[dkaile]

Originally Posted by TMRT

Another seemingly skewed report

Didn't get you mate. What's skewed about it?

[ShellZee]

Hey TMRT. The report IMHO is pretty accurate and bang on as far as the styling and looks ratings go. This bike is getting you appreciative stares wherever you ride and in the Chandigarh Tri City it is getting a majority of its booking probably due to the brand and look combination. The riding posture is supremely comfortable and the MID is as modern and informative as it gets. I'm still running in the bike so can't really comment on the 'underpowered' aspect a lot of people are writing about but one thing I can assure you of is that this bike looks the part and will do justice to the hype.

[torqueunlimited]

@TMRT You've put this same comment across Himalayan and Mojo forum threads saying "Another seemingly skewed report". Got any of your own opinion to add other than saying skewed out of context?

[TMRT]

Probably I shouldn't have used words "skewed" but as I said in my other post I think the author has some preconceived opinion to present that would drag a serious Mojo buyer away just based on this report. So like the authors candid report this is my candid hunch.... Just a hunch that the report seems skewed!

Ok here is one for example where author clearly indicates that Mojo is better. How on earth would you justify the lower score?


"Both the Mojo and the Himalayan boast a semi-digital instrument console, however, the former gets a more modern and compact unit. The Mojo's console comprises of a fuel ..."


Go on and read further...

"However, the design of the unit is a bit confusing and the small tachometer also needs more attention, while the instrument cluster on the Mojo is comfortable to read on the go"



I have ridden Mojo and oh boy it does make its presence felt like no other.

[petrolhead_neel]

Okay, so I finally got to ride the Himalayan with Dad a couple of days back. Before I start, I would like to clarify that I am not legally certified to ride on public roads yet and all my rides have been confined to private and restricted areas. This was no exception.

Coming to the bike, ever since I heard about, I was really, really excited about it. My Dad, too, was pretty interested. He is exactly the kind of person for whom the Himalayan is intended to be ridden by. He regularly does off road trails and commutes on a motorcycle too. He is a bird photographer and thus he uses his bike to go off to places for shooting birds. He is not exactly into fast riding, but can ride reasonably fast when conditions permit. Expensive ADV tourers just don't make sense for him because he often has to ride to remote places for work/leisure and not care a bit about parking the machine or its maintenance. Thus, the Himalayan sounded like a really good deal to us. Do note that he owns a Honda CB Twister, six years old at about 45k kms and a Classic 350, two and a half years old, at 13k kms. He rides both of them.

I have been asking the guy who sold us the Classic 350 about test riding the Himalayan right since March. However, it is really surprising that the local dealership took this much time for bringing in a test ride unit. Once it arrived, I got a call and an invite to ride it.

The very next day, we decided to ride the Himalayan. We went there and waited in the lounge for about five minutes, waiting for the bike to arrive. Checked out the makeover that had taken place in the store, and the Darcha jackets and other RE accessories in the meantime.

We were soon all ready to take the H out for a spin. It was Dad's turn first. He got to ride it through varied terrain, in spite of the ride being a short one. I got to ride it after that, in a place which had some moderate corners and some places where the tarmac wasn't so good.

When I sat on the Himalayan, the first thing I can't help but notice was that the ergonomics were spot on. This was the first time I was going to ride the bike, and boy did I feel at home, as I have been riding this one for years. And this is coming from someone who has not ridden a wide variety of bikes. It was committed yet sporty at the same time. The seat provided support to the tail bone region, which is exactly where it starts paining during a long ride. The handlebar fell exactly into my hands. I had expected the switchgear to be a bit more premium. The controls fell at hand. I thumbed the starter and the engine fired into life. It was a steady, quick revving idle. I depressed the clutch and slotted into the first gear, and the gearbox felt a tad bit notchy, coming from a Honda. Released the clutch and there was just ample amount of torque to get me going. Twisted the throttle and the bike leaped ahead, spiritedly. The engine was just 16kms young, so I decided not to push it too hard. Shifted into second and then third. It was totally clear that this engine's characteristics were totally different from any other RE bike I had ridden. The low end push was not as prominent as my Dad's Classic, but the mid range was really, really strong. There was this strong surge I experienced everytime I upshifted and applied throttle. However, the power wasn't intimidating at all. The Himalayan sure isn't a very fast bike, nor is it meant to be. However, during the short ride, the power seemed just about adequate for conquering our roads. I didn't get to ride the bike very fast, as the conditions didn't permit.The engine was smooth, there were no vibrations whatsoever, right up to the top end. Kudos to RE for this, refinement is just below of the Japs.

Next was the suspension. This part of the bike was very impressive. I deliberately went over a couple of bumps a tad bit fast than I generally would and had no problems at all. Stand up control was great too. Ride quality is the best that I have experienced on a bike so far. Handling too, was awesome. I could flick the bike into corners easily in any speed and exit the corner with a grin on my face. Mid corner bumps and quick handlebar corrections posed no threat at all. This one should be really enjoyable to ride in the twisties. The rear brake is a huge improvement over the drum brakes in my Dad's Classic. They do their job really, really well. However, the front brakes disappointed me. They simply lacked the bite that I would have liked.

