[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by jeepster

• Any ride where Ill need to lubricate the chain before reaching home. (so i don't have to carry chin spray)

This chain spray fetish is beyond me, I've been on several interstate rides spanning several days to the point I've lost count and yet lubing chain hasn't been a concern, especially with O ring chains.

The lubrication required for the mechanical bit is taken care of by the O ring, the only external maintenance you are required to do is prevent it from rusting and drying up, which from my experience your average gear oil takes care of for about 2k kms with ease on an extended ride.

Heck even on my last ride that was about 1k kms long spanning 2 days, I'd only lubed before the ride using old used engine oil and the chain was still supple after I got back home from the ride.

Again people have their own preferences, but I just shared my experience to make it a point that you do not need to overdo the lubing part.

• True, but this contraption is tested in India from 150cc to 1000cc+ bikes. (introduced in end of 2018)

see a similar contraption here.

Now coming to the real concern at hand, the scottoiler you've shared is designed in such a way that worst case come the chain would merely eat up some fiber bits.

But the one you've used is of a shoddy design comprising of multiple clamps held in place by nuts and bolts. And as you'd already know anything at leverage held by fixtures tend to come loose irrespective of size or weight, it's just a matter of time.

When worst comes metal would go through the chain and that'd present the risk of the chain jumping the sprocket or snapping.

I've had several fixtures come loose due to maintaining interstate speeds or riding hard, namely fork pinch bolts, exhaust shields, sprocket lug nuts etc.

Hence I simply do not see the risk to be worthy of the gains promised.

[bblost]

Wanted to visit a friend in Davengere. It's a 500+ km ride from Hyderabad.

Took me about 10 hours as Google maps went completely crazy after crossing Belari. It put me on some narrow roads with no marking. The roads were mostly good but had enough bad spots that come without warning.
Also got stuck in two Temple festival crowds that completely blocked the road.

Despite all this and the weather being very warm, the bike performed really well.
I highly recommend switching to full synthetic. It's totally worth it.



Found a super cheap but clean hotel at Rs 400 in Davengere.




I like a nice thali for dinner.

[rahul4321]

After the D390 ride from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad and back last month, decided to take the Himalayan for a small trip to Pushkar

Riding around the Rajasthan roads was wonderful. The Himalayan is so much different to the Duke and is just so much more easy to ride. Chugs around like a little locomotive and pulls incredibly well at low rpms (although I feel my Electra did this better). Around winding roads, the approach you need to take is swing the whole bike round almost to the point of sliding it. The Duke meanwhile is a point and shoot monster.

The brakes- Oh my God the brakes. This thing just doesn't stop or maybe my expectations are too high because I did 3000 kilometers on the Duke last month. I have made up my mind that when the day comes- where I know I wont be able to stop the bike in time, I will jump off the moving bike without having any second thoughts. My old disc and drum Electra stopped better (I think).

Otherwise a wonderful experience, I have developed a love-hate relationship with the bike. Highly impressed with the character of the bike and the comfort, hate the brakes and the general lack of stopping power

RE- if you are reading this and planning on launching the 650 Himalayan, you should definitely give it better brakes or do not launch the motorcycle at all

[VR/46_Chet]

How often does RE R&D get involved in resolving an issue? Asking for a friend.

He picked up a BSIV Himalayan on 24th December 2019 and it has one single problem - It doesn't start in the first self. This happens only in the morning (when the bike is parked overnight) and it needs 2-3 attempts to start. In the past 2 months, we've gone to the dealer four times to rectify this issue. Every time they do something and we take the bike home but the issue still persists. 2 of these 4 times, they've just adjusted the idle and the last time we went, they said there was an issue with the AFR (which they had sorted) but the problem still remains. So then, we called up the dealership owner and told him the whole try-and-fail. Within an hour, a couple of mechanics (this included one who had worked on the bike all four times) came to his place to take the bike back to the dealership. This was yesterday.

Now, they're saying there was an issue with the FI unit and they've changed it, a few more parts need to be changed and they need to check every morning if the problem still persists and also that all this problem solving is happening as per their R&D's guidance. Hence the question.

Does anyone else here face this issue and/or is there any known solution apart from using the Choke? Not to compare but my friend also owns a first gen first lot and now 12+ year old R15 that still starts in the first crank so he kind of expects the same from the Himalayan.

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by VR/46_Chet

How often does RE R&D get involved in resolving an issue? Asking for a friend.

He picked up a BSIV Himalayan...

Does anyone else here face this issue and/or is there any known solution apart from using the Choke? Not to compare but my friend also owns a first gen first lot and now 12+ year old R15 that still starts in the first crank so he kind of expects the same from the Himalayan.

Your question implies your friend is not using "the choke" when he is trying to start the cold engine.
IMO, that is his mistake.
I believe Royal Enfield calls this"choke" the "Bi Starter" on the Himalayan. It does on my fuel injected 500cc UCE.

The Himalayan's engine needs to have "the Bi Starter " fully applied before cranking the engine when it is cold from sitting overnight.

Actually, the Bi Starter isn't a old fashioned choke at all. It opens a air bypass valve that allows a small increase of air past the throttle plate. This essentially increases the idle speed and changes the inlet pressure. A pressure sensor in the inlet manifold recognizes the pressure change difference and based on this and the engine temperature sensor, the ECU increases the amount of fuel flow thru the fuel injector which slightly increases the fuel/air ratio so the fuel/air can ignite easier in the cold engine. In other words, the Bi Starter does the same job as a choke in a carbureted engine but unlike the old fashioned choke, it won't "flood" the engine with too much fuel.

Ask your friend to always use the Bi Starter when the engine is being started after sitting in the cold overnight. I think most of the problems will go away.

