[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by k_ajay

Query: will there be a Himalayan 650? If yes, any idea when?

Bigger Himalayan, yes. 650 Himalayan, no.

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Bigger Himalayan, yes. 650 Himalayan, no.

Okay, thanks for that. But what higher capacity are we referring to, here?

[shyamg28]

Originally Posted by rahul4321

But the pleasure of riding through bad roads, broken tarmac and small potholes without having to reduce speed excessively was awesome. The suspension is truly remarkable. Very comfortable, supple and predictable

I too had a decent ride albeit, a simple and relaxed 120kms ride in and around Bangalore with mild off roading.
Don't have any videos of that section but here's some anyway.







It really is an easy to ride and capable all round machine.
Where it lacks on tarmac, it more than makes up on dirt.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by k_ajay

Okay, thanks for that. But what higher capacity are we referring to, here?

That is the million dollar question. No little birdies are chirping with further details of the bigger Himalayan, so it is wait and watch for now.

[Rennjit]

That is the million dollar question.....

Bigger OR Better ?

This has to be The Question. 400cc is big enough but it has to be better performing. RE is literally on the 'no replacement for displacement' philosophy conveniently ignoring the poor performance

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Rennjit

Bigger OR Better ?

This has to be The Question. 400cc is big enough but it has to be better performing. RE is literally on the 'no replacement for displacement' philosophy conveniently ignoring the poor performance

I suppose there are broadly two schools of (engineering) thought here. One, you can take a regular capacity engine, squeeze every last bit of performance out of it, have parts that are pushed to the edge and might give up any time (cough cough KTM cough cough) or you could go big displacement, low but usable performance and keep it simple (the old Royal Enfield way). Now this formula has worked exceptionally well for RE with the 650 twins and to a lesser extent, with the Himalayan.

I agree with you, the most common feedback from around the world that I have seen on the Himalayan, is that this bike needs better performance without the price spiking up too much. Now with the Bs6 version, RE seems to have slowly and steadily perfected the Himalayan 410 and a bigger engined version putting out 40 bhp sounds just about right to me. I am sure Royal Enfield is listening.

[bblost]

I rode back from Nepal on my Himalayan with my friend who was on his 650.
As long as we were in the hills and bad roads, I was able to stay in his rear view mirror.

Once the highways became better, it was no contest at all.

The Himalayan is a nice bike but its not exactly fast and nimble on the straights.

A couple more horses will be nice but I am not sure if the chassis can manage it.

[hellraizer]

Originally Posted by bblost

Once the highways became better, it was no contest at all.

The Himalayan is a nice bike but its not exactly fast and nimble on the straights.

I own a 2019, Interceptor 650. I have the AEW Exhaust + BMC filter combo. It rides fantastic and the performance is something that I enjoy every single time I ride.
Fast forward 2020, I realize, the interceptor is not such a good tourer and especially when you want to do Leh kind of rides. I have now booked a BS6 Himalayan in Rock Red. Like all other folks, I am waiting for the bike as well.

As part of the buying experience, I did some long test rides and for me, apart from the comfortable riding stance and off road ability, the performance is strictly average on road. It’s very commuter segment-ish. The handling too is not as dynamic as compared to my 650. Well, this is the best RE could get this bike to perform.

I definitely think that this chassis cannot handle a bigger and more powerful engine.

Having said that, RE has tasted success and I am quite confident we’ll see a bigger and much improved Himalayan in the future.

For now, I’ll be happy to own a BS6 Himalayan.

Cheers

[Skidrow]

Would a Powertronic EFI and/or a big bore kit like the Hitchcock 462 CC and/or a less limiting (or better tuned) exhaust help?

What's been the experience with these? I remember ItchyBoots fitted a powertronic in the Middle East but wasn't sure if the experiment was completely satisfactory.

[shyamg28]

Got some riding done for the weekend. Lovely place this: Mandargiri Jain Temple

Attaching some pics:











Had quite some difficulty riding at night.
Recent visit to BikenBiker had me almost convinced that I need to invest 20-30k on Baja lights. So that's not happening anytime soon lol.
Any alternate suggestions that maybe cheaper, work almost as well and are (still) easily available?

Also, does anyone here use a non OE cruise control (e.g., Go Cruise)? Wondering if it is indeed beneficial, at the same time, also safe to use.

[jackerhack]

Originally Posted by Skidrow

Would a Powertronic EFI and/or a big bore kit like the Hitchcock 462 CC and/or a less limiting (or better tuned) exhaust help?

What's been the experience with these? I remember ItchyBoots fitted a powertronic in the Middle East but wasn't sure if the experiment was completely satisfactory.

She mentioned removing it because of a scary experience with her drone. The drone's controller had radio interference with the EFI.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Had quite some difficulty riding at night.
Recent visit to BikenBiker had me almost convinced that I need to invest 20-30k on Baja lights. So that's not happening anytime soon lol.
Any alternate suggestions that maybe cheaper, work almost as well and are (still) easily available?

Nice pictures. On the lights, avoid the cheap unbranded stuff for which the shopkeepers will make sky high claims and go for branded products which have 1 - 2 years warranty such as A2Z lights (personally used) or Mad Dog lights which are very popular on and off this forum. See if you want a pair of aux lights or if you want to replace the whole headlight unit. You will find reviews for products by both these companies and others across the motorcycling section of Team BHP.

[bblost]

I have an issue with my bike.

Bike switches on without any issue. After a couple of minutes of riding the low batter indicator comes on the tacho stops working. If I rev the bike the tacho starts working and the batter light goes off. After a few minutes this will repeat.

The first time it happened, I came home and hooked up the multimeter. The battery with engine off had a 13.2V voltage.

The next time I took my bike out, I kept the multimeter with me. Sure enough the light came on and tacho went off.
I checked immediately. The battery had over 13.2 Volts in it.

Today I took my bike out. The same issue keeps happening.

The battery is fine. But the tacho off and battery low light makes it very confusing.

Typically this happens when I am riding at a fixed pace. Like I am doing a steady 50 kmph. The tacho will go down to 0 and the battery light gets on.

I rev up. The issue is fixed for the next few mins.

Please help.

[VijayAnand1]

Originally Posted by bblost

Typically this happens when I am riding at a fixed pace. Like I am doing a steady 50 kmph. The tacho will go down to 0 and the battery light gets on.

I rev up. The issue is fixed for the next few mins.

Please help.

From what I can infer, it can either be the stator coil, i.e. the magneto coil which charges the battery. If the magneto doesn't charge the battery, the battery icon will throw up on the dash indicating an error, that's one.

Now, the same will happen, if your battery isn't holding charge or one of the cells inside has shorted even though it reads the right voltage, happened to me.

What I would suggest is this, connect the multimeter to the terminals which DC range on the MM, rev the engine till 4k and observe the reading at the multimeter, it should stand still at around 14.7V-ish range. If you see the readings fluctuate more than 16V and irrational voltage reading, you can pretty much be sure your stator coil is bust.

Last but not the least, the rudimental stuff of all, please make sure your battery terminals are torqued to spec on the battery posts. A loose battery terminal can indeed cause more trouble than a dead or a decaying one.

Keep us posted.

Cheers!
VJ

[bblost]

Thanks a lot, Vijay.

I checked the battery clamps. They are tight.
The battery showed 12.97 volts before switching on the bike.
The bike switched on and the battery light stayed on. I did not have the time to take the bike for a ride.

This issue has been there for over 200 kms and fifteen days. The battery charge level has no issues at all.

I will do the other tests as well and keep you updated.