[KarthikK]

Bikes exist in a plethora of genres for riders to explore and enjoy riding to destinations with.





If we don’t know what we want from the bike, it is easy to subconsciously slip into a race to get the fastest, best looking, biggest or most exciting option our budget can afford.





There is always something better than what we have, and before one realises, one upgrade leads to another.





But the wild goose chase towards happiness doesn’t always end with the most expensive or fancy toy one can buy in that genre.





Most of the times, even if we manage to buy the most expensive toy we desired for, damage expenses and service support fears hold us back from being truly carefree with that expensive toy





And so we may end up with something with too many abilities, but not using many of those abilities





If we take a step back and look at the bigger picture, Travelling and having fun aren’t always about speed or performance.





It is also about creating magical memories, memories that will outlive the vehicle as well.





Somewhere down the line, we forget the child in us who used to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.





We tend to forget happiness in touring is not about merely about the vehicle, but also about exploring nature





We’ve been told for ages that bad roads almost always lead to great destinations





While it is important to enjoy the journey to the destination....





It is also important to realize that sometimes, the destination matters more than the journey





And sometimes the journey and the destination together matter more than the vehicle





There are many magical journeys and dream roadtrip destinations that you might have put off because your vehicle couldn’t make it there





Sure, I could do all this with a proper 4x4





But there are always places that are only reachable on two wheels than four!





And while at it, I’d rather not do it alone. I’d like to have my better half to share the experiences with.





And so, I don't need to spend too much money, I don’t need too much power or too many electronics, I’d prefer to blend in with the crowd with a simple, common, inexpensive machine, trusting it to take me places without any fuss.





Even if the inevitable happens, it can be fixed easily even in the remotest of places





That is when I truly can be carefree and unleash those wandering spirits...




with my 2020 Royal Enfield Himalayan

[KarthikK]

Index of contents

A quick summary and listing of the contents of this ownership review, divided section-wise for the convenience of readers.




Pros and Cons in a nutshell


The Need For Bike #3


Why a Himalayan? What else did I consider?


Booking and Purchase experience at RE Brand Store, Jayanagar (Bangalore)


A Complete review of the Himalayan including and not limited to:

What did the BS 6 version bring in?

Styling and Design

Build Quality, Paint Quality and Decals

Engine Characteristics and Performance

Dynamics and Safety

Ergonomics and Rider Controls

Ergonomics and Rider Controls (Part 2)

Offroading with the Himalayan

Electronics and Instrument Console


Accessories


Accessories (Part-2 - Panniers)


Riding Gear


After Sales Service Experience


I hope you have as much fun reading this compilation as I had in putting down all my observations and experiences here

[KarthikK]

Pros and Cons in a nutshell




What I Liked:

• This is a simple bike with well sorted fundamentals at its core - The low end torque is very good, the power delivery is linear through the rev range, the engine and gearbox tuning are very neutral and no-nonsense, the tank range and FE allow long touring range, and the build quality is satisfactorily rugged to be able to withstand some serious bashing.

• It is a very capable offroader - The 21” wheels, the long travel suspension, the more-than-sufficiently high ground clearance with the OE bash plate and the stellar build quality coupled with OE crash protection means you can tour carefree and make your own roads to the remotest destinations you wish to explore, without worrying about the bike being able to make it.

• A++ ergonomics for rider and pillion both, coupled with the excellent ride quality and a plethora of luggage support options make it very touring friendly over long durations and distances. Needless to add, it is a true 2-up, go-anywhere vehicle as its name suggests.

• The BS6 iteration of the Himalayan has fixed some of the older engine refinement and NVH level and some more finer aspects, making one feel this is what should have been the Himalayan from Day 1! The current avatar is quite refined and the NVH levels are well controlled now, many niggles have been solved. The BS6 avatar also improvised on certain nitty gritties - it now gets switchable ABS (rear wheel), better feedback from the brakes, a re-worked side stand, a dedicated hazard lights switch and some new paint schemes.

• Although this bike can be a pretty basic, utilitarian adventure tourer, the Instrument Console has a plethora of information which can be pretty nifty for touring - a gear indicator, outside temperature gauge, a dedicated ‘fuel reserve’ tripmeter, service reminders, a clock and even a digital compass! Even its elder (more expensive) siblings the 650 twins don’t get any of these ‘gizmos’!

• With Royal Enfield’s widespread service network support, cheap and infrequent service intervals and always-available spares, one can truly afford to be carefree and tour / go trail-bashing anywhere and everywhere without worrying about service costs and damage repair bills / delays.

• There is abundant support for aftermarket accessories to address just about every need or want, to improvise on any aspect of the bike and beyond, be it ergonomics, luggage options, exhausts, electronics or anything else. This can be attributed to the fact that this bike became so successful and popular both in India and the west, and the bike by itself is also inherently simple in nature and very mod-friendly.

What I didn't like:

• While this bike can comfortably cruise at speeds of 80-100 kmph all day long, there is a clear lack of outright high end grunt beyond that zone, and it tapers off beyond ~120 kmph. The Himalayan prefers a lower (speed) comfort zone, and will make its displeasure apparent when one tries to push it beyond its comfort zone on the open roads.

• Outdated and useless halogen headlamp takes away some of the touring fun in the dark. In this day and age, they should have provided more functional LED or projector headlamps to improve night visibility, especially since this bike is projected to be an out-and-out tourer. Aux lights or headlight upgrade (or both) are a must!

• While I am all praise for its all round dynamics on the road and off it, Braking isn’t one of its strongest points. RE claims to have improved the braking on the BS6 model, but I still find the front brake to be a tad bit on the spongier side and would have preferred more bite as well. The rear brake works just as it should though!

• Engine heat is noticeable at city speeds. The engine tends to run surprisingly warm and while it may not be as bad as some of the bigger bikes or even the ktm 390s, it is still noticeable when one encounters traffic. Surprisingly the bigger sibling twin cylinder 650 at home, hardly exhibits any heat even in the worst of traffic jams and the 411cc Himalayan runs much hotter!

• Tipping the scales at 199 kg, this bike isn’t exactly the lightest or most nimble bike out there if you want to confidently thrash or flick it around like you would an Xpulse for example. The Himayalan’s weight will make its presence felt even when riding in the city or when parking / crawling / attempting tight turns.

• The fit and finish levels on the Himalayan leave a lot to be desired. There are a few glaring panel gaps, exposed weld joints and crude bits and pieces which are eye sores, the instrument console fogs up easily for instance, and these aren’t one-off cases with the Himalayan - pretty much every Himalayan rolling out of their factories has these crude imperfections which ought to have been resolved by RE.

• The clutch is on the heavier side and while the gear shifts are precise, they are clunky and hard. I am not a fan of the crude gearshift ergonomics on this bike and it could have been much nicer. But for this and the engine heat factors together ruining the party, the Himalayan could have otherwise been a fantastic city commuter with stellar ergonomics.

[KarthikK]

The Need for Bike #3

Every purchase begins with a need, or a want. Maybe this was not a need anymore but a want instead. The purpose that I had in mind was something which perhaps I might have managed to tick off with some other vehicle in the garage, yet there was something incomplete. I didn’t want to ‘manage’ but wanted something to properly fix a gap, something which would enhance the way we travel. There were some carefree rides and trips we were doing with the old Karizma, and after its retirement and subsequent departure, I had started to miss those carefree touring aspects of it.

I have always been a sucker for a purpose based garage and having individual vehicles for specific purposes of usage. We do travel a lot, almost every weekend of the 52 we are blessed with in a year, at least up until the pandemic struck earlier this year. In the bike garage, I had a combination of a fast sport tourer - the Ninja 1000, the Interceptor fulfilled the multipurpose beater bike role, and the Karizma, being the oldest and simplest in the garage, after retiring it from commuting duty we would use for carefree trips to remote areas where the journey or destination mattered more than the ride. The Karizma was approaching its sunset and I got rid of it due to issues with its age, frequent maintenance, availability of parts and lack of safety equipment among many more problems in retaining it. It was also low on power and wasn’t absolutely rugged as such (although we did use it that way) to bash around on non-existent routes and trails.

And that brought me to the unique problem now after the Karizma went away. The Ninja is a fantastic 2-up tourer, but it is not capable of handling bad roads or harsh terrain. We don’t like too much attention in remote areas and stuff either, and a litre class bike gives us a ton of that. A combination of these restrictions start limiting the touring to places with good approach roads. Nothing wrong with that, we still do those high speed blasts to nice (motorable) destinations as well. There is no denying though, that trips with the ninja do need some amount of planning and carefulness, Anyway, point is there was some gap it was unable to address with regard to travels - the ability to go anywhere and everywhere.

