I have written and posted about the Himalayan on several occasions in this forum but until recently I have only testridden it around a couple of blocks around 3 years ago.

But this past week I finally got the chance to do a decent ride on a Himalayan. Im currently in Chiang Mai - northern Thailand (riders paradise) and since my main ride the trusty Crf is waiting for new fork seals and I found a rental that offered different Royal Enfields for rent I took the oportunity and I choose a Himalayan and rented it for a 3 days ride in the mountains of northern Thailand. Or more specific the Mae Hong Son loop and some decent detours in the area as well. Those who know - will know what this means. I had a pillion on the trip and my comparison will be the trusty Crf250 although its not a totally comparable bike of course. I have also done 2 trips in Nepal and Bhutan/Sikkim on Royal Enfield 500 cc Bullets each approx 2000 and 2500 kms and rented a Bullet for 2 days in Goa - India. So I have some previous experience with Royal Enfields.

So we rode around 750 kms altogether on partially very steep and winding roads in the mountains of northern Thailand on the Himalayan. My thoughts:

Negatives:
* Weight - OMG its a heavy beast. Almost 200 kilos on a 411 cc bike is a lot! And you cannot avoid to notice it. It does carry most of its weight down low - so not topheavy.
* Engine ohmp - wow never have 24,5 horses felt so little. The Crf I own with less HP would have beaten the Hima very very easily on all kinds of speed and accelration comparisions. Even the torque at low rpm the Royal Enfields are known for did not not feel adequate at all in the mountains. As mentioned above I have ridden Royal Enfield Bullets two different trips of 2-3 weeks each in Nepal and Bhutan/India and the Bullets felt much torquier. But thats probably logical as the Bullets are 500 cc and I rode them without a pillion.
* First gear are high - so not great for technical single track duties and rough gravel roads.

On pairs:
* Gearbox - much better and more precise gearbox compared to the Bullets I have ridden. Not as buttersmooth as most japanese bikes though.
* Brakes - positively surprised with the brakes as compared to what I have read previously about them from other Hima riders. They felt relatively adequate even for 2 persons and riding some very very steep downhills with altitude differences of more than 1000 meters in just a very few kms. I noticed that the Hima I rented had steel braided (correct expression??) brake lines so that might have helped. In comparison when I rode the same roads with my 660 Tenere during my RTW trip the rear brakes on the Tenere faded to zero brake action several times riding with a pillion.
* Seat comfort and sitting position. Im 180 cm and around 90 kilos atm - and the seat is a bit soft and after a couple of hours in the saddle the well known bum pain set in. Thats better than on some bikes I have ridden and worse than others.
* Suspension - not the best or most plush - but for what it is its adequate. The Bullets I have ridden felt much more comfortable though…

Positives:
* Low seat hight - for those vertically challenged it would be a comfortable and practical bike to mount and ride. For a very tall person maybe not…
* Cruising ability - for riding country roads, back roads, secondary and tertiary roads - it felt a nice ride. Its a quite big and heavy stallion and it felt stable and comfortable to ride. Long wheel base might help to this. It felt quite flickable for its size throwing it through the sharp curves of northern Thailand roads, even with a pillion. For really tough and winding mountain climbs - not so much as it lacks power and ohmp to climb comfortably.
Fuel milage - for around 750 kms mostly very steep and winding mountain roads with a pillion we averaged approx 34,5 kms to the liter. That equals approx 98 mpg imperial or 81-82 mpg US. Or 2,9 liters pr 100 kms. Not bad at all! That would mean a range of + 500 kms and thats very impressive and practical!
EDIT: A couple of things more that I now remember that was on the positive side…
Gear indicator - its not a big thing for me, but I understand many riders like a gear indicator. The Hima have one and it works.
Indicated speed versus real speed - now this is a thing that have irritated me enormously since I started using a GPS and could compare real speed with indicated speed. The speedo on the Tenere 660 I rode around the world was 10 % off! What a PITA! And so freaking unneccesary! And the Hondas I have owned lately are also 7-8 % off! But the Hima speedo was only 2-3 % off - so thats almot nothing. A very good thing if you ask me!

