[bharath79]

Originally Posted by Neo18

As early as Feb/March 2024, before the Lok Sabha Elections. When one of the prospective customer enquired about the On Road Price, the RE staff pointed this out and asked the customer to take into consideration another 10k hike in RTO charges.

True, nobody is going to bat an eyelid. Both the "Introductory price" saga and the "RTO Price hikes" are a really kick in the wrong place for folks who are on a tight budget.

Also this may be valid for the new financial year FY24-25?

Regards
Bharath

[Apex1815]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

...Contrary to popular opinion, is it just me who thinks the old Himalayan was a better looking bike than the new one? I feel the new Himalayan 450 looks incomplete.

I agree with you. Himalayan 411 was way better in terms of looks. I have never owned Himalayan but I had Rented the one for my Manali to Leh ride in the year 2019 and I was totally sold to this motorcycle.

The new Himalayan (from Fuel Tank side) looks like a bigger sibling of Hero Impulse and second half i.e Fuel Tank to seat is something like Hero Karizma.

I hope the Scram 411 will have the similar design soon.

[kaushalswarup]

As someone who’s passionate about motorcycles, having previously ridden the Himalayan BS4 and currently enjoying the Hunter 350, I recently had the pleasure of test-riding the new Himalayan. This experience was particularly intriguing as I'm contemplating an upgrade, with the 390adv being a key consideration.

Initial Impressions and Comparisons:
The new Himalayan makes a striking first impression. It's notably larger than its predecessor, and even seems a tad bigger than the 390adv, thanks to its imposing 21” front wheel. The increased bulk is noticeable, and it takes a bit of getting used to.

Rider Comfort and Ergonomics:
At 173cm, I found the ergonomics to be quite accommodating. The seating is comfortable, though a more contoured front would have been ideal. The handlebars and console are well-placed, ensuring a pleasant and unobstructed riding experience.

Engine and Performance:
The Sherpa 450 engine is a compact powerhouse. Its linear power delivery starts picking up noticeably around 2.5-3k rpm. The performance is smooth and predictable, a characteristic vital for both city commutes and long rides.

Handling and Control:
Handling is an area where the new Himalayan truly shines. The suspension efficiently absorbs bumps, promising a smooth ride. The balance between comfort and sporty handling needs to be seen through further test rides.

Vibrations:
One aspect that stood out was the vibration in the handlebars, tank, and pegs. While this is somewhat expected from a single-cylinder engine, its impact on long rides remains to be seen.

A Concerning Observation:
A slight delay in throttle response was noticeable during the ride. From the time I twisted the throttle, to the time the bike responded, there was a noticeable lag. This lag, though minor, could be a point of concern, especially for riders who value immediate feedback from their machine.

Final Thoughts:
In summary, the new Himalayan represents a significant upgrade from its predecessor. It promises to be a reliable companion for long highway tours and is well-equipped to handle rough terrains and trails. However, its suitability for aggressive off-roading and high-speed highway riding would require further test rides.

I'd wanted to know if others have experienced the throttle issue I mentioned.

It’s great that RE has the bike ready for test rides soon after the release!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Apex1815

The new Himalayan (from Fuel Tank side) looks like a bigger sibling of Hero Impulse...

That was exactly what I thought. This Himalayan looks like a bigger Impulse. This is the bike that Hero should have released long ago! RE beat them to it and should nicely corner the market I think.

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

No doubt, its technically and mechanically far far superior as per all the reviews, but that 'LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT' factor is been missing. For eg, the Interceptor/GT 650 had that appeal when launched.

Will try and visit one of the showroom to have a look at it in person, and take a test ride too, once the dust settles a bit.

I couldn't resist to check it out after a Sunday ride. This bike (platform) has huge potential. Imagine a Sherpa 650 platform!


First to address the elephant in the room, the bike is heavy! To lift it off the side stand it makes its presence felt immediately. It's a perfect example to always turn the handle to the right most and then lift the bike off the side stand. With a full tank of fuel how it feels need to be seen.