The mighty Kawasaki Ninja 1000 which remains our primary tourer





The Interceptor on the other hand, is a bit more rugged, has cheaper spares, nice service support and all that jazz. It however wasn’t great for the pillion for long term touring comfort. I still cannot call it totally rugged with respect to being able to offroad or go anywhere too.

The true-blue all rounder in the garage



Fantastic bike for solo fun!



That brought me to a clearly composed list of needs (or wants) for something which should replace Karizma’s role in the garage, build on that and completely fill up the remaining gaps to help us travel anywhere and everywhere, no holds barred.

What we needed was a bike which should:

• Easily handle bad roads, no roads and harsh terrains without batting an eyelid. In short, the ability to go anywhere anytime. High ground clearance was a must. In short, it must be able to complement the other 2 siblings in the garage by offering what those 2 cannot!

• Have zero tolerance for fuel quality issues and have a good tank range for touring, at least 350+ km

• Avoid unnecessary (premium bike) attention and preferably be a common bike to blend in with the traffic and crowd, even in smaller towns and cities. Should be able to park anywhere and use anywhere for anything.

• Have zero tolerance for any of the ‘big bike’ problems - Be cheap and simple to own and service, and have cheap and always accessible spares and body parts in case there were damages incurred during our trips to wherever. This automatically disqualified the possibility of heavy and expensive premium adventure bikes for my kind of usage and peace-of-mind requirements. I can’t truly be bashing trails carefree if I worry about dropping an expensive adventure bike for fear of having to wait 6 months for the parts to arrive and / or pay through my nose to get it back on the road. I can personally neither afford it monetarily nor do I want to put up with any other big bike problems on something I want to use carefree.

• Have fantastic pillion support and ergonomics for long duration touring. My better half is part of almost 90% of my travel plans and this was a deal-breaker factor.

• Feature a mature suspension setup and ride quality for rider and pillion over bad and broken roads

• Offer decent luggage carrying support for our travel exploits. OE luggage accessories are always a preferred choice for me.

• Have easy rideability, decent low end grunt and at least have the ability to cruise at and hold basic triple digit speeds on expressways even if not a scorcher.

• Should offer at least ABS to provide a basic safety net while touring.

It was now clear the third bike would have to be some kind of basic adventure bike. I am not an adventure bike fan and don’t derive any fun from them as such. I just needed something to be able to reach my destinations in one piece. There weren’t too many choices - there was the Hero Xpulse, the Royal Enfield Himalayan BS6, the KTM 390 Adventure and the BMW G310 GS. Obviously the gap is large, from 1L to 4L INR. There is no fair battle here anyway, but I compared them against my own list of requirements and saw which one fared better overall.


Why did I choose the Himalayan? What else did I consider?

When I set out test riding these budget adventure bikes and the 390 adventure launch was just around the corner, I was a bit biased and had my hopes up on this bike that it could be possibly the one which could tick all my needs. Everyone (reviewers / media / vloggers) was singing praises on youtube reviews and I didn’t second guess anything. Up until the test ride of this bike I was almost confident it would be the right choice, and while I was mentioning this to some enthusiast friends, BHPian rbp (owns a gen 2 Duke 390) kept warning me about some potential pitfalls of this bike and was insisting that I try the adventure 390 on multiple conditions to judge for myself before going ahead with the purchase.

Boy, what a revelation the test rides were and I am glad we took multiple test rides on different routes and road conditions - it completely transformed my initial thrill and admiration to complete disappointment. Excitement to disappointment in 2 hours. But then again, maybe my expectations were wrong. This was yet another reminder on why personal test rides are super important to judge and evaluate the bike for oneself rather than trusting vloggers and reviewers blindly on their views which sometimes are incorrect / mismatched for our needs or standards. More on my views on the Adventure 390 later.

We did 2-up test rides over two full days, covering all kinds of usage, city, highways, bad roads, simple countryside dirt trails, etc. One day was for testing the Xpulse and Himalayan, and the second day for the Adventure 390 followed by a repeat extended test ride on the Himalayan just to reconfirm some evaluations and arrive at a decision.


Hero Xpulse 200

I knew this was not going to make the cut considering the amount of expressway touring we do, but we visited the showroom and had a look at it anyway.




Pros

• Most Affordable and accessible option adventure bike at just under 1.3L INR on road
• Decent amount of kit for the price, functional MID, LED lights, good quality of plastics and build.
• Nice dynamics, handles and rides decently well on road.
• Fantastic suspension, light weight, nice ground clearance and linear power delivery with a usable low end and midrange make it a great off-roader / adventure tourer
• Very frugal fuel efficiency and a big tank make for a massive tank range of around ~500km.
• Hero service network and service costs make it very confidence inspiring to tour anywhere and everywhere

Cons

• outright lack of sheer grunt itself, and poor refinement and NVH levels at anything above city speeds. With just 18ps on tap it is not comfortable even above 80 kmph. For us metro city dwellers, to even reach the nearest scenic places/trails we need to use 6 lane expressways for at least 100-200km, so this factor itself was a deal breaker.
• Pillion ergonomics are not great. The seat is a tad bit too narrow and thin and was causing fatigue for my wife even during our short test rides.
• Short service intervals at 3000 km are not to my liking.
• Lot of horror stories about niggles and quality related issues and Hero’s stepmotherly treatment towards this bike

Verdict: Two factors became deal breakers and completely ruined the prospects of me getting the Xpulse - one was sub-par pillion ergonomics, and the second was the lack of power to even be able to cruise at 90-100 kmph on expressways.

What might have changed things: If I was already staying somewhere near the hills, boy this would be a fun rural workhorse and weekend explorer.



KTM 390 Adventure









Pros

• Very rev-happy engine, sufficient power (45 hp) to have a lot of fun on the open roads and can easily keep up with the big boys, plus exhibits great dynamics at high speeds
• Light weight and this makes the bike nimble, easily flickable and manageable both on road and off road.
• Packed to the gills with all kinds of features, gizmos and segment-first safety features such as cornering ABS and traction control, TFT display, LED lights, quickshifter, slipper clutch, etc
• Good fit and finish and overall quality of materials used everywhere. Feels quite premium to behold and use
• Considering the amount of kit on offer and the price of around 3.7L onroad, perhaps the best all-rounder and VFM option in the beginner adventure tourer segment for someone looking at solo touring.

Cons

• Dead low end with a capital D, coupled with a lot of engine heat from that high compression single cylinder mill. It is downright frustrating to ride/crawl with this bike offroad with that pathetic lowend grunt and having to keep the revs above 3-4k to see any movement.
• Rock hard, thin and flat seats for rider and pillion, poor pillion ergonomics make it impossible to use this bike as a 2-up tourer for long distances. It is good enough for solo riders touring though.
• Very stiff, bone-jarring ride quality at lower speeds, This might help on-road dynamics and make it the superb handler it is, but the ride quality is not at all comfortable for bad roads.
• The rear set footpegs and somewhat low handlebars don’t allow for an upright standing position without leaning too much forward, I believe this was further aggravated by my height (I am 6’1”)
• Voluntary enrollment into KTM’s niggle testing programme was something I was not interested in since I wanted a fuss-free workhorse. KTM’s 390cc bikes are notorious niggle boxes, more so when their products are new.

Verdict: In my eyes, this is a fantastic solo Adventure tourer capable of doing a little bit of everything well, good roads, bad roads, no roads, etc. It works great for someone largely doing Tarmac biased touring (solo) with very good dynamics and the ability to hold high speeds. But it has some clear flaws which cannot be overlooked easily (the ones I pointed out above) and can be dealbreakers. In my case, the below par ride quality (by adventure bike standards), the lack of low end and the non existent pillion comfort were enough to rule it out. In my view this bike just came across as a taller duke 390, with similar on-road behaviour and a little more ground clearance. High speed tarmac manners and dynamics, and a zillion gizmos aren’t what I was seeking out for this bike’s role in my garage, the Ninja 1000 takes care of such trips to scratch that itch. I wanted something simple, robust and primarily strong offroad. And so, eventually this bike didn't turn out the way I was expecting it to.

Hard and thin cushioning on the pillion-unfriendly seats, on the KTM Adventure 390



Coupled with the bone jarring ride quality, pillions will not be very happy on this bike. My better half was literally fuming at the end of the test ride



What didn't help matters: I’ve been once bitten, twice shy from my own RC 390 experience, and KTM clearly hasn’t learnt a lesson with the Adv 390 (a couple of my close friends bought this bike and have already got fed up with the never ending niggles on a new bike!). On my own 4-5 month old RC, I have had the (dis)pleasure of struggling with overheating issues, engine oil leaking, coolant leaking, engine switching off by itself during rides, and some more bizarre niggles on a brand new bike that I couldn't solve.

