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-   -   The 1st-gen Royal Enfield Himalayan thread! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/174324-1st-gen-royal-enfield-himalayan-thread-10.html)

Thanks Arul for the reasoning. I guess the himalayan probably has thin walled pipes since I have not seen this level of discoloration on my other bikes.

Do you mind posting a pic of the discolored exhaust pipe?

Bike has gone for its first service. I shall take a picture when its back

So, RE's company owned showroom had organized a test ride event for the Himalayan, here in the city over the weekend. The purpose was to give riders a close feel of what this machine is capable of taking up in its stride. And so, a well curated track was laid out at a farm house near Gurgaon and I visited to check the bike out.

The assembly point was a nearby resort, from where the crew would lead people in groups to the action site.



The dirt track was carved out & demarcated within the farm & must have ranged about a kilometer in circumference and comprised of wooden logs & slush crossing as obstacles.

Participants were supposed to fill an inquiry and indemnity form at the registration desk & everyone was good to go but not without the riding gear, which was a pretty good sight to see.



Many a bikers already came decked up in their complete attires, while for those who didn't, the team had arranged for Helmets & both knee and elbow guards to be worn up before setting off.



The guys were managing it pretty well & even with a rather good turnout, no one was kept waiting unduly for their turn. My chance came within fifteen minutes of filling the forms, while I chatted with fellow BHPians meanwhile.

The OTR Experience

As I swung my leg across the Granite Himalayan, the immediate thing that made me happy was the ride height. My feet were almost relaxing on the ground & I was easily holding the bike firm with my grip, without just my toes having to balance the complete weight of 180 plus kilos.



Kill switch at the 'ON' position and the Himalayan roared to life in a single self. The sound from the up swept exhaust has a nice growl to it and there's a bit of sportiness that would urge you to open the throttle to let some more rush build up on the go.



Jutting down the left foot on the lever & I engaged the first gear and we start our course into the sandy & grassy trail.

Visually gauging the level of sand, I hadn't anticipated low traction but within a few yards of riding in, I had to refresh my calm manner of taking up this one. This was actually loose sand and I had to be on my toes now & was managing throttle input based on the amount of slip I could feel at the rear end and the directional stability from the front.

I kept the bike in first and avoided braking on the dirt as much as possible. To dispose torque at the lower end, the first gear isn't that long and should take the bike out of sticky situations easily.

The A/T tires on this one actually provide a lot of grip at both the ends and were supporting me to maneuver my way into the trail without having fallen off, even when I was feeling so at a lot of places.



The first obstacle was a ditch/valley and this for the Himalayan, was cakewalk! It can make an off-road novice on two wheels look like a pro. One just needs to stand up on the rear set pegs & let it roll. The travel of the front forks and the bigger front tire would fly you out to land on flat surface.

Further ahead was a tree trunk crossing & I deliberately kept the bike in first, so I don't break the momentum considerably while having to brake and again shift down on nearing the obstacle.

After successfully encountering the ditch at the last turn, I just stood up, tightly gripping the handlebar & the Himalayan jumped over the log beautifully! Thanks to the suspension travel, the landing was absolutely smooth without transferring across the jerk to the rider. I simply loved this. :thumbs up



A few meters ahead was another such log, but this time, a chunkier & higher one. I just didn't slow down and stood up again & crossed the hurdle with the bash plate touching the log while crossing it over. No harm done & I kept moving on with a bit more gained speed from the fall of the jump.

Later, we saw a couple of people getting stuck at this very spot and facing difficulty crossing it because of the sand having dug up a bit due to continuous load and also because they were slowing down before hitting the log & couldn't maintain sufficient speed to overcome it. It is here when we saw the sump guard take a beating from the log, but it sure is a sturdy unit & seemed unscathed by it.







Next was a grassy straight across a wide track, which would lead to the slush crossing and this time I focused on maintaining the balance of the bike and keeping it going in just one direction. The tires are supremely supportive in such conditions and ensured that the bike was out without any drama. I approached the mud with some good speed and this meant that all the muck flied over all across my trousers and shoes while I was in there!

Having crossed this on a bike was a feeling of contention!

As the tires got wet and a lot of fresh mud got in the grooves I could again feel the rear sway out a bit and so had to grip harder & refrain from accelerating.

The final stretch was a long straight with the sand becoming a bit superficial and I could feel some pukka surface underneath. This gave me confidence to rev up a bit & shift upwards. I was able to move into the third gear by the end of the track & finish the lap.