Coming to the side stand which is a cast unit is inclined a bit too much. Leaving the bike needs some assurance and if you forget to put the side stand down then it's beyond the point of no-return. Gravity will show it's presence felt! In addition, in a muddy/wet scenario you might slip off the rubber footpegs while climbing on the bike or getting off it due to the incline/slope. One has to remove the rubber inserts for better grip.




Now coming to the foot pegs, I didn't feel any obstruction as I must be used to keeping my feet ahead of the pegs courtesy my Interceptor 650. This is someone else in the showroom.


The exhaust note is sweet.







Electronics and switchgear felt nice. I'm a bit skeptical about the joystick and in future we might have to change the entire LHS switch cube for only the joystick malfunction!


The screen is super, nothing like it in the market as of now. I don't know how it showed the manufacturing date when I was playing with the switchgear!


With inspiration from sukiwa, I opened the seats and saw the internals and could spot the ABS unit, Fuse box, Relays and OBD-II port but couldn't locate the ECU.

Some details captured, most of it are already shown. I'm no metallurgy expert, you get what you see.


Star of the show, Sherpa 450


Rear shock on the 3rd setting


The frame


As of now test rides are not offered. I'll check it again but as @nasirkaka said Himmy is purposeful and driven by the mind whereas the Twin 650 are driven by the heart



Interestingly, met a guy at showroom who has booked the bike in Dehradun. He had many questions regarding RE and the weight of the bike, well fellow bhpian Ricci and I tried to answer all his queries. When we suggested him the Scrambler 400X he said that sadly no Triumph showroom in his town and he would settle for the Dominar 400 if not this. Himmy gives a proper big bike feel though! Interesting times ahead of RE, let's see how they spawn this platform but first deliver the bikes!

Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz

[kaushalswarup]

Problematic points on the new Himalayan: Instagram

Here’s a good list of what might be problematic for potential customers.

Yesterday we listed what we liked about the new #Himalayan450 after riding it for 1300km.

Today, let's talk about what we didn't like:

- Vibes at 4.5k and beyond can leave you with buzzing hands after a day-long ride. And these seem to be in the way even if you are taking things easy, which I didn’t enjoy.
- Fork flex under braking is apparent. It could rob confidence of riders.
- Initial throttle response feels unresponsive. It feels odd and one must work the clutch more than usual at slower speeds. It can be a tad tedious.
- Doesn't feel like 40 horses; or the most alert and raring to go 40 horses at least.
- Finish and detailing at places leaves something to be desired.
- It can feel a bit cumbersome at crawling speeds given its top heavy nature.
- One can also feel the heat from the engine in slow-moving traffic scenes; might get uncomfortable for those not in denims or riding gear.
- And it might be stable and forgiving off-road, but it’s less playful unless you add speed or lean. Meaning you either need skill or need to be brave to look like a hero on this off-road.

Also, the engine refinement, gearbox shift quality, seat, and the overall design are all nice, but are more on the acceptable end of the scale than being outstanding or noteworthy.

[Neo18]

Originally Posted by bharath79

Also this may be valid for the new financial year FY24-25?

Regards
Bharath

Yes, it's limited to Karnataka only. More so, to Bangalore urban.

Mod Note: Please avoid typing with excessive dots...like....this. Please review the Forum guidelines before proceeding.

Thank you.

[govind_kaniyath]

My 12 year old Classic 500 was recently replaced by Harley Davidson X440. I've mentioned my initial impressions on the X440 in a different thread.

I've booked the Himalayan 450 also.

Since there are multiple riding members in my family, I have no worries on usage.

I booked it unofficially at a local RE dealership a day before official bookings started by RE online. My colour was "Kaza Brown" (cream colour).

The sales person told me booking is fully refundable. So I made the booking and decided to make a decision regarding purchase when reciews, price come out and after a testdrive.