What might have changed things: A better and usable low end tune (even at the compromise of losing a few horses at the topend), a better ride quality and niggle-free reliability with sorted pillion ergonomics. Maybe I'll have waited for the first few batches of bikes to complete beta testing and given it a thought again, but for those basic mismatches for my needs.

Immediately after checking out these two options, we did a back to back test ride on the Himalayan BS6 and I was mighty impressed with what differences were apparent over the test ride. The bike was so rideable with a linear power delivery and meaty low end torque readily available straight from idle rpm. My better half meanwhile expressed how comfortable the pillion seat was and how supple the suspension and ride quality were, even on bad roads.

Admiring the Himalayan in the brand store after multiple test rides



Simple yet powerful message, reinforced by multiple test rides



I was still wary of the Himalayan and its nigglesome reputation in the BS3 and BS4 avatars, but the ~4000 km run test ride bike ran very smooth and some online research also reaffirmed the fact that the BS6 version was more refined and all of the old niggles were ironed out. Most reviews seemed to say that THIS (BS6 avatar) is what the Himalayan should have always been from day 1. Sure, the power was low in comparison to the 390 adventure, and tarmac speeds would have to be toned down. I still wasn’t in favour of having two Royal Enfields in the garage, but I didn’t see anything to dislike the Himalayan given it did tick most of our core requirements and exceeded expectations where I least expected it to.


Decision time

The Xpulse was already thrown out of the equation. The Himalayan had its share of weak points vis-a-vis the Adventure 390. The Adventure 390 looked great, had almost twice the power, was a way better mile muncher on open roads, more fun on road and could hold higher average speeds. The brakes on the Himalayan weren’t as good as the Adventure, and the safety and features package was more comprehensive on the Adventure 390. But the Himalayan shined in all the basics and that was tough to overlook - simple mechanicals, built solid, fantastic (low end) rideability, A++ ergonomics and ride quality for 2-up touring even on bad roads, fantastic aftermarket and service support in all corners of the country. The Adventure 390 disappointed on all those parameters and of course was one and a half lacs costlier. I had to remind myself, outright speed and tarmac dynamics and performance can be compromised for this bike - it had to tick the basics of ‘adventure’, ergonomics and comfort first. The Himalayan could at least manage triple digits and had dual channel ABS, although it wasn’t a scorcher, I could settle for that as a compromise in exchange for the stellar basics. Plus, the Adventure was a very new bike while the Himalayan is a 4 year old hardened product.

The BMW G310 GS was not an option, I overlooked it considering prohibitively expensive BMW maintenance costs - I don’t want another white elephant vehicle in the garage. The sub-par reliability and some horror stories from current owners about the product and the dealership attitude further turned me away from even attempting a test ride. This purchase was supposed to be for a cheap, go-anywhere, rugged bike and I didn’t want any more headache from products like the 310 GS and the 390 Adv, no matter how many more gizmos they packed in.

And thus, the overall winner on all parameters turned out to be the Himalayan.

[KarthikK]

Booking and Purchase experience at Royal Enfield Brand Store, Jayanagar (Bangalore)

I stay very close to the Royal Enfield brand store (company operated) so this was the logical option for me to go check out the Himalayan. Since it was a company operated outlet, it was a given that they would uphold high levels of service and customer satisfaction. I definitely wasn’t mistaken, and it turned out to be a great experience from my first enquiry day till my delivery day and beyond. The sales executive was a youngster called Arun, and he was very humble, helpful and informative about every aspect I wanted to know. What’s more - he himself owned a Himalayan BS4 and was frankly telling me about all his personal experiences with it, both good and bad. He also ensured continuous updates from their side all the way till the delivery date and upto the first service. Special thanks to him for making the entire purchase experience a totally seamless one, I’d wholeheartedly recommend the RE Brand store as well as Arun to any prospects, based on my near flawless experience with them.

We went to enquire about the Himalayan in March and in spite of me telling him that I may buy the bike several months later, he not only explained everything well but readily offered multiple test rides too. In addition, he even told me certain routes to try out the suspension on bad roads / offroad since there is no use trying the Himalayan on pure tarmac. That certainly helped in cementing the decision over repeated test rides.

Once the bike choice was done, the next stage was to choose the color. RE had launched 2 new colors with the BS6 update this year. I personally loved the matte black shade or matte grey, but the better half loved the Rock Red color scheme which has a two-shade fuel tank in black and red. She had a point too when she said the older colors are already on the road and this one would be less common. It definitely looked good though, so I ultimately gave in to her choice and chose the Himalayan in Rock Red. The two dual-tone colors (Rock Red and Lake Blue) added in the BS6 iteration are gloss colored and cost approximately 5,500 INR more than the matte black and white which are the cheapest.

My original choice - Granite Black (matte black)



Our final choice - Rock Red which was exclusive to the 2020 BS6 version



Although the choice of bike was somewhat sealed in March, my plan was to purchase the bike in the second half of this year. The Covid related lockdowns ensured the showroom and the RE factory were shut and / or operating at minimal strength. I was in no tearing hurry to buy the bike because the chances of usage were also very minimal back then, what with all travel plans shut. Around June when things started looking better on the travel front, we made a token advance booking for the Himalayan.


Visiting the brand store for booking the RE Himalayan Rock Red. This was the demo bike though, decently kitted well with touring accessories to entice prospects







Around this time, RE was offering a 10,000 INR cash reward scheme on the Himalayan and the 650 twins, which could be used for extended warranty upto the 5th year, and could be used for their accessories. In addition, they offered a flat 20% discount on OE accessories as well, which was a nice bonus. We were told the bike would take approximately 20-30 days, so it wasn’t a huge wait. I bargained and got a great deal on the OE black metal panniers in addition to the 20% company discounts, which was a nice icing on the cake.

Landing a great discount on these OE panniers (I opted for black though - more details later in the thread)



Their insurance premium rates were in line with the market rates to my surprise; There wasn’t much difference between the showroom quoted rate and the prices outside. As a result, I opted for the full third party + zero depreciation comprehensive cover from the showroom itself.

The booking process was smooth and RE has made everything online and nicely linked to the phone number and email. There are constant updates on every stage of the booking process, and the brand store representative was always reachable for doubts on whatsapp and calls.

Internally, there seemed to be a lot of disruptions in the factory (closures due to covid or local lockdowns) and the logistics, and Arun was warning me that certain colors were delayed and could affect delivery timelines, but eventually they did get the bike in our choice of color around the promised date. After finishing the payment and finance formalities, I chose some OE accessories (covered later in this review) and finalized the delivery date for July first week.

Checking out the bike in the stockyard and choosing one from the lot which had arrived



After informing my choice of specific bike and giving the go-ahead for registration, I took a picture of all the vital identification numbers of my choice just in case



The delivery was a no-nonsense affair, there were minimal delays, whatever accessories I asked for were already fitted on the bike, invoices and documents were kept ready and they already got the registration number by the time I picked up the bike. The HSRP plates (now mandatory) from the RTO came 10 days later. After the key and documents handover, it was time to head home post a tankful of petrol.

A simple and smooth delivery process in these covid times



The joy of taking delivery of a vehicle with single digit odometer reading, lol!



The total expenses are tabulated here



When I brought the bike home and parked it next to the Interceptor, my mom funnily remarked “You bought 2 Enfields and neither of them looks nor sounds like an Enfield!” . Her perception of Enfields were the Classic series reminiscent of the old ‘Bullet’ range from her generation, and both the Himalayan and the Interceptor 650 are modern Royal Enfield bikes very different from the Classic series both in looks and sound.


Offroader from the bike world meets offroader from the car world!



Even our golden retriever wants to see who this new member of the house is

[KarthikK]

A Complete Review of the 2020 Royal Enfield Himalayan

Without further ado, I’ll get into reviewing the RE Himalayan 2020 (BS6) and take you through multiple facets of the bike. Since this iteration of the Himalayan is a bit different from the BS4 (pre-2020) versions, we’ll first walk through the additions in the current 2020 version and then go over the other aspects of this bike. Towards the end I have also included my take on the Himalayan in the offroading department. I am no offroading guru (just started out recently) and all the views and opinions are strictly my own.


Feel free to jump across these sections for quick access of anything specific:

What did the BS 6 version bring in?