This was the first attempt and later I went in for another lap. The bike which I landed up at this time was relatively difficult to manage right from the word go. The feedback from the front was haphazard and I had a really tough time through the course. So much so, that just after coming out of the slush, I totally lost control of the front and had an inevitable fall. The slender tank meant that I was able to let the Himalayan slide through underneath my legs and I jumped across on the other side without taking any brunt.

My guess is that a couple of bikes had taken the shun of the falls at their handlebars and this piece unfortunately, was one of those.

Since the engine has a carburetor, so there’s no rollover sensor & mitigation and the bike shut off on falling as it was still in gear. A little petrol also did seep out from the tank and made a beading along the side. I lifted the bike again and started it to complete the final leg. Thus, nothing much from the fall.


Overall, I would say that considering the type of surface to have ridden on, the Himalayan actually did perform brilliantly and held up the abuse quite well. The suspension, tires and the frame are the three glistening features of the total package.

Done & Dusted!




That's how it shall look to keep one feeling proud!


If going off the road & having weekend fun is going to be the sole purpose, this really does make sense as a recreational bike.

But as an all rounder? Well, I spent a bit more time with it and rode it on tarmac as well.

I will update that in the subsequent post. :)

You voice my opinion here buddy. Even I felt the H to be peppy when I did the TD though its no Duke / Ninja. For a newbie to adventure touring and for the price its VFM. Comparing the H to the high-end expensive tourers is not appropriate.

Thanks for the coverage of the event. Pics are nice. Just wanted to know if RE has plans to do the same across various cities or is it just this event. Any clues on that?

forester mate what a brilliant write up about up close and personal encounter with the RE Himalayan and icing on the cake is riding it on the terrain which it belongs to. Although a short ride one could gauge many things about the Himalayan's capability. I knew the foot peg placement is as good as it gets when it comes to standing up and gliding through rough terrain and your posts along with many others confirm this.

I wanted to ask you about the torque band in the first couple of gears while doing crawling speeds? How is the torque delivery during offroading especially in the slush and sand? Do you have to work the clutch or little throttle input is enough to cross through? Also how does the rear suspension behave while jumping on and off?

Those mud covered pics of the Himalayan are truly amazing.:thumbs up

One of the Indian motovloggers did an offroad review of the Himalayan. It is pretty good with the bike being abused off the road. Sort of like a smaller version of CS Santhosh's torture test:

https://youtu.be/1iHNJEamXOE

Jude300, Thank you so much! I don’t have any idea about this taking place in other cities. I’ll check it with the store here and update if they are able to give any information.

navin_v8, Thanks a lot buddy!

Yes the low end torque is good, but at crawling speeds, one just can‘t rely only on the accelerator inputs. The clutch has to be worked upon quite a lot to keep the engine running, else the bike would stall. Even with a slim profile, it still is a heavy bike. In fact, as soon as I started off in my first lap, I slowed down to check the brake bite before venturing into the trail and guess what, I stalled it right there!

Once you’re anywhere between 3 to 4.5k rpm range, the bike pulls quite well in the initial gears.

The rear suspension aids handling and stability & keeps the bike taut whilst you're standing up on the pegs, but is definitely not that supple to provide the cushioning one would expect after encountering a jump. But since you would still be standing after the fall, the feel of the rebound isn’t that much while being off road.


Continuing further...

I headed back to the Resort after the off road antics and got to spend a good amount of time with a Granite parked there.

A Closer Look

The wide handlebar. It aids in a relaxed posture


The speedo console with brushed aluminum finishing around the pods. It’s quite informative & looks good as well


The chunky bar ends & the nicely textured gripping area


Switch gear feels good & tactile. But the fit & finish leaves a lot to be desired


The steel braided front brake line


The ORVMs aren't wide enough & don't provide adequate field of view of what's lurking behind


The dual purpose head light mounts, which can also hold jerry cans on either side. Notice the shoddy weld seam from the bygone era


And there’s no dearth of them throughout the bike


The edges of the fuel tank carry a much uniform construction


The beautifully carved moniker


The best angle to view this bike IMO


The LED tail lamps lend it a much needed contemporary aura


The handsome view from the rear three quarters


The ugly weld marks on the grab rail integrated rear carrier


The A/T tires provide ample grip on both on & off the road


The calipers are from BYBRE


Chunky looking foot pegs. Though, the one on rider's right had lost its rubber insert already


