[indivic]

Dropped in at the Adyar showroom and had a longish test ride in and around Besant Nagar

Disclaimer : I have never ridden any RE bike before

I am only 5'7"" and could get both my feet on the ground,felt great sitting on the bike and in traffic
Acceleration is not frenetic like on the Duke 390
The guy who took a TD before me was simply revving it too much , guess this engine does not need to be revved, since I could do 40kmph in 4th without lugging the engine.
The engine was hot and I could feel the heat on my legs, probably not as much as on the Duke but definitely there.

Disliked:
I could go up the gears easily, but try as I might couldn't find the neutral till I came back, parked and switched off the engine. I've seen a lever to get to neutral on the older Enfields, guess that could have helped.
I didn't like the fact that the headlight does not move around with the handlebars and is fixed.
Finish - Some of the weld spots are downright ugly and you could cut your finger on the edge of the petrol tank facing the fork

Onroad price is Rs.1,76,xxx in Chennai which is about 50k down on the Duke 390, but power is also down by 20 horses

Very satisfied with the attention from the showroom, I had hardly crossed the threshold of the door when I got attended to , unlike at Bajaj where I had to remind the salesperson that I wanted a test ride of the RS200 ..thrice , before I walked out.

[Aniruthan]

Hello BHPians. Today test rode the Himalayan at the Greams Road showroom in Chennai. Here's what I have to say .

What's it about?
It's Royal Enfield's attempt at the Adventure bike segment.


Looks and Build Quality :The Royal Enfield Himalayan is being tagged as an adventure motorcycle and that's a new segment that Royal Enfield is venturing into. To be honest they have done a great job. The bike looks every bit like an adventure bike that likes to be ridden everywhere. The minimalist use of body panels gives it a simple clean look. The front of the bike with it's tall arch and high set headlights give it a tall bike look. The fuel tank design is neat and gives your thighs a good support as well. The rear with it's LED lights look minimalist and neat as well. The bike looks every bit like a proper adventure tourer. The speedo console of the bike is also very modern and consists of a speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, a compass and a trip computer. The build of the bike is surprisingly good for a Royal Enfield and quality all around is commendable. The matte finish paint that can be had in a shade of black or white are smacking as well. The switch gear also works and gives you a great feed back to your thumbs and the alloy levers are tastefully finished. As usual there are small Royal Enfield quirks as well. While fit is good the finish needs to be better. There are lots of weld marks at places and welding at places needs to be improved like the rear grab handles which are not flush finished. The gearshift indicator on the trip computer won't change even if I change two gears down and is on a mind of its own.


Engine and Gearbox :
The new 411 CC engine from Royal Enfield is a brand new engine for the Himalayan. First impressions are extremely positive. Fire up the motor and it settles into nice vibe free idle with decent speedy thumps. Nope the thumps which you get before is not present here. I shift the gear to first and release the clutch just to find that I have stalled it. Yes it doesn't pull as gusty like its counter parts. You need to give some gas and then you get going. As soon as you cross the 2000 rpm the bike gets into its stride and pulls smartly. Surprisingly it's a Royal Enfield that loves to be revved hard as well and it's a smooth engine with vibrations under control. Yes you read it right. Vibrations have been kept under control and the bike remains vibe free. Though find yourself under the 2000 rpm mark and you'll be forced to shift down a gear. Talking about the gearbox and the clutch, the clutch action is light and positive with good precision. The gearbox though is notchy and requires some effort to slot the gears.


How's it to ride? :
The riding position is very user friendly and the saddle height is set low even though it looks tall, So short riders no problem. Once you're on the saddle, it's spacious and has great cushioning as well. Sorry folks, can't comment much on the ride quality as I rode the bike on super smooth roads. Will be taking another Test ride in Madurai soon and will comment on that later, but for the facts it comes with a telescopic front suspension and monoshock rear suspension which is a first for a Royal Enfield. The handling on the bike felt neutral and safe. Though it's not an exciting bike that you'll love to push hard on your favourite winding road. Be gentle and it does a great job. You can feel the 182 kgs kerb weight when you push the bike hard on a corner. Stability is good thanks to the long wheel base and the on and off road tyres on the bike did a great job as well. The brakes are also great and did a commendable job. The bike also felt easy to ride in urban conditions but the rear view mirrors seriously needs to be changed. They hardly offer any view behind.