Styling and Design

Build Quality, Paint Quality and Decals

Engine Characteristics and Performance

Dynamics and Safety

Ergonomics and Rider Controls

Ergonomics and Rider Controls (Part 2)

Offroading with the Himalayan

Electronics and Instrument Console


That aside, let me begin the review with:

What did the BS 6 version bring in over the BS 4 (pre-2020) Himalayan?

Introduction of three new colors was one of the highlights for the BS6 2020 Himalayan - Rock Red, Lake Blue and Gravel Grey. Gravel Grey is a matte color priced alongside Sleet color trim, approximately 2500 INR more than the base matte black/white. Rock Red and Lava Blue are glossy paint trims and cost approximately 5500 INR over the base matte black/white colors.




The introduction of Switchable ABS was a beneficial factor to be able to turn off the ABS at the rear while offroading and wanting to induce the rear to lock-up. Remember, the front ABS unit still remains active always and the switchable feature is only for the rear. Observe the ABS button provided on the BS6 version instrument console.



Royal Enfield claims to have improved the refinement levels and NVH levels on the BS6 variant, besides a few ECU updates. With the BS6 version, the power output has slightly dropped from 24.5 bhp to 24.3 bhp (hardly noticeable). Torque figures have remained the same at 32 Nm though.




There has been a 5 kg increase in kerb weight - the BS4 variant weighed in at around 194 kg and the BS6 version has put on 5 more kg to tip the scales at 199 kg.



Movement of the catalytic converter for BS6 emission norms and a slight change in exhaust note are also among the changes. The BS6 variant sounds more muffled and muted in comparison to the BS4 variant's exhaust note. The BS6 specific cat con can be seen here



BS4 and BS6 versions side by side to show the exhaust differences





The BS6 variant features improved braking at the rear with more bite and less wooden feel, which used to be a complaint on the BS4 bikes. I test rode both the BS6 and the BS4 bikes and found the front brake bite to still be the same (unsatisfactory) while the rear feel has improved a lot



RE has re-introduced the Hazard switch with the BS6 Himalayan, after introducing it briefly and then discontinuing it in the BS4 iteration. The extra switch has been added on the right side switchgear as before



The side panels / battery cover under the rider seat now features a re-designed decal for the Himalayan branding - It looks much better now with the grey lettering on black panel, and the lettering is a lot more legible now.

BS6 version Himalayan decals on the side panels



How it was on the BS4 Himalayan



Royal Enfield has taken feedback seriously and re-worked the side stand to a shorter length now on the BS6 Himalayan. There is no more risk of a fully loaded bike tipping over on uneven surfaces. Apparently, this used to be a problem with the older Himalayans.



One other feature which was claimed as a change on the BS6 version was the backlight color of the Instrument cluster from the old Orange to a light blue (you'll find this even on most of the reviews and youtube videos online)



However, a lot of BS6 Himalayans still come with the Orange backlight in the instrument cluster (including mine). Personally for me, even orange looks nice and I didn't mind it.



Upon digging further on why this anomaly exists, RE officials said that during the covid lockdowns, they faced a lot of logistics disruptions with component suppliers, and two of their three factories in TN couldn't source the components needed for the blue instrument cluster versions. As a result, they had to continue manufacturing Himalayans with the old Orange backlights itself to meet delivery timelines across the country.

If you are a prospect test riding a BS6 Himalayan or if you received a BS6 Himalayan and were wondering why the backlight is still orange like on the BS4 bikes, don't fret about it. You haven't been cheated by the dealer, they are just using orange components due to shortage of the blue backlight modules. Still want more proof that your version is indeed BS6? Look for the presence of the ABS button on the console, BS4 does not have that button

[KarthikK]

Styling and Design

The Himalayan isn’t a very beautiful bike to look at. I don’t even call it borderline good looking, but then maybe it is because of my bias towards the sport-bike camp, lol! The entire design and styling is focused around its functional, rugged and minimalist nature, and the (go anywhere) purpose it is designed to accomplish. From that point of view, it is elegant, proportionately built and there is nothing glaringly ugly in the way it looks. Most bits and pieces on it are the bare basic types available and in many angles the Himalayan design even comes across as a semi-retro kind of design, married to a functional adventure bike frame, which is understandable considering RE mostly makes retro themed bikes.

Simple yet elegant design of the bike, visible from the rear three quarters profile



Another picture excluding the wheels and just concentrating on the overall silhouette



The front features a tall profile with a circular 7" headlamp and a large 21" wheel giving an imposing presence



The dual tone tank with the burst of bright red adds a nice contrast to an otherwise predominantly black colored bike and its constituents



A closer look at the dual-tone fuel tank



The rear profile looks functional yet muscular and purpose-defined, with the knobby tyres adding to the rugged look.



Butch rear profile



The Himalayan doesn’t seem to exude any particular image or stylish design language as such, say compared to other Adventure bikes in the market such as the Adventure 390. It however does have its own fan following and appeal, the design concentrating almost solely on the “I will go anywhere come what may” outlook while looking basic and simple.

Another rear three quarters profile highlighting the design



The larger 21" front wheel and the large forks are noticeable immediately when viewed from the side



The height from the front can be quite intimidating for shorter vehicles on the road



Getting into the formal specifications of the bike’s dimensions:

Length: 2190 mm
Width: 840 mm
Height: 1360 mm
Wheelbase: 1465 mm
Ground clearance: 220 mm
Kerb weight: 199 kg
Seat height: 800 mm


The retro looking 7” round headlamps, the rugged footpegs, the upswept exhaust the sculpted fuel tank with the jerry can brackets, the adventure oriented footpegs, the retro looking indicators, the basic transparent and upright visor, the functional seats and the elegant yet minimalistic rear all further reinforce the opinions I conveyed previously.

The 7" reto-style circular headlamp. Do note I have changed the OE halogen lights to an all-LED retrofit unit



The Himalayan features traditional Spoke wheels with tube tyres both at the front and the rear



The tall transparent windshield / visor adds to the basic and functional design. I'll speak about the windblast protection a bit later.



The rear features a well designed luggage carrier which comes stock on the bike





The tail end is stylishly done - it features simple indicators and an elegant LED taillamp unit, the rear number plate is set high and is easily visible in any angle



The front features a typical 'Adventure bike'ish Beak finished in a gloss black paint job, much like the paint on the fuel tank.



The front number plate is designed nicely to slot in under the headlamp and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, unlike most premium bikes which have an ugly after-thought projection from the windscreen / visor.



OE Jerrycan brackets on either side of the fuel tank add to the rugged look and the readiness to take off on a trip to the region which this bike's name is based on



The mirrors are basic and functional and circular in shape. I'm not so sure I like the shape of the mirror stems though, with the curvature



Adding the OE Pannier luggage hardcases into the styling and design picture, this is how the bike looks with the panniers mounted. Do note, I opted for the black version. These are also available in a brushed steel kind of color which will suit other colors better.



The panniers are well integrated with the overall design and add to the rugged and utilitarian appeal of this bike.



From a rider's point of view, this is how the overall design looks for the rider's eyes when riding. A functional instrument console, and a basic layout of controls and a tall and commanding stance with a good view of what is ahead



I'll end this section with some snaps from random walkaround angles








Lets gain some altitude now and look at some snaps from the drone's view

Rear profile top view



Rear three quarters view from 20 feet up



Front three quarters view from 20 feet up



Top view of the Himalayan with panniers mounted, shows the slim yet muscular profile of the well proportioned tank and seats

[KarthikK]

Build Quality, Paint Quality, Fit & Finish and Decals




Build Quality

The overall build quality feels impressive on the Himalayan, one definitely gets the feeling that the build can take the abuse that it claims it can take, and it does feel like rough roads and offroad trips are what it was built for, of course it even looks the part (minimalistic design and features) and it was even named accordingly!


The jerrycan brackets are built well and are finished in a matte black paint



The same can be said of the rear carrier material



The OE bash plate for underbody protection is built well



I am not particularly impressed with the front windshield / visor which was rattling after the first few trips. I had to tighten the screws later and it seems to be holding up well for now.



The instrument console seems to get fogged up on cold morning rides especially on cloudy mornings. The problem seems to be reducing by itself, whatever moisture had got trapped inside seems to be coming out on its own! I don’t have a picture of the fogging at the moment, but this is a common issue with Himalayans from what I have heard and read on the internet.

