[ku69rd]

A write up of my budding experience with yet another mindless acquisition in my motorcycling life. It all began when I was browsing the net on a lazy Sunday noon and ogling on the Kawasaki KLR 650. Life can become very interesting if all our "if's and But's" become a reality. Riding the Kawasaki KLR 650 on the Patagonia circuit coupled with the Bolivia Death Road will be the best thing an adventure motorcyclist can ever think of. If you been following my journey on motorcycles, initially started off with my Yamaha RD 350 briefly dabbled with the might Yamaha FZ-1 post which TB 500 happened. It’s a shame that I could not write a thread on my fantastic experience with TB 500. The reliability was amazing, that machine did the Thimpu to Bangalore without a hitch. It did show a big heart to bear all that I could throw at it and never complained. All that gave up in my 3+ years of ownership was a clutch cable, left rear view mirror that could not bear the cold n altitude somewhere near Gurudongmar lake, rear tire, Chain Sprocket kit and 2 punctures. The bike was well built but came with its own limitation in terms of handling, poor rear suspension. I was blown away from misconceptions of RE making leaky, vibrating machines after my experience with TB. Never did it leak but there was oil sweating marks at the tappet cover. She is now serving a close friend of mine who picked it when I expressed the intent of sale. All the accessories like the charger/holder/seaty/WB Silencer went with the bike.

Getting into the present, Kawasaki for some God Damn reason will not be launching their KLR 650 and usual Naatakbaazi surrounding the KTM 390 Adventure or their 690. Tiger was beyond my reach and somewhere down the line I don’t think it’s very comfortable playing around with a 220 kilo monster in slimy conditions as one fall is all it would take for you to get grounded. Probably an apple fell on Mr Lal's head and RE was making some ambitious plans with their Himalayan. Very soon I was into 'googling' information around the Himalayan. In-between the Mojo was launched and it did appeal to my head but heart was still with Himalayan especially after seeing it with metal panniers and fuel cells.

In between all of these, RE launched their motorcycle for all obvious reasons before March 31st. Booking was done on the very first day without even a test ride. However HSR Services were kind enough to keep me posted on the day when it was given for public trials. Knowing the Indian mentality when it comes to joy rides went early in the morning to experience before it got mobbed. People were complaining about hard gear shifts, false neutrals, mysterious pop sounds from the exhaust, rattle from the engine chamber but none the less I Walked away a satisfied man after the trial. Eagerly waiting for the deliveries to happen as I knew they were all basic chinks which could be sorted out over a period of time. The only thing yet to experience is the true blown full speed of 139 KMPH that the company folks claim as the top end to be.

HSR Services was the place where I had bought my TB500 earlier and to be honest they do a good job. They are quite proactive in sharing information; sales team is very competent with no false promises. They have a fantastic customer centric approach and coupled with their positive attitude are a good bunch of people to interact. For an average customer I suppose that's what matters. They gave me a call when the initial lot of Granite Himalayas was received by them. Having seen the Himalayan Snow, held back for it to arrive based on which I could decide. After seeing the Himalayan Snow, I must admit it has a better road presence but the matt finish makes it very hard to maintain. 30th of April made the payment and when I was about to step out of the showroom, I get a glimpse of her.



Was fully confident that the bike would be delivered on the May 2nd, not that the day was of great consequence but I aged a bit more closer to the YAH group As usual restlessness crept in by late noon with minutes turning into lengthy hours in spite of caffeine & nicotine. Finally gave up and started to the showroom by 430 itself so that I could drool over the bike whilst they ready it up with PDI and the other customary processes. But surprise surprise, they had a cake for me with the whole bunch singing HBD…Not sure if they do it for every other customer but they did make me feel wanted J The sales guy explained the features but I was quite numb to whatever he was saying. All that I was gazing was at the keys in his hand and when would he hand it over to me so that I could ride off. He was just blabbering around the controls when in the corner of my mind I was like...Should I whack this guy unconscious and run away with the motorcycle?