Buy one or not :
Royal Enfield has definitely done a great job on the Himalayan. Yes it looks attractive, has a good engine that performs nice on the open road, handles decently and is tagged as an adventure bike as well. You can even ride it in urban conditions or even ride it in the Himalayas. It's their best shot ever. True finish needs to be better and there are still Royal Enfield quirks present and the low end punch of the engine which is there in other Royal Enfields is surprisingly missing here. But these small quirks can be over come and at Rs. 1,76,000 On road Chennai this is one bike that can be used in the Urban conditions or to discover unknown places in The Himalayas. Well done Royal Enfield.

[anand.shankar]

I had the chance to swing my leg over the Himalayan today..

I am a ex CBR 250R user, sold it a while back looking to upgrade, few months later, I am still bike less and it is killing me.

Since I am 6.3 and weigh over a ton, I needed something that I dint dwarf. Zeroed in on the TB500 and DS a few times, but somehow wasn't able to finalize it. KTMs dint impress, the 390 Duke doesn't fit me. TD'ed RC390 its a pocket rocket for sure, but looks puny and weighs almost nothing. All that power, but hardly gives the rider any sense of security.
TD'ed the Versys on the Sales Reps insistence, boy oh boy, thats one gem of an engine, and the power delivery, so linear. The bike feels secure and inspires confidence. Well 7 big ones ought to get you something.

Since my budget is around 3L and my finances already has taken a dent with a Recent Punto Evo Purchase. Hence thought I try out the Himalayan.

So, after the lengthy prelude, here is my take on the youngest RE

1. Looks : Like many mentioned, it sure does look much better in real than in pictures. Looks utilitarian and purposeful, but appealing at the same time. Me and my wifey liked the way it looks (BTW, my wife is very finicky when it comes to bikes looks) I guess the general public will take notice to different looking machine, but they wont hate it.

P.S :I took the Versys and the Himalayan for TD on the same road, the Himalayan dint turn as many heads as the Versys did. We Indians are sure suckers for Imports


2. Ergo : Very important for me, lovely seat wide and accommodating, posture is good, wide handle bar is good to grip and make the handling super easy. Seating position is spot on as well, everything more or less falls into place effortlessly. Pillion seat has decent support and seating position as well. The backrest does rub your rear end at times.

3. Console and switch gear : Console is looks cool, but kinda cluttered. Was too fuzzy that I dint bother looking too much at it. The switch gear is decent, it functions as its supposed to. Dint bother much about the quality, looks fine anyways.

4. Suspension : Awesome! best for our so called roads. Not just potholes, even our tarred roads are marred with patchworks, undulations, cuts and creases. The Himalayan eats them all up without breaking a sweat.

5. Gearbox : Better than the usual REs but the specimen I got to Test had very hard shifts, but probably since its too new and roughly used. But the gears were slotting pretty well, I was able to find the neutral 3/4 times as well. On one sprint, tried quick shifting and paced through the gears, everything went on well.

6. Engine : Now the most important part, like many I too feel that the engine is a tad under-powered. I would have liked the CGT like grunt, I really wonder what stopped them from plonking the 535 or at least the 500 EFI. I wish they had given a 535 variant at least. But the Torque just makes pottering around easy.

7. NVH : The engine unlike many hear said wasn't harsh. Yes, it does sound a bit trashy when revved from Idle, once under a helmet nothing filtered through, though I tried hard to observe. Some clatter is present, but it did not translate to any vibrations and the power delivery was generally smooth. Feels much refined than any other bike from the RE Stables.

8. Fit & Finish : Looks fine, on the whole, but if you observe keenly you might find few flaws. For example, my not so keen observation was able to find out some loose plastic caps on the headlamp brackets. There still might be some falling pieces, but the good part is there are very few parts to fall off on this bike.