The mirrors feel a bit flimsy with the plastic material, and they do get quite blurry at high speeds. RE's own touring mirrors (OE Accessories) are much much better



The footpegs are built well and are abuse-ready, the rubber padding is also adequate to mask any vibes from the single cylinder engine at higher revs



The gear lever and the rear brake lever and sturdily built in rugged blackened metal





The hand levers for the clutch and the front brake are built in a sturdy brushed-aluminium material and look like they will last the distance





The side panels are made in a matte black plastic material and feel rather flimsy to the touch, but the finish is okay




The indicator stalks are basic but well built



The taillamp cluster is well put together and is holding up well





The exhaust is made of a brushed Aluminium material and will not accumulate scratches over time. Apt for this bike's purpose and built well again.



The fuel tank cap is made of a matte black plastic material and feels okay, maybe the material could have been less crude



The original seats are very nicely built, look elegant and the cushioning certainly feels of good quality for longevity.



Paint quality

The paint quality is top notch on the fuel tank and front and rear mudguards. The matte finish panels on the side and the front mudguard are well made and I have no quality complaints


The dual-tone fuel tank features a decent quality paint job and gives a good gloss effect. One might argue on why a glossy paintjob is needed for an offroader, I have no answer to that ! Here are two pictures of the fuel tank shot at different times of the day with varying levels of daylight.





The same glossy paint finish carries over to the front beak. The base of the beak is made of the same grey material as the taillamp housing though, and is satisfactory in quality.



The front mudguard however, is finished with matte black. These are all inexpensive, ready-made parts in RE's spare parts bin though, so they can easily be replaced for a song, if damaged or discolored.



The handlebar is finished in a weird, grey-ish white color which looks bizarre and ruins the color symphony on the front profile. It should have been black . The funny part is RE offers an OE accessory for a black handlebar retrofit but that one has no support for their own OE hand guards!



The front forks feature these reflectors on the sides. I'm not too sure I like them there.




Fit and finish

There are some rough edges and a few panel gaps, and tons of exposed weld joints, all typical of RE bikes, and I am sure there will be fans of the bike defending it and saying it adds to the rugged image, lol! I don't even call them acceptable, and RE ought to have got this right after four long years of this bike being in multiple markets.


Notice the panel gap in the battery cover side panel, a red wire is peeping through too!



Notice the crude, unfinished edges in the plastic material on both sides of the switchgear. Not done on a 2.5 lac product, dear RE!



Tons of weld joints exposed such as these, at many points on the bike



Decals

The branding and decals exist on three major locations on the body and they all seem to be of good quality.

This Royal Enfield logo exists on both sides of the engine casing



The jerry can brackets on both sides of the fuel tank feature a bold, metal-embossed Royal Enfield branding and this one is made well



The Himalayan branding is on the side panels (battery cover panels) under the rider seat. It is an embossed decal of a light grey color.



With the OE panniers attached (they have their own branding), the side profile has quite a few places proclaiming the RE branding!

[KarthikK]

Engine Characteristics and Performance



The Himalayan comes across as a no-nonsense bike with regard to rideability. It is not particularly very powerful to excite the senses as such. It is however a torquey motor with a punchy low end and tall gearing to aid rideability in low speeds, and can easily accelerate to 100 kmph in under 12 seconds on hard throttle input. That makes it a good all rounder for reasonably high speed highway cruising, easy pottering on broken roads or even city commutes.


The engine specifications show the nature of the rideability characteristics:.

Engine displacement: 411cc, single cylinder, SOHC, fuel injection
Cooling: Air cooled with an oil cooling radiator
Max power: 24.3 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Max torque: 32 Nm @ 4250 rpm
Compression ratio: 9.5:1

One look at the torque curve (image is not mine, found it online) also tells the story on why the Himalayan is so easy to ride at lower revs and offroad. Almost the entire peak torque is available from as low as idling rpm (black curve)



This is a 411cc SOHC engine developed by Royal Enfield specifically for use in the Himalayan. It is running at a low compression ratio of 9.5:1, much lower than many of its rivals in this price segment. This is a bike you can take to remote places and not need to worry about fuel quality, as is the expectation from such a product.



It is a versatile engine though, it can adapt to a wide variety of rideability scenarios. You can use it for city commuting on your day to day errands, you can use it for cruising on the highway or for offroading or trail bashing, and of course those dream Himalaya roadtrips! It is equally at ease pottering around at 30 kmph or cruising at 100 kmph. Beyond the 110 kmph zone, progress slows down and it starts begging you not to flog it anymore.




The idling settles in at around ~1200 rpm, and the low end torque is very strong right from idling rpm. The midrange is adequate and there is swift progress in the roll-on acceleration even in higher gears. The top end is weak and pulling power tapers off beyond 6000 rpm. Rideability comes across as very simple and easy, with regard to making the engine and gearbox working together in sync. There is nothing untoward in the way it is tuned, the power delivery is very linear and predictable, but there is no surprise factor or pushed-back feeling or thrill on aggressive acceleration. In that sense it can come across as boring for folks looking at outright thrill-filled acceleration bursts.

The idling rpm is around ~1200 rpm



It makes around 80+% of its peak torque as low as 2000 rpm, so the bike is pretty much in the meat of the grunt all the while, right from the time you slip the clutch and get it moving, and thereafter in day-to-day usage. The engine is not a very high revving motor, and the redline is around 7500 rpm.


Engine Refinement and NVH levels

This is a single cylinder long stroke motor, and as such it is vibey at higher revs. However, there is a noted difference between the BS4 Himalayan and BS6 Himalayan. I got to test ride both versions at the company dealership back to back, and RE really has improved the refinement significantly on the BS6 Himalayan. The engine revs a bit more freely now, there are hardly any vibrations or untoward noise levels now as long as the revs stay under 5000 rpm, even on the footpegs, mirrors or handlebar. Beyond 5000-5500 rpm, there is a small bit of buzziness creeping in on the footpegs and the OE mirrors start getting a bit blurry. The engine lets you know that it is a single cylinder and to be reasonable with your expectations. This is clearly an engine that you would do well not to flog until the redline, and as long as you learn to enjoy the linear and torquey low and mid range and stay there, you will enjoy the refinement and NVH levels on the BS6 Himalayan. It is a big leap forward from the previous version.




Gearing

RE has given the Himalayan a tall gearing setup. First gear is sufficiently tall to be able to potter around town without needing to frequently upshift (to 2nd) and downshift (1st). Second gear is noticeably tall and there are times when you might instinctively downshift to first gear on very big potholes and speedbreakers. The low end torque is impressive however, and the bike will pull from crawling speeds even when in 2nd gear. It doesn’t take very long to accelerate back to 80-90 kmph on highways after slowing down for obstacles every now and then. The linear power delivery coupled with the no-nonsense gearing aids moderate acceleration bursts and peaceful highway cruising.




Highway cruising is easy and overtaking is a breeze at speeds under 100. The linear power delivery and the midrange is adequate to take on and use the gaps to out-accelerate your regular trucks and slower cars on highways. Beyond 100 kmph, progress slows down noticeably and although it will comply with your right hand’s inputs all the way upto 120 kmph, the single cylinder engine’s vibes will beg you to forgive it from flogging it further. High speed overtakes at the 100+ zone will need some planning before execution.

Cruising at 100 kmph on the speedo happens at ~4600 rpm in 5th gear. The bike actually begs for a 6th gear to be able to cruise in a little more relaxed manner at higher speeds on expressways. The Himalayan will be happy to sit at 100 kmph all day long though, and you can do some fair bit of mile munching through your day-long touring (the ergonomics are top notch too). These speeds are more than adequate for my usage, and I am happy sitting at 90-100 kmph for those relaxed wind-in-your-face rides, which is what I bought it for anyway.


Exhaust note

The Himalayan gets a nice, bassy exhaust note which has a refined tone after the BS6 update. The exhaust note is characteristic of a long stroke single cylinder mill, but is nothing like other traditional Enfields such as the classic range. It is not particularly loud and sounds refined and borderline muffled even at higher revs. RE has moved the catalytic converter further down and added the BS6-specific catcon near the header pipe, and I am told this caused the BS6 version to feel a bit more muted in exhaust note than the older Himalayans. I am satisfied with the exhaust note and have no plans to change it.

The Himalayan's upswept exhaust



Emissions compliance engraved on to the side of the exhaust end can, on close observation



BS6 Catalytic converter near the header pipe



Engine heat

This engine does develop a fair amount of heat at low speeds, noticeable in the city while commuting around town. While it isn’t as much heat to consider as a problem or a hassle, it is quite evident in traffic jams and I have to point out that it remains noticeable, prospects should try it for themselves to consider whether it something that is acceptable for them or not. Surprising fact - it’s elder sibling the Interceptor 650 puts out almost twice the power and torque than the Himalayan, yet runs much cooler in the city and I can’t even notice the heat on that bike even in the worst of traffic jams.