Finally better sense prevailed and he stopped whilst giving me the keys. All that I asked was the rev limit during the run-in and he answered it at 3000 Revs. Noticed that the fuel trip was blinking when I thumbed the starter to get her into life and wifey getting astride the pillion seat I made my way to the Petrol Bunk at RV road to fill her. A good 14 liters of petrol went into that tank before we stopped at the Ganesha temple, Jayanagar 4th Block to seek the blessing of Ganesha. Lemons crushed, Bike Garlanded with heavy turmeric/kumkum on the tank went to NMH Hotel to eat those lovely Masala Dosas. After dropping wife to car park, it was my time to be finally with her alone. What a ride it was back home, we went over the road humps together, over the broken tarmac with me standing on those pegs, broken pavement...it took all with aplomb with no signs of complaining. The chassis is simply brilliant with low speed balance, carving through corners or flicking in the traffic I must admit one of the best I have ridden. Engine makes oodles of torque post the 2500 mark but I had to cut off at the 3000 mark before up-shifting. All in all the 12 km ride back home became a good 40 km with me never wanting to get off the bike. I must admit that the grin it gave me the other day was much better than many good things life has given me.

A few photos after my boring write-up...




Yes she is white, we Indians have a fancy for anything that is fair/white (remember the fair n lovely ad)





Now the comparo which am sure many people will be waiting for...Vis-a-vis my TB500 & my other rides

Seating & Riding Posture: TB500 is a comfortable bike to be seated on. It's shape is well contoured and does support your buttocks well. The problem would be the back comfort coupled with its poor rear suspension does not make a good companion. Himalayan so far seems to be good enough. Has a fairly upright seating posture with sufficient cushions to keep your buttocks happy and with fantastic suspension its a breeze to ride. So far in poor/crawling traffic it has held itself very well. Probably I have to do a Thimpu-Bangalore ride to be fully qualified to make the comment that Himalayan seating & riding posture is very good compared to TB500.

The tall seating posture gives one a commanding look of the traffic which will help in deciding you the way you want to make out of the traffic maze.
Levers are quite comfortable to latch on to, same part as what can be seen on the TB500. Foot pedals are comfortable on both bikes and I would leave it at one's judgment to decide which one is good/better both aesthetically and functionally. Have to appreciate the engineering done by RE where the front seat is actually held in place by the rear seat. Rear Pillion I need to give to Himalayan for making a better package as the appreciation came from nobody else than 'Missus'.

Suspension & Ride Quality: Must admit that Front and rear suspension are really fantastic stuff. However the Mojo front suspension still stays fresh in my mind. The Himalayan Front suspension is conventional setup and with 600 kms on my ODO it has served me well. It has gone through a lot of road humps without me slowing down, broken pavements which one experiences in Bangalore frequently very easily. With my limited exposure I can say that the TB500 suspension is light years behind. First n foremost, it sinks on account of its own body weight which means very less travel than what is mentioned in the owner's manual. The rear suspension on Himalayan is again leagues ahead of TB500. The TB500 had poor ride quality courtesy its poor rear suspension which had a tendency to bottom out at every possible instance. However the Himalayan is waiting for one more final test when I can say with conviction that it’s amongst the best. (Old timers of Bangalore will appreciate the long sweeping left curve followed by another acute left on the old airport after the commando hospital towards airport). For my limited exposure, I would rate the ride quality as one of the best in the sub 200K market.



The Rubber gaiters look cool but need to check on their quality after a couple of seasons through rain n shine.



Rear Mono-Shock Suspension, a first for a bike from RE Stable.