Will I buy it ? Yes, if I am not able to muster enough money in the next 3 months for a Versys. However, I will wait for the first lot to pass through, once there are a few T-Bhp reviews etc, will take a call. I wouldn't consider the bike as a super long distance tourer given the serious lack of outright power. But I find it to be a good city runabout, the one that you can trash around without caring about the terrain.

[airfoil]

Here are a few suggestions for the folks at RE, Mr. Lal I hope you are tuned in:

* Make your first owners your test riders and create a program.

* New Himalayan owners who want to participate should be engaged in the program.

* Form region-wise crack teams for say, the Eastern, Northern, Northeastern, Western, Southern and Central regions. There can be as little as two technicians in one team, all of whom will report in to one Project Manager who will coordinate the effort.

* Create and maintain a database of issues found with their solutions, that the crack teams will address as they tour their respective regions.

* Engage your new Himalayan customers and make them feel special with a weekly call at their convenience to allow them to report issues found and discuss any concerns.

* This effort will help new customers feel more secure in their purchase decision and will obviously promote goodwill for RE.

* All issues are to be fixed, no questions asked and all customers are to be called and informed of the free solution and be asked to bring their bikes in.

* This one is important: Allow your first customers access to future upgrades at a reasonable price as far as it is practical. For example, if you should decide to offer ABS on a future model then don't leave your early customers feeling cheated - offer them the opportunity to upgrade at a fair price.

[sanjbmw2001]

Originally Posted by airfoil

Here are a few suggestions for the folks at RE, Mr. Lal I hope you are tuned in:

These are some very valid points. To a large extent Mahindra is already doing this. Their customer focus and service has really surprised me. Even their R&D department gets involved to help resolve issues and take feedback.

[AMG_ang]

Here is my take!
Did a 10 kms test ride at HSR motors Banshankari, Bengaluru.
I currently own a 83 RE std and a 2013 Duke 390.
I plan to do Spiti with my wifey as a pillion, and the current 2 bikes I own do not cater for longish/harsh rides with a pillion.
The main need for me is pillion comfort and I was relieved to hear after the test ride that she can sit far better comfortably on the Himalayan.
Though i wanted to do a test ride and get to know how comfortable she would be after having all the panniers/saddle bags mounted is still a question.

My 2 cents apart from the pillion comfort:
Suspension: Well this is the best part of the bike as to how it glides over pot holes/craters in Bangalore

Brakes: The front bite comes in really late, have to get used to this behavior. I locked up the rear twice, the bite comes in really early as compared to the one on 390.

Chassis: Even though the bike weighs ~180kilos, its quite flickable in the city traffic.

Powertrain: The bike felt under powered, but the with the torque coming in early of the rev range, its quite easy to ride it slow without bothering to change gears frequently. Coming to the gearbox, i had no trouble slotting into the right gears including neutral.

Typical to RE the bike had lots of vibrations, and the sales guys told me that the series bikes should be better as the test ride bike had some 800kms on the odo and it was like 800 kms of complete abuse of the test bike.

I went ahead and booked the bike by paying INR 5k. 1.85 is the approx OTR in Bengaluru. Waiting time is said be 3 months.

Question: Did anyone on the form did a 2-up ride with panniers/saddle bags?

[Hammer & Anvil]

I spoke to a few friends working with the comapny -and they have done everything correctly and they have the 'bramha-astra'
"For this price KD, what will you get in the market. You cannot compare the features of a Tiger or a Versys to this bike KD, see the price difference KD"

There was no point in chasing them over the design issues- the poor engine power- oh whatever. I will be a brave RE loyalist- and I will buy and ride.

KD =

I just found humor on this thread. Thanks Gordon.

Originally Posted by Gordon

He probably meant spark plug.

HE probably needs a spanking.

[Gordon]

Test #2

I joined V12 and another friend who was interested in the Himalayan for a test. It was the same bike I had tested the last time around. We took the test as rider and pillion to have first hand information.