Cooling

The Himalayan’s engine features an air cooled setup with an additional oil cooler setup, aided by a small radiator to cool off the circulated oil, visible on the left side of the bike (rider’s point of view)




Engine oil

The stock engine oil recommended by RE is semi-synthetic 10W50 grade, and this is obviously what they use at the service centres. The engine oil capacity is around 2.3 litres when completely dry, and ~1.8 litres on subsequent refills. This snap was shot immediately after a 200 km ride and that is why the level shows more than the max level mark.




Gearbox

The gearbox works decently well on the BS6 Himalayan. I haven’t faced any false neutral issues, but the shifts are quite hard and clunky and leave room for some improvement in this regard. It is easy to find neutral between gears 1 and 2. The gear indicator on the instrument console helps to check if you are in the right gear or not.




The Himalayan features an O-ring chain setup. I usually lubricate it with Maxima chain guard



Clutch

The clutch is noticeably heavy but has good feedback and bite. During highway rides it doesn’t cause much of an issue, but the heaviness can get cumbersome during long traffic-ridden commutes.

Clutch lever is on the heavier side



Conventional and simple cable-operated clutch



Fuel tank capacity and range

The listed fuel tank capacity of the Himalayan is 15 litres. This tank capacity coupled with the highway fuel efficiency of ~30-32 kmph allows for a tank range of 450+ km theoretically, and even if we leave out the last 3-4 litres the refuelling intervals are around 350 km+, which is quite sufficient for touring needs. An additional 2-3 litres would have helped extend those refuelling stops some more, but I will forgive this considering there are jerry can slots on the front for those long haul trips to the mountains.




There is no separate reserve fuel tank as such, but as soon as the fuel in the tank reaches ~5.5 litres (out of 15), the instrument console automatically starts a new tripmeter called Trip F (different from the manually set Tripmeters A and B) which displays the distance travelled on a virtual Reserve mode, with the last 5.5 litres. This is a good indication for the rider to fuel up when next possible. Trip F gets deactivated when fuel levels go back up above that threshold level after refuelling.

Observe 'Trip F' in action here which is counting the distance since when the virtual reserve mode got activated



Fuel efficiency

Before my first service, the bike used to return a meagre 24-25 km per litre. After the first service oil change, fuel efficiency has improved nicely. The Himalayan returns around 27-28 kmpl in the city when commuting in a reasonable amount of traffic. On highways, I get around ~30-32 kmpl, cruising at 100 kmph all day long happily, coupled with a few kilometres of offroad / broken roads on trips.

[KarthikK]

Dynamics and Safety




The Himalayan is a well balanced motorcycle when it comes to dynamics, it performs all the duties reasonably impressively. The half duplex, split cradle frame and long travel suspension work well to carry the rider(s) through a variety of roads and no roads. The on-road dynamics are satisfactory and the offroad dynamics are fantastic to say the least. RE has got the balance right between on-road behaviour and offroad strengths to ensure good all round touring experience.

Both the front and the rear suspensions have long travel. The front suspension is not adjustable, while the rear has preload adjustment. The front is soft and helps to dispatch all the bumps and undulations effortlessly, and the rear is sufficiently soft to ensure a fantastic cushioned ride quality for the rider and pillion even on the worst of road surfaces.

41mm telescopic forks up front, with 200mm travel



The front suspension is non-adjustable



Mono shocks at the rear with 180mm travel, preload is adjustable but adjustment is cumbersome





Handling

The Himalayan is obviously not an outright corner carver, it was meant for something else, but it is quite easy to ride and handles well on open roads and curves. The suspension setup is on the softer side and the handling does tend to get a bit squishy at higher speeds, but it is quite impressive for a bike of this kind of stance. The wide and light handlebar aids easy turn-ins, and cornering stability in curves is impressive if not fantastic. The front feels disconnected due to the adventure style laidback ergonomics and the large 21” wheel up front, but it doesn’t hamper the stability in turns and the bike manages cornering pretty decently, relative to this (adv) segment.




The Himalayan comes with a reasonably wide handlebar and is easy to manoeuvre and this does help the rider a fair bit



Ride quality

This is one of the primary strengths of this bike. The ride quality is stellar with a capital S, and I really couldn’t have asked for anything better. It comes into its own when taken off the tarmac and on broken roads and offroad terrain. All bumps and undulations are dispatched with ease, almost insulating the rider from what lies beneath, allowing him to concentrate on the course ahead. This is a great thing even for city commutes, what with our terrible city roads nowadays. I dare say the ride quality and comfort oriented tuning of the Himalayan’s suspension is best in class, and the ride quality is top notch in feel for even the pillion, and this one factor alone can be a dealbreaker for many prospects, me included.




Braking

Braking is one of those aspects which are average on the Himalayan, and they ought to improve it in subsequent iterations. While I heard that RE had taken riders’ feedback and improved the braking feel and bite on the BS6 version, I still failed to find any significant difference in braking when riding the BS4 and the BS6 versions back to back. The front brake feedback is progressive but the bite is average and could have been much better. One has to be careful on the open roads, braking hard won’t bite very hard or soon and can result in a few surprises until he/she learns the (lack of bite) limitations.

RE has equipped the bike with dual channel switchable ABS supplied by Bosch. It is switchable to single channel ABS (rear brake ABS can be turned off)

At the front, braking duty is performed with a single 300mm disc and a Bybre 2-piston caliper setup



ABS sensor ring on the front brake



Although the brakes for the Himalayan are manufactured by Bybre, there is no directly visible branding on the front calipers



Front brake fluid reservoir has 50 ml capacity



I have changed the brake pads to EBC sintered brake pads and these seem to have made a 15-20% improvement at the max, still nowhere near 'good' levels of bite. I believe the Ceat tyres also have a role to play in the average braking at the front, and better tyres might help in stopping the bike a bit better.



The rear brake bite is a lot better than the front now (on tarmac too), and is nice to use offroad on dirt / gravel. I am someone who uses both the front and rear brakes even on tarmac, so I have to do some supplementing to get the bike to stop the way I want. One will need to stay within limits and be careful with panic braking and aggressive braking.

At the rear, a 240mm disc with a single piston caliper Bybre unit does duty



The ABS sensor at the rear brake



The Bybre branding is visible on the rear brake caliper



Rear brake fluid reservoir has 50 ml capacity



Weight

This is one bike which has consistently putting on weight since its initial avatar in 2016 till now. From its first gen avatar to the BS6 avatar, it has taken on a hefty metal diet and gained a whopping 17 kilos! When it first started off, it weighed in at 182 kg. The BS4 avatar was around 191 kg and dual channel ABS added another 3 kg to tip the scales at 194 kg. The current running BS6 avatar added 5 more kg to take the scales to 199 kg, just 1 short of the double ton. The bike does become a handful at crawling speeds and one has to be careful at parking speeds and when offroading. If it falls, happy strength training!




Turning radius

Apparently the turning radius is 2.5m, although I am yet to find any validated listing of this number on any RE material. The Himalayan has a reasonably short turning radius in my experience, city usage is simple and U-turns are very easy. Parking in tight spots might be a challenge but that is more due to the length of the bike, than the turning radius.



Ground Clearance

The Himalayan has an astoundingly high 220 mm ground clearance, more than sufficient for all those remote area rides and even serious trail bashing. RE has equipped an underbody protection bash plate as standard for those situations where you attempt to breach the already high 220 mm barrier. Unless you deliberately try to ride up an anthill like I am doing in this snap, ground clearance is never an issue anytime.



Windblast protection: Wind protection is adequate on the stock windshield setting and with the stock windshield itself even for tall rider like me (I am slightly above 6'1"). I don't feel the need for any extended visor for the kind of speeds this bike will be doing.



Wheels and Tyres

RE has done a great job by providing knobby all-terrain tyres on the Himalayan to be able to conquer all kinds of road conditions. The factory fitted Ceat Gripp XL knobby tyres are average on tarmac and satisfactory for moderate speeds, but very confidence inspiring when offroading and negotiating slippery terrain in the hills or slush. These are tube type tyres and not tubeless tyres. These are fine considering the purpose the Himalayan claims to achieve, but as a traveller perhaps I will miss the convenience and practicality of a tubeless setup.

Punctures on a tube setup this heavy can render the rider helpless, and the best that Royal Enfield can do is offer the customer a complimentary RSA package for 3 years from the purchase date, which covers flat tyre repairs as well (extendable to 5 years). Great job, but that still doesn’t help with making the setup as friendly and carefree as a tubeless one.