The booking experience was hassle free, dealer handed me a slip in an envelope. Next day I got a mail from RE confirming my booking and the same was reflected in RE app as well.

When reviews came out, I was impressed on it.

After seeing it in person, Oh man!! what a presence this bike has!

It looks like a big full fledged ADV. I sat on it and asked the sales person to click a couple of photos so that I can understand how well the bike suits my 6'1 frame.

It was absolute spot on.



I'm yet to see the kaza brown variant in person and yet to recieve a testdrive.

There was a time while owning the classic 500 when I thought I will never set foot inside an RE showroom again. How the tables have turned.

This is similar to what Mahindra did with the thar. They blew it out of the park!!

[Sebring]

Few bikes having tappet noise. Like Schumi advises, should one 'wait and watch' before making the buy? What do forum experts think of this video.

https://youtu.be/i92s8wk47ec?si=kkEprJV4_wkx0GhL

[iron.head]

Please forgive me folks if this feels like nitpicking (AND the fact that I have not test driven this motorcycle) but I am a bit skeptical (and would love to be wrong!) with how this absolutely wonderful dream of a motorcycle has turned out to be.



It seems RE has tried to achieve 2 things out of many with this motorcycle. They have tried to make this a "BIG" motorcycle while trying to keep the seat height low for Indian/other riders. This has led to a slightly odd shape/dimensions in the final product.

In my mind, I am comparing the Himalayan 450 with the legendary (but not expensive) Suzuki DR650 (i ride a 2020 DR650 when not in India) which is a motorcycle that doesn't need an introduction or telling on how fantastic it is in real life! To put simply, there is a petition to Suzuki in Australia to make the DR650 compliant with the current emission norms and to bring it back! (it's still on sale in North America).

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/...50se-to-europe

The DR650 is around 166 kg wet weight and the stock muffler is ~ 6kg which a lot of people swap with a decat muffler!



Though the DR650 is not a street motorcycle it is a lot of fun to ride (nimble) on the urban roads owing to its weight and dimensions!

Coming back to the Himalayan 450, it can possibly be modded to reduce the weight to make it relatively much lighter (by 12-15 kg) and I am hoping that the dimensions are not any unfriendly for everyday riding around the city.

For those who like to look at the numbers, here is a comparison.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Looks like the deliveries have started, at least for the popular influencers:

[rishi.roger]

Recevied a call on 28th Nov, from the KayTee Automobiles RE Dealership in Mahipalpur, Delhi asking to visit the dealership as they unveiled the Himalayan 450 for display.

They had Hanle Black on Display. In Person, it looked massive!, mostly because of the Huge Tank that almost reminded me of Africa Twin. That tank is definitely one of the most noticeable feature on this bike.
The other thing that caught my immediate attention was when I took the bike off from center stand and sat on it. I am 5ft7" with a very average inseam. For reference, I currently have a Dominar with saddle height of 800mm and I can't completely flat foot with regular shoes. On Dominar, I find it a struggle to manuever the bike backwards when stuck in traffic or even forward when motor isn't switched on, paddling isn't easy for me. Due to Himalayan's weight and size in person, I was under impression that it won't be anymore easier and I should perhaps not consider it.
Also, the lower seat option wasn't available plus the dealership had the saddle height set to higher option, which is ~845mm. This was very intimidating for me, however a gentleman sardarji at the delership asked me to try it nevertheless. He even helped moved the bike from center stand so that I can try it.
I couldn't believe myself that with 845mm seat height, I could touch both my feet on the ground with some amount of tip-toe on both side but it wasn't too much. In addition, I felt the handlebars were also comparatively lighter than the Dominar (Dominar is a front heavy bike).
Himalayan felt way lighter than Dominar when it came to paddling back and forth as well as even when steady. On Paper, the Dominar is just a bit heavier/lighter than Himalayan so I wasn't expecting a lot of difference but in real world I felt Himalayan lot less intimidating the Dominar (the way you feel the weight of the bike at standstill/physically moving around). I'd love to see how this translates to stability b/w both the bikes out on highways.
The stock seat for both rider and pillion were good, on par with Dominar. The rider seat felt very close to being firm, IMO. This should help with covering long distance easily. At 5,7" - I also found the posture to be almost perfect for both Bad roads as well as Long Distance. I'd however definitely not want to corner on this bike (might change later when I get a chance to actually try and see if it feels confident).

