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My thoughts after a month in Morocco and WS.
Long version. See also this. Like • At £4000 new with the stock equipment, it’s a bargain • Low, 800mm seat – at last a travel bike not limited to tall people • Enfield build quality stood up to it • Efi motor pulled smoothly up to nearly 10,000′ • Michelin Anakee Wilds (run tubeless) – great do-it-all tyres • Low CoG and 21-″ front make it agile on the dirt • Rear YSS shock • Yes it’s 190kg, but road and trail, it carries it well • Subframe easily sturdy enough for load carrying • Economy went up and up: averaged 78 mpg (65 US; 27.6kpl; 3.62L/100k) • 400km range from the 15-litre tank – about 250 miles Like less • Weak front brake on the road (fitting sintered pads is a fix) • As a result, front ABS is a bit docile • Stock seat foam way too mushy for my bulk • Tubliss core failed on the front; replaced with inner tube • Centre stand hangs low – but can be raised • Valves need checking every 3000 miles (according to manual) • Small digit dash data hard to read at a glance • Compass always wrong • Head bearings went notchy at 4000 miles, despite regressing @ 1200 |
Great info Chris, thanks. I'd be interested to hear where you feel the CRF falls short in comparison to the Him. Is it mainly that the Him is a better rounded and equipped package out of the box?
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Himalayan
Well just rode this bike 1300 miles in two weeks in Bhutan and the bike is solid. I have ridden British Royal Enfield in India before for month two up and this is better for single riding. I liked the bullet for two up and as you know neither is fast or suited for fast. In Bhutan the national speed limit is 60 km and we hardly ever got going that fast. The bike starts to become unstable about 70 km. But below that is fun to ride.
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(Can't say mine ever felt unstable at up to 110kph; sounds like something may have been loose or worn) |
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Read all about it in this month's Bike mag.
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I love how FUEL turned one into an 80’s style Dakar bike for very little cost involvement and simplified the dash etc defiantly something that any of us would be capable of. I have ridden many miles on my TTR250 and have only ever wished for more power in soft sand (how often do we actually ride in soft sand?) I’ve always found it can more than keep pace on motorways and have an absolute blast through tight bends yes on the straights it gets hammered by sports bikes but they cant ride across rivers and beaches!:scooter: |
RE Himalayan First Ride - I'm sold!
Hi guys. I've just had a 1 hour test ride on a new Euro 4 Himalayan (first one in South Africa). It only had ~800kms on clock so not fully loosened-up. Normally I ride an F650GS (my sewing machine) and find it a pig offroad but great for commuting and long fast rides. Well the Hima surprised me in so many ways. Smooth suspension both on tar and gravel, significantly lighter feel - much more than the supposed weight difference, fast enough for freeway cruising (70mph), relatively quiet, easy start and comfortable. What a pleasure to select first gear easily and quietly too. In fact as soon as I got onto my sewing machine immediately after the ride, I was sold on the Hima.
Yes the seat needs to be 2cm higher, bar raisers needed, wider pegs preferred, shorter sidestand with a larger foot for gravel and the temp gauge needs moving (although the compass was about right the whole time). Eventually I’ll get the Powertune piggyback with maps and a larger drive sprocket but for now its OK Have I bought one? No. They are not accepted by the authorities as a properly homologated bike (?!?) so there’s no price yet. But soon, very soon, I shall rid myself of the pig. Cheers, ChrisD |
Rear brake caliper failure....
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My Himalayan has only covered 5000 miles now. And while rolling back the brake clunked... I did not realise until a few mins later I was slowly rolling into a petrol station that the rear brake was nor functioning.
I attach a few pix. It will be a warranty job and I feel lucky that I was moving so slowly! Not too sure but think it's a rare event for a caliper casting to simply break off at the pins that it floats on. I really hope so. Other wise it has been a tough little machine. Useless compass of course and the gear change indicator has already broken. I wish the petrol tank was just a bit bigger.Attachment 23233 Attachment 23234 |
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Hopefully, when they drop the 650 twin engine in they will also drop on a 22 litre tank to give a good range. |
My Himalayan Experience So Far
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I bought the bike , a 2018 BS4 UK model about 16 months old with 2,300 miles on the clock on 1st of August this year with the intention of using it on an extended RTW trip during which I intend to keep it as standard as possible and to run it as cheaply as possible.