The sporty sounding exhaust. The construction & material aren't of the best grade and give a poor finishing on top of the already dated looks


The taut Mono-shock at the rear


The sturdy bash plate


And the SUVish ground clearance


The oil cooler is vertically mounted & is placed a bit high. Helps to keep it safe during slush crossings


The seat is very well-built. Neither too soft nor too hard. Provides reasonable comfort


The headlamp is a clear lens unit. A redesigning of this area would enhance the looks of the bike by leaps & bounds


The adjustable windshield


Another nice viewing angle



The On-Road Experience

After observing the bike thoroughly, I took it for a ride on the roads near the resort. I was extremely eager to see how it performs on the road, where it would probably see around 95% of its lifetime.


Engine & Gearbox

The LS 410 has good low end grunt, with a shorter first gear, just to let you take off. Post that, the action is quite brisk until the 80kmph mark. The meat of the power band is between 3k to 4.5k RPM, which is relatively low and the bike pulls cleanly without any vibes creeping in from the engine.

80kmph comes up with the tacho hovering below the 3.5k mark in fifth gear. And this I felt is the comfortable cruising speed for the Himalayan.

The gear shifts are smooth and precise. I could slot the bike into neutral very easily across all the three bikes that I rode during the day.

Ride, Suspension & Braking

The ride quality isn’t the most plushest, but given its A/T tires, you wouldn’t try and evade any visible pothole in your line of sight on the road. The front is pretty supple, while the mono-shock at the rear does make road undulations be felt to the rider.

The brake bite is much sharper at the rear than at the front and the rear tends to come out under hard braking. Skipped slowing down in time for a speed hump? Well, no problem! Just stand up and the Himalayan would make onlookers turn heads & notice! Alas, the front travel wouldn’t be used to its full potential in daily city commute.


The ride and braking are not confidence inspiring above a certain speed. Above 80, the windshield would be vibrating crazily and the rider would be more tensed about how to remain in control if something comes up ahead on the road.

Overall Impression

The Himalayan isn't a relaxed cruiser like its elder sibling, the Thunderbird. During longer rides, the rider would beg for more power & the ride quality isn’t going to keep things good either.

It's more of a city goer with a bigger engine to enjoy diesel like torque and relaxed commuting during rush hour traffic. But then again, the heavy clutch will need to be worked quite a bit in bumper to bumper situations. On the other hand, the headlamp separate from the handlebar & low seat height will aid to flick the bike easily in traffic.


Hence, for me, the Himalayan is a brilliant bike to go take it to the jungles or rock climbs, quite literally! But for touring purposes, it just doesn’t cut and there are better options from RE itself. :)

A final parting shot!

Some points from my 10 days on the Himalayan.
The Good:
I love the suspension. The bike just glides over the potholes.
Brakes and handling is great.
Riding posture is very comfortable.

Not so good:
* Heat. The bike heats up quite a bit. The tank gets heated up, especially the area close to the rider. The rider's seat gets hot. Need a solution to this. It can become unbearable at times.
- The ambient temperature indicator picks heat from the engine. Always shows 40+ degrees.
- The right side rear view mirror is offsetted slightly inwards, limiting the view (I am 5'10")

Nice points forester.

Regarding the welding, not an automotive welding expert, but from my experience in heavy structural fabrication, it's manual welding that's creating the weld quality. Auto welding is always smooth, be it MIG or SAW providing clean finish. Manual welds are uneven due to hand movement.

Not being a commuter, doubt the parts volume would make economic sense for automatic welding.

RE website claims that the frame is robotic welded

Yes, the website claims so but there have been enough complaints of the awkward weld job. Even I had reported the same. But this is what has been quoted in Overdrive's road test review (Click here). "The frame could be finished a lot, lot better though. In fact, welds on the Himalayan are really gnarly and ugly pretty much all over the motorcycle’s frame. RE told us that their robotic welding machines will clean up shortly but as of now, be prepared for some unsightly welds."

The fact that the robotic welding machines have cleaned up is verified by Urban_Nomad in his post. So, hopefully things look better in the bike built in the latest lot.

Guys, Himalayan is available for renting at wickedride bangalore. I booked it for a full day ride on 26th. I want to evaluate its overall character before taking the delivery in may.

SAE 15W50 API SL grade JASO MA 2

2.3 litres initial fill
2 litres subsequent refill

Anything out on the pricing of accessories? Specially the jerry cans?