Spoke wheel setup on the Himalayan


The OE tyre specifications are as follows:

Front tyre: 90/90 R21 54S, Ceat Gripp XL
Rear tyre: 120/90 R17 64S, Ceat Gripp XL

90/90 21" tyres at the front



Size and branding engraved on the sidewall



Tread pattern on the front



120/90 R17 tyres at the rear



Size engraved on the sidewall of the rear tyre



Similar knobby tread pattern on the rear for all the adventure riding this bike wants to do



As per the owner’s manual, the front tyre needs 25-27 psi and the rear needs to be 32-34 psi depending on solo or 2-up use. I generally go with a 26-34 setup since I almost always use the Himalayan 2-up.

At the time of writing this review, I have clocked around 3000 km and the tyres seem to have aged well and set in quite nicely. While they are great offroad I can’t say I am very happy with the OE setup on tarmac. On aggressive braking the ABS tends to kick in quite a bit on dry roads and gravel. Considering the average braking on the Himalayan, I believe some of the blame goes to these Ceat tyres as well. More grippy rubber would definitely be welcome. My next switch (whenever this set wears out) would ideally be to Pirelli MT60 in the same OE sizes, which seems to be the most popular option for owners in the west. Hope the tyre import license mess resolves by then and those are available once again in the market.


Mud guard splash protection

One issue with the high set mudguard and fender at the rear is that the splash protection is compromised for the pillion (and to some extent even the rider) during moderate to heavy rains and on waterlogged roads. There is a considerable amount of water splashed by the rear tyre all over the pillion.

Large gap area between the wheel and the seating area leaves the pillion vulnerable to a lot of water splash from the rear tyre throwing up

[KarthikK]

Ergonomics and Rider controls

This is another stellar feature on the Himalayan and I have to admit was one of the features which made me respect and love this bike even during the early test rides. It is really fantastic how well designed the ergonomics are on this bike - the controls, levers, the handlebar and the footpegs just fall into place naturally and together with the low seat height, the ergonomics ensure a completely upright posture for maximum comfort and adequate visibility when touring.


Low seat height enhance confidence in being able to flat foot on both sides



Fantastic ergonomics for the rider, upright posture with good visibility of the front, yet protected by outright windblast in the face, allow for day-long touring in comfort



Almost vertically set footpegs (not rear-set) for the rider. It looks slightly rear set in this picture but that is aggravated by my height. For most riders of average height this should not even look rear-set.



The stock seat compresses quite quickly though and should have been stiffer for long tours. Fortunately RE themselves offer OE ‘Touring seats’ as accessories for both the rider and pillion, and I have swapped the stock rider and pillion seats to the touring versions.

Stock rider seat is adequately wide and roomy, but has soft cushioning and compresses easily after an hour or so of riding



Another view



The pillion ergonomics are spot on. The seating is upright, and the pillion sits at a slightly higher elevation than the rider. Of course, the pillion still has to mount the seat by climbing over the footpegs, it is not possible or advisable to try and swing the legs to sit on the pillion seat directly! Do note, once seated there is no lean forward and the seating is flat and upright with loads of cushioning support underneath.



Fantastic pillion comfort, even with the OE panniers mounted there is very little interference into the pillion leg space from the OE seating position, and the accessibility (to mount / unmount) for the pillion’s seating or footpegs is unhindered.





The rear carrier rack serves as a pillion backrest as well.



The pillion seat is designed very well for the long haul



Thickness of cushioning is sufficient on the OE pillion seat but again, like the rider seat, it seems to be quite soft and compresses after a while.



Top notch upright ergonomics for rider and pillion with the seat design



As mentioned before, I have switched the OE rider and pillion seats to RE's own Touring seats, available as OE Accessories. These are reasonably stiffer than stock and I have zero complaints with them. I'll cover more details on that in the accessories section later.



The footpegs are wide and comfortable, and there are no harsh vibrations on the rider or pillion footpegs even at higher revs of the engine.

Rider footpegs with adequate rubber padding to absorb the vibes and wide enough to accommodate large boots





The same goes for the pillion's footpegs





Overall top view of the roomy seats and footpegs for rider and pillion



Switching to riding ergonomics, this is what the rider's view looks like when riding. Nice and wide handlebar, neatly spaced out controls and a simple instrument console with a tall visor in front



The OE mirrors are circular in shape and offer a decent field of vision. There are a few blind spots at the three quarters positions though, and I would have liked them to cover more real estate behind me especially on those wide 6 lane expressways



The rear visibility is decent however, for most common roads. Note how when the OE panniers are attached to the bike, the rider can see them at the bottom of the mirror, handy to be aware when someone or something is too close to them.



Moving to the hand lever ergonomics, I do wish this bike had adjustable levers for the clutch and brake levers though. Considering the heavy clutch feel, maybe it would have helped matters.

Non-adjustable clutch lever



Symmetric-looking, non-adjustable front brake lever on the other side

[KarthikK]

Ergonomics and Rider Controls (continued...)

Switching to the rider's point of view, this is how the hand levers look and feel for the rider. I feel RE has made these levers keeping in mind their western audience with large palms and long fingers .

Clutch lever reach could have been better, Adjustable levers would have been welcome on this bike.



I wear XXL sized gloves and still feel the reach could be better, considering the slightly heavy clutch, the fatigue on the left side fingers are more during traffic ridden stretches.



I have the same feedback on the front brake lever



Two handed operation feels just about okay for me, folks with smaller fingers might feel the reach is unsatisfactory



The main ignition key slot looks basic and utilitarian



The key feels okay, nothing to complain about. The logo embossed is much nicer than the keys RE gives on the costlier 650 twins!



The same key works for the fuel tank cap, as expected



The tank cap swivels up with the hinge, but does not detach completely from the opening (that is how it is on my Interceptor)



Shifting our attention to the hand controls, here is the switchgear on the left side. Nothing untoward, there are the usual controls in their usual positions - the low/high beam switch, the turn indicators and the horn button



The pass switch is of a different yellow color and is on the other side of the these buttons



The Himalayan also gets a choke lever here, which can be used for troublesome cold starts if need be



The other side gets the usual controls - engine kill switch, the starter button and a hazard lights switch



The instrument console gets controls to reset and set tripmeters and clock, service reminders, etc. One can also switch off the rear ABS when offroading



Shifting attention to the feet, here is the side stand lever. When activated, the console displays a warning that the side stand is down



Side stand warning on the console



The bike gets a centre stand as standard



The toe-shift gear lever reach is satisfactory



Reach and feedback while shifting is good, but the shifts are hard and clunky as mentioned earlier



I wear an EU 46 sized boot and while I sometimes feel the toeshifter is too close to the footpeg, I would consider that problem as being due to my large boots



Shifting to the right side, the rear brake lever is fantastic to use and the teeth help to grip while offroading, when the boot can be muddy and slippery



Reach for the rear brake lever is excellent





There is sufficient real estate on the footpegs to avoid accidentally riding the rear brakes



The bike key also works with opening the pillion and rider seats through this slot.



The pillion seat comes off to reveal a small storage compartment with a first aid kit, sufficiently sized to stash away a copy of the bike's documents for example.



And of course, the rider seat can also be removed now freely, to expose the battery terminal and fuse boxes.



Wondering where the tool box is? No problem, just flip the pillion seat and the toolbox is strapped to the underside



Using the tools in the kit, the battery cover can be opened up on the right side, if one needs to remove the battery in this cavity under the rider seat



The infamous saree guard , this is the only picture I have of it. I disposed it immediately after bringing the bike home

[KarthikK]

Offroading With The Himalayan






The Himalayan was always positioned as a go-anywhere tool, and with the limited offroad experience I have had with it, it definitely comes across as a very capable offroader.




Some of its strengths in this department are mighty helpful for someone like me, who uses offroading abilities to get to difficult-to-reach places rather than just offroading / trail-bashing for the sake of it (we do that too but with the Thar 4x4 and not on the bike)




Wander carefree indeed!



And enjoy all those beautiful moments





The sky is the limit to where you want to take this bike!



The meaty low end torque and linear power delivery ensure effortless gliding over obstacles and rough patches without needing to wrestle with the throttle and clutch, and the tall 1st gear further helps matters when negotiating tricky situations.

More than sufficient torque to get out of sticky situations easily



Even if you want to ride up anthills!