So will I ever buy one? Probably not. My current ride in Thailand a Honda Crf250L that I have upgraded with bigger gas tank, wind shield, better foot pegs, extra lights etc would outperform the Himalayan on almost all points. Its lighter, faster, more flickable, has better overall performances. Same fuel milage, harder seat though.
The Hima would be better for riding with a pillion though and better luggage carrying capacity - so an adequate touring machine albeit a slow one. I would say the comfortable cruising speed was around 80-90 kms/h. When we got close to 100 kms/h vibration was noticable and engine started to feel stressed. Yes we could cruise at 100 km/h and even a bit above - but that was not a comfortable ride though. So on pair with my Crf250 I would say.

If I was to buy it - for which trip/rides would I buy it?
Well if I wanted a bike to do a trip in India, Nepal and Bhutan - especially two up I would have considered a Himalayan. Or maybe any other Royal Enfield model.
Also now in south America there are plentiful dealers of Royal Enfield afaik (?) - so for a cheap economically two up bike for a south America adventure I would have considered a Hima. For Europe or north America NO. For southeast Asia - NO.

My 5 baht thought atm…

Thanks Snakeboy - Good comparison there

Enjoy your trip mate :mchappy:

40hp - now you're talking ;-D
 

More power would be great because it definetlively needs that. But it also need to lower the weight considerably and Im not sure the watercooled engine versus a aircooled engine will contribute to that….

So reading the article it is going to have 16bhp more power, still with lots of low end grunt, and a lower weight due to the change in frame design. Plus increased ground clearance and new, longer travel front suspension. Price wise it looks like they are aiming for the same price as an Interceptor 650 so still well priced. Looks interesting. If they can keep the same character as the 411cc bike then I can see myself going for one in the second year of production.

It was in my list until I saw one on Trans America Trail. Power aside very little clearance and looks heavy, crankcase covers are massive.. I think seat will be low for 6-footer. Obviously people are traveling around the world on these.. look at Itchy Boots on YT; I think she has a detailed review. She liked it while traveling but at the end switched to CRF 300L Rally.

If Himas are €5200 in france I would be looking elsewhere Fantic Caballero Rally, SWM Superdual or 6-day, etc

My opinion was formed from a 90 minute or so ride over around 40 miles - it told me I didn’t want to do my commute on the Himalayan (50 miles each way on dual carriageways) but when I took it off the main road and onto country lanes it made for a real blast - I loved it - I took it into its natural environment and it shone.

I don’t expect that many would take much notice of my opinion after that short ride but a 3 day ride is hardly a short test - 750km is not short either - probably longer than most motorcycle magazine test rides. Having a pillion also adds another perspective about the bike’s capabilities that is very rarely given especially as the route taken would appear to be a more adventurous one in keeping with those that many on here would like to undertake. Hardly worth knocking him for it.

a 3 day ride is hardly a short test - 750km is not short either - probably longer than most motorcycle magazine test rides.

A very good point. When you read a test tide article in a mag, often the writer/rider took the bike on a tightly scripted ride of perhaps 100-200 KM over an afternoon. That's not much of a test, yet the magazine article will be three pages long!

Please don't try to get the last word; you'll fail, because I'll start deleting more posts instead of just the worst and most recent offenders.

This thread includes experiences and opinions about the RE Himalayan. All relevant information is welcome, as long as it's free of attacks on other members (and within the usual other guidelines).

Thanks for your cooperation.

Your remarkably tolerant moderator,

Mark

To Svliker.

Do you need any further information on the Himalayan or is what has been posed sufficient for you?

I have ridden a BS4 UK model in excess of 28,000 miles all over Europe from Spain to Turkey. If you want my twopence worth let me know

So that's what that thing is!

I passed one at work a while ago (carefully de-badged, but obviously a relative of the current Himalayan) but the engine didn't look like a 650 which is what I thought it mught have been. The beak is ugly IMO, I wonder if it's easily removed

Interesting and it makes sense to test it in Europe close to the design centre in the UK but in warmer climate than the UK in winter.

Nah, it was at work for homologation testing. We get heaps of bikes through, but it's not my department so I only know about what I see in passing!

As Ted wrote - that bike looked like a bad photoshop job….

This on the other hand looks very nice and promising (if its just a good photoshop job then….)

Let's start with 5.

As someone who is in the market for a small, beginner friendly, all arounder in the small ADV or dual sport class, for extended trips among other things, I am fairly drawn to the RE Himalayan, it seems like a good compromise between a lot of things, I would be interested to hear some alternative options at a similar price point.

If this is not the proper place to discuss this, shoot me a PM.