Electricals: Bike has fairly decent electrical and wiring work done. Headlight is very positive considering the tall posture it has been fitted at. It’s a fixed headlight and does not move around with the handlebar. Do not see much of a difference between the fixed or moving headlight as am no longer young in search of women's hostel. Rear lights - well who cares if they are bright or not so bright, as long as they are visible to my fellow riders/drivers means it is doing the job well. Indicators are however sore, how on earth RE can think of such poor stalks? I like those good Old RX 100 indicators the ones that came with rubber stalks. On a bike like this, they would have been a blessing in disguise considering their capability to withstand bike falls and come out unscathed.



The stubborn stalks on the RE.

Engine: The engine on my Himalayan still needs to be broken in fully. However it reminds me of the good ol Fiero. The engine characteristics with its strong mid range, Pop Sound, Oodles of torque from 2500 onwards, engine clatter reminds me exactly of the Fiero. The mileage so far has been good with an approx 30-32 KMPL but a few more hundreds and I can confidently mention it. Engine does have a tendency to heat up (considering that this is RE) but not close to the duke types. It has been manageable so far but the silencer needs to be taken care of so that I do not have lil kids touch it to experience what heat actually means. The Vibrations when compared to TB500 are minimal but what I miss the most in my TB is the torque at lower revs which the Himalayan just does not make. It has to go a gear lower to move ahead without the engine knocking. Engine braking is decent enough and tapping a gear down brings the machine under control very easily.

An observation that I feel should be sharing is my experience with 2-up riding. The engine was fantastic hauling up 165 Kilos of weight with no fuss. The LET was simply amazing and there were no unnecessary gear changes that I had to do. So a quick calculation revealed that I can load the bike with 25-30 kilos of luggage incase my wifey also decides to join me for a ride. That makes me a happy man.



Looks very neat don’t you think so?(The Image was taken from RE Website)

Chassis: After riding the Continental GT, I was not surprised with the efforts they have put on making this chassis. Is it a direct relation to RE buying out Harris performance, I really do not care. All that matters to me is...it handles very well. There is no flex so far that I used to experience in TB500 and I strongly believe that this chassis can handle more engine power. Very neutral setup I must say but that welds could have been improved. But at 184760 is it prudent to expect a finish similar to Triumph Bonneville? Cables are quite neatly tucked into position along the stays provisioned on the chassis. I can probably route a spare clutch cable as there seems to be quite some space. There seems to be no marked difference in the quality of cables used on this when compared to the TB500/Continental GT. RE recommends that all cables be replaced once in 10K kms. But let the moment come and I shall take a call based on the condition. Handling of the chassis with 2-up riding was indeed very good. The bike showed no hesitation in taking U-Turns or sudden changes even with a passenger. Quite unlike the TB where the bike would be a jittery changing directions. Only crib point is that the rear pegs are a bit close which means that chances of legs fouling with each other is high.

Tires: Ceat seems to have hit a purple patch with the tread pattern as they are well balanced between road & off roads. RE recommends 32PSI for the rear which I understand is due to the tread pattern. Suppose it might get very bumpy with anything more than the recommended one. My TB500 was shod with Ceat Vertigo Sports which was a very god tire but came with poor life. Braking so far has not been an issue and the tire has not locked up even during a couple of stress braking.

Brakes: Enough and more has been said about the brakes but yes they do the job well. For some reason I find the rear a bit sharper than the front. Life of the brake pads needs to be checked, My TB 500 had a change of front pads only once and the rear never got changed.

Instrument Panel: The panel is brighter than the TB500. Somehow they have complicated the Trip meter by providing a trip meter F. What was the need for RE to provide this feature in a carb machine? When you have the good old petrol tap which lets you choose reserve when petrol goes level, what’s the use of the Trip meter F? Is it for being extra cautious? Wasted feature at least for now but will be helpful when they launch it in Fuel Injection Avatar. They could also look at ABS Feature with an off/on switch. Fuel meter seems to be accurate so far. Hopefully it will not go TB way where I did not have a working Fuel Gauge but relied more on the Odometer to make the decision when to fill in next. But what the hell, I have a petrol tap to know when it’s hitting reserve. So is the fuel gauge another wasted opportunity where they could have instead provided a USB Charging point? Gear Indicator has a bit of lag but then it does not matter to me as the RD never came with one in-spite of having 6 gears. Compass works really well and I have tested that many a times. But sorry am not being a Vasco Da Gama to discovery new places as they are all done by our forefathers now. Somehow I feel for an adventure bike, they should have slotted in 2 USB Ports for charging and a GPS mount if not Garmin or Map My India.