I will be doing all my own servicing and repairs (except welding etc.) and apart from consumables (oil, filters, chain, brake pads etc.) I only intend to replace parts as they fail or wear out. So far this it what I have done to and found out about the bike. I examined the head bearings at about 3,000 miles and found them to be in need of cleaning and re-greasing. Fitted a Scotoiler to help maximise chain life and checked the valve clearances but no adjustment was needed. Rode the bike to Spain and at about 5,300 miles I took apart and re-greased the rear suspension and swinging arm bushes. Rode the bike from Spain to Poland where I am currently, and I have now done 7,700 and have had no issues with suspension. I changed the oil and filter at 3,000 miles and the oil again at 5,300. I am using 20W50 instead of the recommended 15W50 which is extremely hard to find on the road. I intend to change the oil as close to every 3,000 miles as possible and the filter as close to every 6,000 miles as possible. Fuel consumption is always about 80mpg but crossing the Alps on slow winding climbs it rose to over 97 mpg on one tankfull. On one day circumstances forced me to ride for over 500 miles on Spanish motorways, it sat easily at 70-75 mph fully loaded all day but sounded more comfortable at 65 mph. Fully loaded the bike struggles on long uphill climbs and sometimes requires a change down to 4th gear but on the tight Alpine passes this was never a problem. I am 5'10" (179cm) and 13st (85kg) and standard the riding position if fine for me. The only thing that I don't like is the soft seat, especially if you need to do more than 300 miles per day. Another thing that i found surprising was the rear tyre life. The standard Pirelli MT is looking quite squared and tread depth in the middle is now close to the wear indicators. I find this quite shocking for a bike that only delivers 24 BHP. My previous bike, a ZZR1200 with 165 BHP could get 7,000 on a rear before it reached this stage. The only other problem that I have is a slight weep from the rocker cover gasket that only started after 7,000 miles. As far as i am concerned, to date, I am happy with the bike and i think that it will perform the task that i have chosen it to do, however, time will tell me if i was correct or otherwise. I forgot to mention that when I did the head bearings I removed the entire EVAP system and connected my Scotoiler to the now redundant vacuum take off on the throttle body. Oh and I know that this makes me sound like a Luddite but no GPS for me, I actually like using paper maps. |
time ot go
hi guys
Next ride will be towards Almaty with 2 himmies . Why ? I had tested it to Bulgaria, tracks ( easy) included. Few things to change A Lot of serious riders on iti already ; example : Noraly back from India , traveller all across Middle Africa, lots in USA. Personal matters : the first bike in 39 years feeling my former Xt with a better suspension , starter and simple . Parts in Asia, including Russia very cheap for the concern Not as glamour than the T7, not as good offraod than the 790 , worthy than 250' and heavier for sure , lot of steal spares easy to fis : pedals for example . Made for rough conditions i call it ;25 GS :oops2: |
It boggles my mind that, after 10 years of hydraulic valves on the Bullet, they reverted to adjustable valves with short intervals. Who wants to be constantly checking valve clearances on a RTW journey?
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Didn't know Bullets has hydraulic tappets (not even sure what it means ;-) but as the miles roll on I've heard RTW Him riders can typically leave checks to 10,000km which is not so bad. Oil change maybe more frequently.
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Prep
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Hi guys
Planning the very route now , maybe Russia First . for various reasons . E07 tyres, new chain /sprockets Xring ; 13000 on the clock :funmeteryes: 20000 km ride |
Plus from my experiences
* Very easy to repair and maintain. (Simple tools and basic skills) * Robust. => Can handle a lot without severe damage /I have been riding Himalayan in Nepal. Early model, before introduced in EU. The only problem was charging system. But generator replaced in the parking lot outside the hotel It did was a very good bike for that type of ride. Slow riding on bad roads. No highways, no Enduro style riding. Just driving gravel roads that were really bad at some times. I should not chose another bike for that type of riding. |
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