[bblost]

Pain

Came back last night riding on a road with speed breakers for the first 400 KMS and speed devil's on the last 200.

Now my left palm is in so much pain from all the clutch action.

Will have the clutch cable tested and replaced if needed.

But damn it, it hurts big time.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by bblost

But damn it, it hurts big time.

You could get rid of the spring on the clutch cam rod.

That is what I did after I started to get cramps riding in Bangalore traffic.

Makes the clutch Honda light.

But then clutch free play becomes imperative, you simply can't be careless with it like we tend to do with the spring in place.

Cheers,
A.P.

[lancia_fanboy]

Hey guys, I have a question. I have Himalayan BS4 and I want to include the option for switchable ABS, especially the one in the new BS6 Himalayan( ABS off only for real wheel). Is there a way where I can get this feature. The only two options I can think of is either replace the current wiring( The ABS Ecu atleast with the newer one) or having a switch to turn off the ABS entirely.

Am I thinking on the right manner and how should I approach this, also whom can I approach for doing this work, I am based in Mumbai that helps.

Thanks

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

You could get rid of the spring on the clutch cam rod.

A bit confused. You mean this spring ?.




How does the clutch lever retract if this spring is taken out?.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by srini1785

A bit confused. You mean this spring ?.

Yup, that's the one.

In Pulsars the lever and rod are two separate pieces so scrapping it is easy, on yours you'd have to remove clutch cover, which seeing that leak I'm presuming is something you have on your bucket list.

Or you could use a pair of nose pliers and snap the spring and get ride of it later.

How does the clutch lever retract if this spring is taken out?.

Clutch lever retracts as usual from tension provided by the clutch springs, the 4/5/6 high tension springs that press the pressure plate.

After removing the cam rod spring make sure to leave adequate clutch lever free play, this is critical, as you'd just disabled the means of idiot-proofing by getting rid of the spring.

Neither of my motorcycles have the spring in place.

Cheers,
A.P.

[bblost]

I did a visual inspection of this spring. Then as I followed it upwards, realized that the clutch cable has been pushed a little because the crash guard mount has twisted a little.

The cable was under pressure and most probably this has made it so tight.

The crash guard needs to be removed and reinstalled. My habit of sometimes not slowing down at the many many speed breakers would have caused this.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Clutch lever retracts as usual from tension provided by the clutch springs, the 4/5/6 high tension springs that press the pressure plate.

Neither of my motorcycles have the spring in place.

The main purpose of the clutch springs is to disengage the clutch plates and not to retract the cable. I am not entirely convinced if this is a recomended safe approach. However since you say that you don't have any problem, i am not going to go any further.

Originally Posted by bblost

The cable was under pressure and most probably this has made it so tight.

So problem solved.

[VR/46_Chet]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Your question implies your friend is not using "the choke" when he is trying to start the cold engine.
IMO, that is his mistake.

You're right, he's not using the choke / bi-starter while starting the cold engine.

Ask your friend to always use the Bi Starter when the engine is being started after sitting in the cold overnight. I think most of the problems will go away.

Will do. One of the RE guys told us on our fourth visit that it's written in the Himalayan's SOP book that's handed over to the workshop guys that the bike will not start in the first crank when cold. At the same time, there was another BSIV Himalayan (cold engine, sitting overnight) at the workshop which we asked to be checked and that started in the first crank even though the idle rpm was set lower than my friend's bike. Anyway, they've changed the FI unit, let's see what other parts they change or else bi-starter it is.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by srini1785

The main purpose of the clutch springs is to disengage the clutch plates and not to retract the cable. I am not entirely convinced if this is a recomended safe approach. However since you say that you don't have any problem, i am not going to go any further.

The clutch springs ENGAGE the clutch not DISENGAGE it.

The clutch is engaged in its natural state, even with the clutch cover off the motorcycle,

When we pull the lever it pulls the cable which in turn pulls the clutch arm, which turns the clutch cam rod which is slotted at its base and inside the slot sits a small piston, this piston pushes against the clutch release bearing which forces the pressure plate apart AGAINST the clutch springs, this causes the clutch to slip i.e disengage.

The moment you let go of the lever the clutch springs take cover and pushes the clutch release bearing out, which pushes the small piston out, which turns the clutch cam rod, which turns the clutch arm which pulls the cable and results in the clutch lever returning to its normal position.

How the clutch cam rod spring makes this idiot-proof is by ensuring that the cable is pulled all the way out, this is necessary as under load the clutch plates are mashed together under load such that it forces the clutch release bearing out which in turn results in the cable and ultimately the lever to tug.

Hence why if adequate clutch lever clearance is not left then it could cause the whole thing to be tensioned when it shouldn't be.

If I recall right, my CT100B came without the spring from factory, whereas on my P220 I'd removed it back in 2015 itself.

A good number of motorcyclist do not even realise their clutch cam rod springs have snapped over the term of ownership, they simply presume their hands have gotten stronger over time.

Cheers,
A.P.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by VR/46_Chet

Will do. One of the RE guys told us on our fourth visit that it's written in the Himalayan's SOP book that's handed over to the workshop guys that the bike will not start in the first crank when cold. At the same time, there was another BSIV Himalayan (cold engine, sitting overnight) at the workshop which we asked to be checked and that started in the first crank even though the idle rpm was set lower than my friend's bike. Anyway, they've changed the FI unit, let's see what other parts they change or else bi-starter it is.

Are you sure that the battery is not at fault here. Most of the times we just ignore simplest of the issues to find a more complex issue.

It would be prudent to check the battery condition and whether its holding the charge or not before moving to other diagnosis.