the riding position and I'm told that the bike returns almost 90 MPG.

If I had to describe what riding the bike was like I would say. It was like riding a bike with the brakes off a 1970's Harley Davidson. The front required a very firm pull to get it to work and the rear brakes were on full as soon as you touched them.

Handling was like that of a British 1940's Rigid bike in that there is little or no flex from the back end and the rear suspension was almost as harsh as riding a rigid .

The engine was smooth as was the gear change but pull back on the throttle and its very slow on the pick up . If you have ever ridden a 1980's Honda CD200 Benly you will know what I mean.

How it looks is in the eye of the beholder ... Some will love it some wont .

I'm sure like most new bikes there will be a few that have problems and most wont .

However the question is... If your budget for a Touring / Travel bike is between £3500 and £5000 is this the best bike to spend your money on ?

Happy Travels no matter what you ride.

I struggled to get Enfield parts in the UK. 5 year old bikes are fine, but a chain adjuster for a disc braked rear was impossible. Enfield UK were constantly claiming it was 4 weeks from India, basically ****off and ring back in a month. Hitchcocks didn't think anyone would need parts for a 2017 bike until 2020.

I made my own.

Andy

Good point Andy. Living with the brand is often overlooked when rating a bike.

At BMW, if we order a part by 6pm, 95% of the time it arrives at the dealership at 5am the next day.. If it's a rare part, it come from Germany in three days.



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__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Looking at many Indian reviews of KTM bikes build over there, complaining about low quality so called premium brand I can only imagine what a poor quality RE is as it is budget bike...

Just picked mine up, done up and ready for a month in Morocco.
Looking forward to it.
Long version on the website.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Looks good with some nice mods. I'll be interested to hear how you feel it compares to the CRF once you've done some miles on it as I'm probably going to buy one or the other for something a bit different later in the year.

Good job with the Himalayan, looks great !!! I'm going to Morocco this month with my xt660z.I will follow some of your routes. Enjoy

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