Things that didn't feel nice:
- As someone pointed about gaps in the tank protection frame on both sides, it looks ugly and gives horror of mud, dust and whatnot being stuck there. Unsure, about why RE did it - I'm sure we'll soon see aftermarket accessory plastic caps that cover those holes.
- There are some plastic caps protecting the same tank protector frame in front. They felt extremely flimsy.
- The build quality and finish on the bike felt like an absolute hit and miss across the unit. In some places, it felt that RE did an outstanding job while at some others parts it felt very meh. This is obviously subjective (and shouldn't affect practicality) and I'm sure a lot of this had also to do with keeping the unit affordable as well as keep overall wieght in check.
- This must be me coming from a cable operated throttle, felt that there was a teeny-tiny amount of delay in how the motor responds to the throttle input. I'm guessing, this is your typical ride-by-wire delay and one would probably get used to it.

The motor didn't feel like your typical RE thumper. Although there were vibrations present across the range but those are more of "slight buzz" that did not seem to increase as you rev harder. It's like a constant buzz that's present in the body - but handlebar, seat and footrest seem isolated from it to a large extent (likely some really good dampening by RE). I certainly can't compare it to a Jap, but for a RE (and considering the fact that it's a large size single cylinder) - it's well done, IMO. I feel that some amount of settling down after first few service and engine oil change - it could become smoother.

Regarding Delivery: The sales rep at showroom said, they're likely going to receive 3-5 units in first lot and there would be either one or two lots at best in Dec. The price will only apply at time of Delivery and not booking. Also, most pre-bookings are for Hanle Black and Kamet White. (Few are thinking this changed for booking made after price-reveal, but I really doubt it if one looks at this beauty in Black - looks stunning!!!).

PS. The first customer delivery video is out there on Youtube to a popular Youtube Vlogger.

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Looks like the deliveries have started, at least for the popular influencers[/ATTACH]

A couple of Kaza Brown Himalayans were delivered yesterday too. One to Bosky, Big Bear Reviews and the other to the owner of Carbon Racing accessories co.

According to sources, first container of around 20 bikes were ready for delivery in Bangalore!

[VellVector]

Took delivery of the new Himalayan yesterday - was told that it is the first Himalayan to be delivered to a customer.

First impressions from my short ride of around 20 KM:
- The fit and finish on the bike is good considering its price point.
- Overall the bike looks great - paint, wheels, etc look good to me.
- The digital dash is really nice - but I had a hard time figuring out the navigation and the switches seem to need multiple presses to respond.
- The engine has good power across the initial and especially mid range of the revs.
- Suspension is good - riding around some of the BWSSB work in progress streets was a breeze.
- Brakes are decent but didn't inspire complete confidence for me. May need to get used to it.
- The foot peg position is a bit problematic - being used to a bigger adv bike my legs naturally go to the outside of the pegs. But if i keep my legs straight down the pegs bump my back of my calves. Only solution seems to be to either keep my legs outside the pegs (works if your tall enough) or put your legs behind the pegs.



I wasn't particular on the colour and asked the owner of the dealership (who is an old friend) to pick what he felt was best. Coincidentally happened that this Himalyan I got has a very similar colour scheme to my 40th Anniversary GSA.

These are just some first impressions. Will post more after riding the bike a bit.

[rich_heart]

Originally Posted by VellVector

Took delivery of the new Himalayan yesterday - was told that it is the first Himalayan to be delivered to a customer.

Which dealership is this? I am assuming this is in Bengaluru.
I am assuming this is Kwality Motors Banashankari 2nd stage.