As a rider,

• Seat height good for my height (5'7"), my friends height (5'5") and V12 (around 6'?).
• The clatter was much lesser this time around.
• Seat is very comfortable. Yet, I am still skeptical on the seat cover quality. It seems vulnerable to tears. Time will tell.
• The front top tree coating seems like it will definitely wear off within a few months.
• Riding with a pillion does have a noticeable effect on the performance.
• Ride quality was very good, even with pillion.
• Lack of power was very very noticeable. You twist the throttle and the bike doesn't leap forward but gradually gains speed. Some may like this and some may not. Its not like a KTM390, Pulsar or RXZ that it will pounce when you want it to. Instead I feel sad for it, since all it makes is sound but you aren't getting anywhere much.
• The friend took it to a road under construction which had large uneven stones. He rode it for about 200 meters and was impressed with the ride quality. He says that he was in complete control sitting and standing.

As a pillion,

• The rear seat is comfortable. The only other bike in the current market at that price range are the other Enfields. Apart from the Enfields, NO OTHER bike provides comfort for rider and pillion so well.
• The fact that the seat is horizontal makes a huge difference. On other bikes, where the seat is at an angle its very very annoying, since you are constantly slipping or adjusting and the weight is on your toes and calves that are constantly trying to fight this battle.
• The rear guard provides some comfort as a back-rest and is reassuring.
• Getting on and off the bike is not so intimidating as a pillion.
• You don't tower over the rider as much as on the other bikes. Its still like the Bullets.

Other observations,

• The engine as such doesn't heat up much to complain. Its just the exhaust that heats up A LOT. You will normally find the excessive heat only on the right side. So shoes and jeans are a must.
• It seems that the hard aluminum panniers will cost about 30k with the mounts.

Is it worth it?

• To be very clear, I've never found Royal Enfield to be worth THAT much. But since there is no choice (until now with the UM Motorcycles as competition) and there is a legacy, appeal, nostalgia and comfort attached to these bikes - everyone is ready to pay for it. Including me.
• But if you compare this bike to the others, it does offer quite less in terms of quality, build and features. Simple example is the Pulsar. The extent of reliability, features, fit and finish, quality is still much better than a Royal Enfield. Of course, the Pulsar cannot do the circus stuff that the Himalayan does. Neither can the Himalayan do the stuff the Pulsar is capable of.
• I would say all of the Enfield range should actually be approx. Rs 30,000 lesser. Because if you are paying such a premium on a certain make's legacy blah blah, you definitely would expect great service, reliable parts, etc.

[The Great]

The initial lot might not get the main stand as standard nor as an option too.

Apparently during these test rides it has been found that the chain hits the main stand while doing the bad roads or off roads as such.

I am surprised that this was not checked during the initial company test phase. Anyhow the second major problem with this is; what if the rear tyre gets punctured (which it definitely will at some point of time with the tube type tyres).

There is this additional tension of the disc break too. So while its parked while the rear tyre is removed I am pretty confused how will it be standing on the side stand.

Source - Overdrive

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by The Great

The initial lot might not get the main stand as standard nor as an option too.

Apparently during these test rides it has been found that the chain hits the main stand while doing the bad roads or off roads as such.

Wow! What a miss. This might come back to bite RE in the REar

Besides punctures, a centre stand makes life much easier to service the chain, which for someone like me is a weekly affair. Bummer!

On the bright side though - the bike should be around 5 Kg lighter

[maker_of_things]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Wow! What a miss. This might come back to bite RE in the REar

Not a deal breaker though, as long as they offer it soon.

On the bright side though - the bike should be around 5 Kg lighter

Hahaha! True that!

I booked my Himalayan after a 7-8 km long test ride. Including some offroad stretches of around 500 metres or so. It handles beautifully. There's not much discomfort even if you're sitting on the seat at 50-60 kmph on a stony road.

Has enough torque to easily climb inclines of almost 30-35 degrees without losing breath, would have done more if there was more. Jumps well. Also, footpegs don't seem to break off in jumps even with my 90 kilo weight on it.

EFi would have made the throttle response a bit better, but unlike some people, I don't think it would have increased the horsepowers. I somehow prefer the carburetor as it will be easy to tune to my needs. And also, with EFi, there's this issue of adulterated fuel. My Classic 500 completely stopped twice over the last 3.5 years due to bad fuel.

