Niggles on my 1st batch Himalayan 450: Other ownership updates

I find this bike to be very adequate for short commutes, highway rides & those fun places to explore where my previous bike lacked the ability.

BHPian trailsndirt recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I guess mine was one of the 1st batch models which I took ownership of in late Dec 23'. Brave but I sort of knew what I was getting into with RE and the niggles that often are found on 1st gen models or 1st batch models.

This bike has its fair share of niggles but few things right off the bat that I've not encountered which may have:

• No issues with the head stem bolt
• The bike does not pull to the right when I let go of the bars

The issues if any have been with the final touches when I picked the bike from the dealer in the South Bengaluru area and these were:

1. Loose bolts on the left control/mirror housing. If pushed a little, I can change the angle of the mirrors and clutch controls forward or pull them back toward me. Should have been tightened better
2. I guess the ergos are not something the dealership does well on this or other RE bikes as the right side controls were very badly pulled back where my wrists had to hold the front brakes with a lot of bends.
3. Mostly RE stuff here but connecting the mobile to the display needed the 0 and O thingy which they should have helped to get done vs. shrugs and having us figure it out.
4. They spray some polishing stuff after the service. If you are there before that's applied, stop them from doing it. It makes the bike shiny but gunky very quickly and attracts dust/dirt.

Later, after the 1st service the service warning would still come up when I turned the ignition on, for the first time of the day. Some options seen to put the bike in 6th, on the main stand, and holding the toggle to the left were attempted but the real solution was by these steps:

• Display was on digital mode
• Have the service interval show up when toggling down through the options
• Ride in 6th gear (the bike needed to be in motion), hold the navigation toggle to the left, and then, the service warning is finally reset.

Again, shrugs from the dealership when discussed, stating that they will talk to RE for a "solution". Not sure what but it is what it is.

Since the 1st service, I've added some bits and bobs, from RE and other solutions.

1st up was a radiator guard as I did have a small stone lodge between the vents on the O.E plastic shroud. It would have been bad if that had gotten through to the radiator.

Next up was a tubeless conversion as on the 2nd ride, I picked a screw on the rear tyre very early in the morning. The tyre was not able to hold any pressure and got it very slowly to a fuel station on the highway and had to call in the RE RSA which took time, given it was very early in the morning.

No scope to move the bike to any nearby shops as it was not ridable.

The RSA team was efficient and quick, once on site.

Post that, got the tubeless setup installed with the help of a local shop. Just a sealant vs. way2speed. This ought to be sufficient till RE gets the cross-spoked tubeless rims later in the year or in 2025.

The other add-ons are a set of crash protection and a better bash plate from Mototorque. RE options were preferred but the local dealer was only getting one or two units a month and those were going away fast.

For the long rides on the highway, I do see the need for a taller windscreen and would be looking at 3rd party options. With the stock screen, I get the wind blast on my upper chest to neck, and with RE's screen, would hit the helmet more. Maybe the taller/wider option from CarbonRacing.

Another mod/addon has been a display from Ottocast C5 Lite equivalent from OrionMotors. I had a quadlock setup from my previous bike but did have an instance where someone attempted to take the phone when I was at a traffic stop.

For that, a GPS mount was added to mimic the nav tower looks, seen on the BMW GS bikes. Some tweaks needed still to have it stay without some wobbling but better than the phone being subjected to the conditions and someone trying to snatch it.

My feel thus far - mechanical bits:

1. The Showa suspension is the best bit of this bike, hands down.
2. The box is slick but at times, going from 1st to 2nd, will get into neutral since the 1st service oddly)
3. The engine is held back a lot (while I only ride it in the top power mode), mostly by way of the emission norms. It seems to have 3 stages of fueling though - up to 3K RPMs, is sedate, wakes up till the speed gets to around 110 Kmph at around 5.5 to 6K RPMs, and feels like that's the most you'll get in the torque range but then, wakes up again to get the bike towards the 140 kmph.
4. The front brake was mushy in the initial rides. I had very low confidence but since the pads and disc have bedded in, they are ok. I'd have preferred a twin-disc setup for the weight but it's fine. The rear is stronger compared to most other bikes I've owned. Glad to have the ABS on the rear.
5. Heat is there which is not bad at all. The fans do kick in quite frequently in the city rides which is expected given the summer conditions.
6. Vibes are fine by me. Aside from a bit of numbness on the right hand after 2 hours of holding the throttle at high speeds, no real issues with the buzz from the pegs or the bars. I have now installed a riser to be able to stand and grip the bars better and no issues since.

At this stage, I find this bike to be very adequate for the short commutes to the office and back, those highway rides to get to the ADV, and fun places to explore where my previous bike lacked the ability. Now, I am the limiting factor, and it's good to be able to learn more and be better as a rider in more varied conditions. Some snaps of where the bike has been thus far:

What's next? Maybe Fuel X Pro+ but surely a taller windscreen and I have been keeping an eye on this touring headlight option, over installing aux lights:

Currently, they seem to be out of stock on the button to toggle the light but if anyone has used this, would love to hear the experience. Till then, stay safe, ride safe.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.