The knobby tyres offer good grip levels off road, and the enhanced ground clearance, coupled with the crash protection on offer on the bike, allow for some reasonable confidence to throw it around and go to special places



The mammoth ground clearance is sufficient even if you deliberately attack anthills and boulders!





The water wading abilities are good, the exhaust is set high and the Himalayan manages stream crossings, deep puddles and waterlogged zones effortlessly, like it was built for it. The build quality is solid, and bits and pieces of the bike hold up reasonably well even after rough patches.




The suspension is very capable and smothers all the bumps, terrain undulations, pits and stones thrown its way, and this further enhances offroading prowess and confidence

The dog is surprised to encounter a vehicle face to face on top of a rocky mountain full of boulders



Fancy a rough trail to take you up there? Sure, aim, shoot and go!



Remember though, the Himalayan’s offroad abilities come with one caveat - the heavy weight of almost 200 kilos, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I am 6’1”+ and well built so it doesn’t bother me so much, but I have no doubt that something like the Xpulse will be way more nimble and sure footed when offroading and gliding over bumps.

Weight is possibly one of the main caveats of the Himalayan during offroading



When it comes to offroad ergonomics (standing up), the Himalayan is fantastic even for taller riders. The perfectly located tank contours and seat sides are easy to grip when onroad or offroad, the well-placed flat and wide footpegs are easy to stand on, and the handlebar (and controls) reach when standing is spot on and there is no need for too much forward lean.

A++ ergonomics for tall riders when standing and riding



Another shot



Easy to manouevre the weight around with the legs gripping



While standing, the rear brakes are easily reachable for quick course corrections. The presence of an easily readable gear indicator on the instrument console helps to know what gear the bike is currently slotted in.

[KarthikK]

Electronics and Instrument Console

In this section, I'll just go through the electronics and the main instrument console features with brief descriptions. Most things are simple and self explanatory here, so I don't need to delve into the details.

The left side switchgear has controls for the indicators, low-high beam switch and horn, and the additional vertically displaced switch is for the Maddog Scout-X Aux lights (covered later under accessories section)



The front and rear indicators are identical and look like this





At the front, when the indicators are activated, one half of the DRL ring glows orange along with the activated side of indicator light



The effect looks good at night too



The Himalayan gets a single horn, located on the right side (rider's point of view) under the fuel tank



The hazard light switch is located on the right side switchgear



Both indicators obviously go off with the hazard lights activated



Night time view



Hazard lights cause both the indicators to go off on the console as expected



At the front, the entire DRL ring glows orange when hazard lights are activated



The taillight is composed of 8 LEDs and looks elegant while providing sufficient visibility. Here is a view in the daytime



When brake lights are activated in the daytime



Night time vision - taillights



Night time vision - taillights with brake lights



The number plate is illuminated by a small pair of white LEDs, sticking out from under the taillight



Because I am so satisfied with the Maddog headlights on my Interceptor, I have retrofitted another variant of the same lights - Maddog FR70 LED headlights in lieu of the pathetic stock 7" halogen headlight unit. I will be reviewing the effectiveness of these instead, and putting it through the 180 metre dead end test which I have done in my other reviews.

The low beam is always on and there is no way to turn off the headlights on the BS6 Himalayan. 3 of the 5 LEDs are active on low beam



Low beam visibility is decent for most commute duties within the city and the spread is decent



Fire up the high beam and the other 2 LEDs also come on



Here is the throw with the high beams on. The dead end is slightly visible



With the aux lights fired up, the visibility receives a massive shot in the arm.



Moving to the instrument console, it has a simple and basic layout with all the essentials in place - speedometer, tachometer, temperature gauge, clock, a fuel gauge, gear indicator, side stand indicator, and tripmeters for easy readability, apart from a few other nitty gritties The entire layout is divided into a part-analog, part-digital console. There are also specific indications for Neutral, and error /diagnostic warning lights such as for ABS, engine oil level, battery and engine malfunction, etc



There are 2 tripmeters, the SEL button can be used to toggle between A and B



The blinking service reminder (observe spanner logo) crops up at the 450th km (for first service) and thereafter at every 5000 km automatically



The speedometer is analog, and the data display is digital with a plethora of information. As explained earlier in the BS6 differences section, the orange backlight has not been changed to blue backlight permanently, and RE is using them interchangeably on the BS6 bikes as per their component supplies.



The digital display has data for gear indicator (Neutral displays as 0), a clock, ambient temperature reading, Tripmeters A and B with a toggle switch to check average speeds within those tripmeters. The mode and SEL buttons can be used to set and reset any of these readings and/or the clock. There is also a separate tripmeter 'F', a virtual reserve indication, which I have already covered under the fuel tank range section earlier.



The tachometer is smaller than the speedometer dial and has a similar look and feel



The right side bottom section features an analog fuel gauge and a digital compass which shows the direction the bike is moving in. Rather fancy, but useless in this day and age of mobile GPS navigation.

[KarthikK]

Accessories

The accessories I chose for this bike were downright functional necessities for touring and nothing more. My list just includes guards for basic crash protection, fixing the existing weaknesses such as poor night time (stock lights) visibility and adding support for touring luggage. We have plans to use this bike for even longer roadtrips in future. I already added the OE side panniers, and probably will buy a duffelbag for longer tours sometime later. For the moment, the side panniers suffice for short trips around South India.

It definitely helped that RE was offering a flat 20% + some more discount on a lot of their OE Accessories around our purchase time.

Basic compact engine crash guard (RE OE Accessory). I wanted something that doesn't jut out too much or look very ugly on the bike. Not a fan of complex looking crash guards such as those multi-storied ones from Zana.



Compact engine crash guard on my bike, in black



Anti-glare touring mirrors (RE OE Accessory). These are way better in quality than the stock mirrors, vibrate lesser and the anti-glare feature helps in shielding light from behind. I use this set even with the Interceptor sometimes when our tours involve night riding



Zana GPS mount at the front



I use a RAM mount clamp and a USB fast charger for the GPS navigation phone, mounted on this setup for touring



Hand guards for lever protection from crashes (RE OE Accessory). These come with an Aluminium backbone and a fibre body and are quite robust. Around the time I purchased the bike, Barkbusters were out of stock so I picked up these and will use them happily as long as they serve me well.



Side view doesn't look so great - floppy and curved shape doesn't look as good as barkbusters but I'll swallow that for now





They do not obstruct usage of the hand levers in any manner and are roomy on the inside



Another view of the hand guard protectors



Front view of the hand guards



Grip puppies for added cushioning / padding over the handlebar grips and helping me grip better (I have long fingers). They help in making the handlebar grips feel chunkier. Most stock handlebar grips feel too thin for me, as a result I use these on all my bikes by habit.



Random tankpad in black and red to go with the bike, ordered from Amazon. Again a compromise purchase - around the time I bought there was a shortage of such goodies in all riding shops here. I'll change these out to better quality ones from good brands, when I can do so next.



The stock headlight was pathetic in throw and brightness, I was not satisfied with the throw and wanted a swap to LED retrofits just like on my Interceptor



Headlamp replacement unit - Maddog FR 70. Very similar output to the HR 70 I have on the Interceptor, with the only difference being that the DRL on this one is a full white circle (FR stands for Full Ring) and the one on my Interceptor is a semi circle (Half Ring)



Maddog headlights in action on the Himalayan



Raida water resistant bike cover in XXL size. I initially got L size and got it exchanged later for XXL because the Himalayan is so tall that the L size couldn't cover it fully.



Maddog Scout-X auxiliary lights - to boost visibility in the dark for those really dark tours and where it doesn't hinder the opposite traffic



The aux lights are attached to fork clamps which are made by Maddog specifically for the Himalayan.



The aux lights get a separate switch from Maddog, which is attached in a vertical orientation to the left side switchgear.



At night, the aux lights switch glows a bright red and it is easy to notice if the lights are switched on or not



With the headlamps and the aux lights switched on, the front looks like this



With low beams and aux lights active, the visibility is fantastic



With high beam (low + high beam) and aux lights fired up, there is nothing more needed really in the lights department. ~11,000+ lumens blasting away!



RE sells Touring Seats, an OE accessory which look just like the stock seats but are way stiffer in composition, and help a great deal for very long tours. I got them both in rider and pillion guise. They are on the pricier side though, by RE's standards (INR 4000 for the pair)





When placed next to the OE counterparts, these touring seats look exactly similar in thickness and material look. In reality, they are way stiffer though.



Wondering how one can distinguish between touring seats and the stock seats if they look exactly similar? Fret not, touring seats have these RE logos embossed into the fabric



Same but even fainter on the rider seat



The stock seats have no such logo anywhere