As compared to the 500 classic, it is more calm and composed. Though it accelerates pretty quickly, but nothing like the acceleration those 44Nm of torque give in the Classic.

Coming to negatives, dash is good but clustered. The seat doesn't seem of have any cover over it (add aftermarket seat cover). Ruins the look, but will protect the seat when the society's pet cat unleashes her fury on the seats. This morning, she ruined the stock seat of my Classic. Unlike people saying more horsepower, I think a little more torque would be welcome.

That's pretty much what I think of the bike. And thus, the 3 month long wait begins.

[machinehead]

Im passionate about Royal Enfield as a motorcycle company, I do own a couple, although I have moved on to bigger brands and motorcycle now. But, with the launch of the Himalayan I felt compelled to pen down my views on this lovely site for the community at large. Team-BHP has been a very valuable source of information for me and its close to 10 years now of me being a silent spectator and a forum worm. A big Kudos to the moderators for doing an excellent job of it. Its not easy. I know.! I don't post much at all but here's an honest write up.

I had a short ride, but I think it was decent enough for me to observe things the way they are about the machine. Im not getting into looks etc. Much has been said. The purpose of this article is for one to decide if he is putting his pennies on something that he really wants or to him thinks it can deliver better than the rest.

My Initial impressions.

THE GOOD: Great balanced chassis, very stable because of its mass centralisation, superb suspension, tall gearing, Harris performance's genetics are showing, nice brakes surprisingly for an RE, good seating posture for a 6 footer. The bum will smile on the rough. Its all ends here.

THE BAD: And that's a big one. Somebody forgot about the engine..!!! The bike just lacks character.

Ok. Its functional in design but crude. Its modern, No issues with that. Its like a JCB, out there to do its job and nothing else. You will never stand to admire it. A smooth engine but somebody forgot to give it the beans. It feels like a pepped up avenger. So, you don’t actually feel like God. Beacuse the the Avenger does that better!

32NM of torque, you must be kidding..! for 2 up and luggage on a purpose built bike. Metal panniers et all. Ride the 390 Duke and see how that engine pulls. Ok. its a street fighter. But... Ride your very own 500 and see how that demolishes a 35 degree incline in 2nd gear. Come on RE! Up in the mountains at 12,000 feet that torque would come down to 25NM. An adventure bike needs torque to power you up an incline loaded, especially when there is no road. The RE 500 does better, the good old Yezdi does better. I had ridden the BMW F650GS for close to a full day almost 10 years ago and that bike stood out for me as one of the best adventure / tourer singles ever made. It was well balanced, pulled like a locomotive but never scary and butter smooth. You need to ride it to believe it. That bike is the bench mark and to say that the Himalayan is just over 200cc short, barely even making half the power is plain ridiculous.

Im surprised at this because Sid lal, has supposedly ridden the bike up in the mountains along with the the seasoned Harsh Mann Rai. I have mutual rider respect for HMR. Bumped into him a couple of times at Anthony’s workshop. What happened? Im surprised that they did not feel the need for more torque..! May be they rode without any luggage, with a back up vehicle. or Is it only me..???

Here’s what I think too and they said it as well but don't know what it mean't. The test riders and engineers played it safe. Really safe and are targeting newbie adventure riders not mid level or seasoned adventure riders. Its a huge missed opportunity.

Here’s why? They felt they should not encroach on the triumph Tiger’s market may be and hence decided that these specs were enough. They want adventure riders to spend 13 lakhs and more to have a wholesome experience. With such a brilliant chassis the bike begs for more power / torque from that engine. Its just too insipid. Period!

You can just ride it fine up a mountain but so can a Bajaj Chetak. But it can’t scurry up like a mountain goat on a trail. Where’s the fun.????. On the highway, Full loaded you can barley cruise at 80kms an hour. Im 85 kilos add in another 50kgs for a pillion at least, along with 30 kilos of luggage for 2 people and fuel and you 175 kilos approx on the bike and are bogged down. Overtaking can be a problem on the highway with this bike, because of the lack of torque, unlike the RE500 where, when you whack the throttle at 80km/hr it pulls nicely to 100kms making it a nice quick pass. It complains though with crazy vibes all over but does the job. Its a an old design so let it be..!