One of the other things to note was the windscreen. I don't know whether this was a problem with the particular bike that I rode, but the windscreen buffeted a lot, like really a lot. There was this constant whizz sound from that region. Would've liked the welds to be a bit cleaner. Paint quality was nice.

The sound didn't quite impress me. I had expected the Himalayan to sound better, after seeing all those videos by RE. However, the engine was new and there are always after market solutions to fix the sound.

My Dad is a much more experienced rider. I will ask him to pen down his views and will myself post it on the forum soon.

Till then,
Ciao!

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by torqueunlimited

This bag! Quite awesome I must say. I don't know what company this is; Octopuss. No information available anywhere online.

Was just checking out the official pics, and see a similar bag mounted on the rear seat:

[jeepster]

Originally Posted by jeepster

Yesterday Local dealer "Prisha Motors" Denied TD to me.

Their reply "sir first book the bike then we will give you TD"

BTW Accessories are mandatory.

Originally Posted by MadTiger

Please write an email to customer service to Royal Enfield, customerservice@royalenfield.com, they will take 'Prisha Motors' for a ride.

As suggested by MadTiger i wrote an email to RE.

I immediately got a call from ASM explaining the reasons for not getting the TD, & asked for my home address for sending the bike.

Test Ride

The showroom manger came to my house with black Himalayan & explained THEIR side.

They have no info of the accessories or the availability.

The waiting period is 2 months PAN India.

I was told about the features of the bike & then i took it for a short spin in my neighborhood.

Ride was calm & composed , liked the seating position but not sure about the pillions comfort.

Suspension is spot on.

I wasn't able to check the top speed but overall i liked the bike.

I am going to take another TD to check top speed & highway manners on Monday.

I am expecting a steady 90~100km/h for highways, if passed i am going to book the First Himalayan of my city.

with my GS150R












Next day at the dealership.

[al pacino]

Test drove the bike today and loved the look , ergonomics and comfort the bike provided was superb. Matt black looks swell. Hopefully will book one soon

[MadTiger]

So finally booked the Himalayan, the long 2 months wait begins, counting every day like a year lol. Super excited, will update once I get any news from the dealership. Keep the thread updated, thank you guys!

[Full_Minchingu]

Originally Posted by MadTiger

So finally booked the Himalayan, the long 2 months wait begins, counting every day like a year lol. Supper excited, will update once I get any news from the dealership. Keep the thread updated, thank you guys!

Congrats MadTiger for the upcoming acquisition. May be you can update this info in this wonderful thread and make it active.

Regards,
-Badri

[rahulkodinya]

Hi Guys, I took the delivery on 25th May and rode it over ~1200 KMs so far. Overall, superb experience with this bike, specially the riding comfort (for rider as well as pillion) and handling on bad roads. As per running-in guidelines, I am keeping it within 80Kmph (in 5th gear). This comes at 3.5k RPM and bike is very comfortable till this speed. Pick up is also pretty respectable.

Engine noise, in particular tappet noise is annoying. During first service (at 500 Km Odo), I pushed technician to adjust the tappet. It had came down significantly but again increased now. I am planning to visit service center at ~1500 KM for a oil change and 2nd tappet adjustment. As per service engineers, tappet noise is not a problem at all. May not be, but it is annoying.

Other than this, I reduced clutch lever play to 2-3 mm at the end of the level (Recommended in the owner's Manual). This made gear shifting butter smooth. Even heating is reduced in stop n go traffic.

I am 5'10". And default position of windscreen directly throws wind blast on my face. There is one more adjustment available which pushes the top of the windscreen away from the rider. This has reduced the air flow directly on face.

[ShellZee]

Headlight inadequate. Thank God for aux lighting

Hey Ayon. Can you please posts a pic of the aux lights that you've installed as I am planning the same for my Himalayan. The light is bright but somehow am used to aux lights, had them on my Classic as well as the TB500.
PS. I think we know each other, off the forum I mean.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by ShellZee

Can you please posts a pic of the aux lights that you've installed as I am planning the same for my Himalayan. The light is bright but somehow am used to aux lights, had them on my Classic as well as the TB500.

I have put up some auxiliary lights on my Himalayan which you can view here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post4002405

Cheers...

[blacknebula]

I took off the saree guard using a no. 5 allen key and the chain cover came off too. Am running it without the chain cover as of now. Is that a good idea?

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by blacknebula

I took off the saree guard using a no. 5 allen key and the chain cover came off too. Am running it without the chain cover as of now. Is that a good idea?

Nope. Refer to my thread for actual pictures. It's just a 5 minutes job to attach it back. You will need 2 additional washers as I have used.

Cheers...