I would hazard a guess that by now a lot more people have ridden a CB500X to more corners of the earth than people have on a Himalayan... and had a painless time doing it too.
The CB is a proven platform: utterly reliable, low maintenance, very economic, all-day and high-hundred mile/iron-butt comfortable if needs be, and can maintain higher highway (freeway) speeds with ease as required.
It's worth noting that the fact that it makes almost twice the bhp of the Himalayan also makes it much more capable of maintaining speed at high elevation too.
The Honda engine has great fuelling, plenty of low end torque (it is certainly not 'revvy' at all, other than the cruising rpms are slightly higher than a thumper at higher highway speeds, mainly because it's a twin) and has a good spread of gears - making it very easy to ride at slow speed in rougher terrain, while not compromising any day-to-day highway ability.
With the right accessories and upgrades it also makes a killer 50/50 all-terrain bike, again one which doesn't compromise the on-road or off-road ability for the sake of the other - but you certainly don't need to go that far unless higher off-road ability is a requirement. A strong skid-plate and some decent tyres ought to see you handle most eventualities when riding in typical 'travel' mode.
For the same money I'd say it's an easy choice to make.
Jenny x
|