Why Zero? Why not N…Is it because we Indians gave the world a Zero?

Probably over the next few years they might come around with one. Overall the bike definitely feels better VFM notwithstanding the 88 CC lesser output. It might not massage people's ego when they say it more as a 400 when compared to the TB500 but it’s for sure a better performer. The ability to carry speeds through the corners is much better than the Tb500. Handles the bad roads much better than TB500, giving my back lot of respite. Am not making any comment on the top end it can reach for the simple reason that am still running in the bike and intend to do it till I reach a good 2500 km mark. What I miss is the ready torque on demand and the ability to cruise without downshifting from the TB500 when compared to Himalayan.

Am not commenting on the need to change clutch plates every once in 15K as I will ascertain at that point if it really needs to be changed or not. As of now am enjoying the ride on it and brings a wide grin on my face which is all that matters. It has a very minimalistic setup and looks very bare bone. Since it is from RE am hoping that it will be light on pocket for any sundry damages. Time will answer many of my questions.

Thanks for joining me so far and feel free to pose any questions.



That’s my friend posing with it

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

A write up of my budding experience with yet another mindless acquisition in my motorcycling life.

Awesome!! Congrats Mahesh!! Good initial report. Waiting to read the comparo since you have owned a different variety of bikes in the past!

Originally Posted by ku69rd

The reliability was amazing, that machine did the Thimpu to Bangalore without a hitch.

While your erstwhile Thunderbird 500 is a true Himalayan, I do hope that your new Himalayan would take you to the other adventurous places in the Himalayas. Official congratulations and best wishes, ku69rd.

[arulpeem]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

A write up of my budding experience with yet another mindless acquisition in my motorcycling life. It all began when I was browsing the net on a lazy Sunday noon and ogling on the Kawasaki KLR 650.

Hi Congratulations on your new acquisition and welcome to the club. You are bound to enjoy it and welcome to the club. I got my snow white on 29th evening in Chennai and have clocked about 700Km till date. Have a safe ride. Thanks for the good write up. I have been away the last two weekends and I hope to add my ownership thread soon

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorcycle Section. Thanks for sharing!

[(Alok)]

Congratulations KU69. I think you are your RE himalayan is first on Team-bhp.
Do you have the original brochure issued by RE for Himalayan? If you have please upload scan copies.


What is this? is it possible to remove it?

[navin_v8]

Mahesh mate first of all congratulations. I was looking up to this thread and your short review didn't disappoint me. Coming from a Tbird500 your experience about comparing it with the Himalayan is what I was looking forward to. Like you I too have been waiting for time immemorial for Kawasaki to launch their legendary KLR650 in India but they don't seem to share our enthusiasm I guess. Maybe because many people(who do cross shopping just based on the price) will frown at it saying it is just a single cylinder, makes just 37 odd BHP and looks quirky without even knowing the history and purpose behind the motorcycle. It is good that RE took the plunge and offered the ADV Tourer category with an "affordable" option.

I would like to know about the headlight intensity and throw of the Himalayan vis a vis Tbird500? Also the reports about centre stand messing with the chain. Did you experience it as yet as I did not experience any such issue during the test ride.

Ride Hard and Ride Safe.

Originally Posted by (Alok)

What is this? is it possible to remove it?

Alok mate that is what is called a raised mudguard or beak in ADV Tourer parlance. You will find this beak on almost every ADV Tourer. I have explained its need and function on the RE Himalayan Test Ride thread.

