[joybird]

Originally Posted by beyboo

I have been watching and reading a lot on the Himalayan here and on Youtube. While there are issues, most of them are either proactively solved by RE during service visits or when complaints received by RE. I have come to accept one aspect that RE is unique and has a certain character to its bikes, quality and support. I guess a Honda or Bajaj would do much better than RE for the money we pay, but that's the nature of RE. I am leaning towards the Himalayan better due to the fact that its a purpose built bike.

Hey Beyboo

I would say go for it. Iam 76 born and didn't ride after school/ college days when I joined the navy. Later 4 wheels and SUVs took over untill the RE 500 DS was born. Iam married and the idea of buying a motorcycle was not taken well at home so I postponed it. Later I came across a chrome 500 with 2200kms on the odo. No one normally buys 500 due to low fuel mileage for daily use, the 350 is preferred. So I took it and started doing small city trips on it.

This was in 2012, almost after 16 years of riding a bike. Few soar limbs, bad back and then I had a fall when I hit a padestrain trying to cross the road but wasnt sure to cross or not. The helmet saved the day. It was due to the locking of the front wheels. The injuries weren't deep or serious but I did suffer mentally as my 3 yrs old son was riding with me. The crash guard saved him too as he found the spot between the guard and the bike.

Later when we both recovered it made me think hard. I thought of upgrading to a premium bike with ABS and safety features and went looking for HDs.
That time a friend advised to go for liquid cooled engines if going to buy anything above 1Ltr engine. This is due to the heat which these bikes throw. That's the time when Triumph opened in Chandigarh.
Finally after 10 months of decision making got the Triumph Rocket III home in 2015. It's a massive bike which demands respect and surely I ride it with great care. Completed approx 8000kms on it with rides to Manali, Jammu etc without any issues or incidents.
I feel around 40 the maturity which takes over speaks volumes about riding style. Now I have my eyes on a adventure bike since last year in summer I did Leh on the Himalayan.

So again I will suggest go for it. Check the reviews, see the bike and if required buy a nice clean second hand first just to know if you will like to keep it forever. Get into the saddle and get use to the traffic in your place. Later all going well upgrade.
Cheers

[grplr02]

I'm gonna echo what most people have already said - just GO FOR IT!!! I too am a 1972-born. I used to ride in high-school and college days, a Yamaha RX100 to start things off, then a beat-up old Enfield 350cc Bullet in college in Delhi. Then I moved overseas for further studies, worked and lived in the West for way too long, all this time without riding a bike, although each summer I'd say that next year I'll surely get a bike, never happened. Then I moved back this side of the world, and things just aligned themselves around 5 years ago and got myself an RE Electra 350cc, was soon enjoying riding again. A succession of bikes then followed, joined a biking club, as well as did several long tours - Ladakh, Himachal, Bhutan (several times as I live here!), Northeast, etc. Even though lately I've been bogged down with work, I'm looking forward to more long tours in the months ahead. A Royal Enfield will be just fine for you to get started on - I don't have much experience with the Himalayan, having just ridden it for short stints, but have ridden the Classic and the Bullet 500 for long trips, and they're fine for what they are - classic, retro bikes with enough muscle that you can enjoy for short commutes or long tours, all the time looking good while doing it. Also, as some have remarked - being on the physically fit side of things helps matters too.