[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

I myself know a close friend who has a Himalayan and suffered coil failure twice, underwent a head replacement, clutch assembly replacement, Oil cooler pipe replacement etc. The Himalayan is such a good concept. I simply cant understand what the hell is wrong with RE using sub standard parts. Am sure when the BMW and KTM ADV bikes hit the market, the Himalayan will be a dead horse.
Dear RE, I was a prospective customer of the Himalayan, sorry but I have ditched the idea of buying one.

There must be something wrong with the RE production line. Some of the components in my TBTS were also of pathetic quality. The safety indicator push button stopped working after a month. The headlamp clamp was broken within an year of purchase( you have to order a complete headlight assembly just because of a broken clamp), done some jugad and installed a headlamp grill just to prevent the glass from falling. The RHS handle assembly stopped working after 2 years, had to replace that.

One funny incident, My local mechanic asked me during a service for replacing the horns with roots megasonic. When I told him that my bike is running with stock horns. He refused to believe that RE stock horns can be working fine after 2.5 years of purchase. He claimed to have seen horns going kaput within 6-8 months of purchase (Rajasthan's sandy climate may be the reason).

These issues are very petty and non life threatening but are enough to judge the quality of parts used.

[aks_karthik]

Hi All,

I've just heard from my known source that RE has circulated a letter to change at least 14 parts replacement/adjustment in RE Himalayan.
I have checked with RE Service Manager, Velachery, Chennai and he too has agreed it.
I have completed 2nd service last week only and not sure about those replacements happened in my bike as well there's no mentioning in the bill.
I will inquire it with my service person and update it tomorrow.

Anyone heard about these replacements??

[aks_karthik]

Originally Posted by aks_karthik

I will inquire it with my service person and update it tomorrow.

I have connected with my service personal at RE, Velachery.
He has confirmed that there's 24 changes/replacements have been done in my bike during 2nd service and it could not be added in the bill.
He has requested me to come to service centre to look into the circular sent by RE as it's strictly for internal purpose only.

Anybody has got notification in this regard?

[maker_of_things]

Originally Posted by aks_karthik

I have connected with my service personal at RE, Velachery.
He has confirmed that there's 24 changes/replacements have been done in my bike during 2nd service and it could not be added in the bill.
He has requested me to come to service centre to look into the circular sent by RE as it's strictly for internal purpose only.

Anybody has got notification in this regard?

No, I just got a message from an acquaintance of mine regarding faulty alternators in the earlier models, and that to get it checked/replaced soon. Apart from that nothing else. 2nd service for my Himalayan is due in a couple of months.

Do keep us informed about the 24 changes/replacements.

[Ry_der]

Common problems seems to be the following

Faulty flywheel / Magneto Coil . Causes your battery to not charge when running at low speeds causing battery failures.
Front T-Stem is weak and Rusts
Brakes lever is brittle and can break while riding, standing and riding as shown in videos is not advised.
Clutch has problems causing gear shifting issues. They don’t shift sometimes or goes into neutral when you are not expecting it to.
Some bikes have heating issues. They tend to get crazy hot.
Front brakes are not up to mark and Brake discs are susceptible to rust way too easily.
Poor quality of parts
Engine issues. had terrible knocking and can’t handle downshift smoothly.

Source: here

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by Ry_der

Common problems seems to be the following

Faulty flywheel / Magneto Coil . Causes your battery to not charge when running at low speeds causing battery failures.
Front T-Stem is weak and Rusts
Brakes lever is brittle and can break while riding, standing and riding as shown in videos is not advised.
Clutch has problems causing gear shifting issues. They don’t shift sometimes or goes into neutral when you are not expecting it to.
Some bikes have heating issues. They tend to get crazy hot.
Front brakes are not up to mark and Brake discs are susceptible to rust way too easily.
Poor quality of parts
Engine issues. had terrible knocking and can’t handle downshift smoothly.

Source: here

It looks like ALL the components of bike have been found faulty in some way or the other except for the trivial ones like Tyres & Seat.

It looks like yet again, RE has decided to use it's loyal fans as guinea pigs and perform real world testing through them.

I recollect having seen excel sheets prepared and kept updated with numerous issues and their resolution shortly after new Thunderbird & CL series was launched.
History surely repeats itself, in case of RE.

[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

It looks like ALL the components of bike have been found faulty in some way or the other except for the trivial ones like Tyres & Seat.

I can think of a reson for the same. The tyres and the seats are not manufactured by Royal Enfield itself and installing those is plug and play(no complex procedure involved).

[Torqy]

How i wish this great looking bike came with great quality! I guess the problem lies with the management's "Chalta hai" attitude and the customers encouraging it by being "loyal fans" :(
I'm surprised there are no organized protests against this callous attitude!