Im a film maker and I found this a little funny, Even the rider in their commercial on their website does not look worn from a mountain trip, he looks like he got out of the vanity van for the shot. If you’ve ridden for a week either in Ladhak, Spiti, Kaza, Bhutan or anywhere above 10,000 feet you end up looking like half an ape..!

Would it sell? Would I buy it?
No. I don’t think it will sell in expected numbers, because its neither here nor there. Its not an upgrade and neitheris it the ‘other bike’ i want to own..! It totally lacks aspiration because it lacks character.
What the marketing guys at RE forgot about is that the target market of buyers they want to woo don’t have multiple bikes for multiple purposes. Unless things have changed, that I dont know about.

But an upgrade for these guys would mean a Harley, Triumph, kawasaki, KTM or Honda. They buy a bike that is an all rounder which the Himalayan clearly is’nt. The Bullet 350 or 500 is precisely that.

For the lack of competition at this price point, If I decide to buy it, just to ride in the rough, I may end up trying to extract a few more ounces of Torque from that engine if possible, to make it chassis worthy. Spending weeks with Anthony again..! I hope RE comes up with some performance mods like a re-jet kit or high lift cams or a big bore mod or something something like that or a more powerful FI version soon with proper calibrated fuelling to do justice to that chassis. Please RE don't short change your customers, cmon!

Ok. But All is not lost, what RE have done which is commendable is open up a new segment in the market, something the Impulse and the 2 stroke Bajaj kawasaki Enduro of yester year could not do, Remember that ?? full of plastic.! People have noticed and may be now the competition will wake up if it looks a little promising to cater to this segment. It gives RE an image upgrade, slowly changing the perception of the company in consumer’s minds that they are out there to make reliable and modern motorcycles besides just old classics. The Triumph Motorcycle company model. We sell everything...! Classics, streets, adventure and cruisers. That they are an Indian International company. Its a valiant effort.

My perfect Himalyan would be to plonk the 535 Continental mill with a counter balancer shaft, so that i just have my assets in place after a ride, in that stable Harris performance balanced chassis of the Himalayan and ride it anywhere, literally anywhere I want to go. The bike is capable of that. That would be the motorcycle to ride into the Mighty Himalayas. May be even do the Raid-de-Himalaya!!

And I forgot to mention, its built solid ! yes, Like a Gun..!

Peace!


don't thrash me. I can take genuine flak admirably but will defend my turf as well if needed. I am an experienced mile muncher without the travelogues to prove it, just the pictures and memories. Writing this article was a Herculean task for me as I am a one finger typist and hate it. These are purely my personal views and dont intend to take things personal with anyone..!

[maker_of_things]

Originally Posted by machinehead

My Initial impressions.

THE GOOD: Great balanced chassis, very stable because of its mass centralisation, superb suspension, tall gearing, Harris performance's genetics are showing, nice brakes surprisingly for an RE, good seating posture for a 6 footer. The bum will smile on the rough. Its all ends here.

THE BAD: And that's a big one. Somebody forgot about the engine..!!! The bike just lacks character.

32NM of torque, you must be kidding..!

I completely agree. When this bike was launched, I was disappointed with the torque figure. But the bike does what it's supposed to do, and it does it beautifully!

Where it scores lower than the 500 UCE on torque figures, it does make up in the handling and suspension department. Personally, I'd rather not have back pains due to bad roads and unsuitable suspension (Classic 500/TB 500). And that's something this bike won't give.

All in all, I think it's a step in the right direction by RE. Can't wait to see the what they come up with in the coming years.

[sathya.bhat]

Delhiites rejoice. 😊

This tweet was retweeted by Sidarth lal himself. More details about the same is awaited.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

Delhiites rejoice. 😊
Attachment 1491991
This tweet was retweeted by Sidarth lal himself. More details about the same is awaited.

How did they pull it off??