It can be removed but it is there for a purpose. Refer to my posts RE Himalayan Test Ride thread.

PS Mods sorry for creating back to back posts kindly merge.

[Viju]

Congrats Mahesh! Ride safe! Good to see your motorcycling journey taking shape through a wide variety of machines! Hope to see regular updates and a detailed ownership thread. Good luck!

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by (Alok)

Attachment 1508279
What is this? is it possible to remove it?

That is the Himalayan badge stickering that runs over the tank as well.

[The Brutailer]

Crisp review. Congratulations on the purchase. Demands to be Leh'd.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Official congratulations and best wishes, ku69rd.

Thanks Chief, am hoping the same from the machine. Currently its doing service of ferrying me from home to workplace to home and am enjoying it. Riding it in traffic is very easy because of the light handling efforts needed.
The tall seating ensures that you get a good eye on the traffic maze

Originally Posted by arulpeem

Thanks for the good write up. I have been away the last two weekends and I hope to add my ownership thread soon

Congratulations Arul and a welcome to you as well to the club. Would be looking forward for your share of events with the Himalaya

Originally Posted by (Alok)

Congratulations KU69. I think you are your RE himalayan is first on Team-bhp.
Do you have the original brochure issued by RE for Himalayan? If you have please upload scan copies.

Attachment 1508279
What is this? is it possible to remove it?

Hi Alok,
Thanks for your kind words, Will surely scan and upload them in a PDF Booklet format. Looks like RE Website still have not uploaded it.

Regarding the Sticker, I don't think I will do anything with it as of now.

Originally Posted by navin_v8

I would like to know about the headlight intensity and throw of the Himalayan vis a vis Tbird500? Also the reports about centre stand messing with the chain.

Hi Navin,
KLR is my dream machine, with that huge 27 liter tank, simple Carb...but I know we Indians are like...why no ABS, why no FI, why no maps
Missed that point from the comparo, yes the Himalayan intensity is higher than the TB. Throw is much better since its a bit tall in position when compared to TB. Overall yes they are very good. Will try to take photos of both together one of these days and post it here.

Center stand is a breeze to operate and minimal effort needed to haul the bike on it and dislodge it as well. No it does not foul with any other part of the bike. From my experience, I think it will be a tough to handle during some off-roading since it comes with 2 springs. My Common Sense says its better to tie a plastic tie strap during those rides instead of relying on the springs.

Hi Viju,
Looks like I missed hitting the quote button on your reply.

For some reason, am no longer ticked by the speed only requirement. Possibly over the years of riding I have realized that there is more fun than those early morning CCD rides. The ability to go anywhere is what ticks me on these days. Taking the roads less traveled instead of those 4 laners...you know what I mean?

[abhishek46]

Thanks for putting up the first ownership and detailed review of the Himalayan!

Yesterday, i was riding next to a Himalayan in traffic, and I have to admit that the exhaust note is just too good. Just the right amount of loudness, with a tight, crisp, bassy tone.

[adneeraj]

Congratulations on your new ride!
The bike looks great in white indeed. I was myself contemplating getting myself a TB500 when this came in. Will wait for your further posts and then decide..
Happy riding :-)

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Center stand is a breeze to operate and minimal effort needed to haul the bike on it and dislodge it as well. No it does not foul with any other part of the bike. From my experience, I think it will be a tough to handle during some off-roading since it comes with 2 springs. My Common Sense says its better to tie a plastic tie strap during those rides instead of relying on the springs.

Nice to know that mate. The double spring does its job well from my experience of having it on my AVL Tbird 350 which has seen its fair share of offroading other than my Tbird500 which too sports a double spring. The single spring on my Standard CI's however makes the centre stand drop if go over a pothole or while offroading at moderate speeds. I don't think the centre stand would drop unless one makes the motorcycle jump like CS Santosh.

[shelleve]

Congratulations on your purchase, I got mine around 2nd week of April and since then have been enjoying owning one -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-4o4sLyMu8