[Darth Sid]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Am sure when the BMW and KTM ADV bikes hit the market, the Himalayan will be a dead horse.

You may be right. But remember that KTM has had (and will have in new models) its own set of teething issues much like RE, though not as extensive. If the Adv 390 does come out, it will certainly have issues like those in the Himalayan but much fewer since the engine has been improved over the years to solve many problems like the valves getting bent. As for other parts, that will have to be seen.

Originally Posted by Ry_der

Some bikes have heating issues. They tend to get crazy hot.

Does this cover the glowing header pipe? That looks really funky!

Originally Posted by abhishek46

It looks like ALL the components of bike have been found faulty in some way or the other except for the trivial ones like Tyres & Seat.

Yeah, about the tyres. Some tyres were reported to crack prematurely so were replaced by RE free of charge in several bikes. Some owners even got their tyres replaced simply because they wore out too quickly.

It looks like yet again, RE has decided to use it's loyal fans as guinea pigs and perform real world testing through them.

Yes, all Indian manufacturers do this. My 2012 Duke 200 did the same. Got a lot of stuff changed under warranty like console, fuel pump, fuel tank with cowl, rear shock, airbox (a prototype unit from the R&D dept) and... (wait for it) the engine! I was probably the best beta tester they had for the 2012 batch of 200's. No other bike had as many persistent issues as mine. Most of the other bikes had their issues corrected on first troubleshooting. My engine had to be opened thrice before they gave me a new one.

RE is really trying to fix the issues in the Himalayan. Never before were they this proactive in addressing customer problems. Credit where it's due. In fact, I even considered the Himalayan as a more reliable alternative to the Duke. Simpler tech.

Originally Posted by thedragonreborn

my right calves get cooked fairly consistently.

Then you are not a dragon. Fire cannot hurt a dragon.

On a serious note, every bike I have ridden tends to get really hot and I mean properly hot! When I test rode a Himalayan, I rode it the way I always do and it got hot enough to start idling at a much higher rpm. Maybe you should get the air fuel mixture checked.

[racingmachine]

Watched this video below of a rider facing troubles with his Himalayan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izo4O4z7-hE

I was contemplating buying one but I guess it's better to wait & watch for now!

Are there any alternatives to the Himalayan for long distance touring in the same budget?

[tharian]

Originally Posted by racingmachine

Watched this video below of a rider facing troubles with his Himalayan.


Are there any alternatives to the Himalayan for long distance touring in the same budget?

Thunderbird 500 is a good option if it's purely for touring.

[howler]

Originally Posted by tharian

Thunderbird 500 is a good option if it's purely for touring.

That has its own share of problems .. I think the only option is avoid re . Or buy a used 500 machismo , the only one they seemed to have got right by mistake. Never had a single problem or a drop of oil leaking from it when I owned it , biggest mistake I made was selling it.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by howler

That has its own share of problems .. I think the only option is avoid re . Or buy a used 500 machismo , the only one they seemed to have got right by mistake. Never had a single problem or a drop of oil leaking from it when I owned it , biggest mistake I made was selling it.

OT;

That again depends. There is J.Ravi who has a TB500 and has done multiple all India trips with no major issues.
I have a 2002 Electra run over a lakh with no issues or overhaul. Even back then, there were bikes that had issues right out from the showroom and bikes that were very reliable. I guess it is more or less the same now.


@racingmachine
There are multiple options to choose from apart RE for touring now, in that budget or slightly above.

[maker_of_things]

Slight update -

Last week I got a call from my neighborhood RE ASC regarding the Himalayan. They mentioned a checklist and asked to bring my bike in for proactive checking. They took almost 2 days to go through it all and have to say, bike is now better thanks to the folks at the Siddh Auto, Bavdhan, Pune.

Off the top of my head, they performed the following things -

* replaced flywheel magneto (though I've never had an electrical/charging issue with the bike; clocked >5000 km)
* replaced the clutch assembly (guess they forgot to do it the first time around)
* replaced T-stem (no steering issues there, and applied primer to it)
* checked all the electrical bits for any faults
* readjusted the valve clearances

Changing the clutch assembly solved the hard gear shifts for me. I now find it tougher to shift to neutral as its too soft now .

Apart from that, the bike is still running beautifully. I ride it daily covering almost 60 km per day.

[Urban_Nomad]

All these issues have really hit the Himalayan hard. Look at the sales figure for March - 50 something copies sold!!

They really need some positive press to get things in the green again. I will admit that I was extremely hopeful of this motorcycle; but am disappointed with what RE have dished out. And these are not niggles we are talking about here but absolute showstoppers - Chassis cracking, huge oil leaks, unable to engage gear etc

It would be sad if this potentially wonderful product dies an untimely death because of the company's complacency