[The_Medic]

Originally Posted by iron.head

Confused between this 450 and the 2024 390 Duke.

As an owner of the gen 2 d390 (2018) and an even more proud of the last gen rc390 (2021) and now an eagerly awaited owner of the new Himalayan 450, i think I can help you out with atleast one side of the story and why I have now booked the Himalayan.
Both the bikes are brilliant at what the makers intended them to do. Starting with the d390.
It's a frantic, mad , giggle inducing machine. Every single time. Even a 5 min trip to the nearby market for milk or groceries can make you giggle depending on how much you are willing to twist the throttle.
As a corollary to this, It demands your 100% attention. You cannot zone out and ride the d390. It will land you in trouble real real soon.
With a good pair of tyres (highly recommend the Michelin road 5), it's a proper weapon for every single purpose on tarmac. You can go Touring on it and cover insane distances on it. Commute on it daily and you will have insane fun every single day.
But this demands your energy a lot. On our trip from Mumbai to Goa, I don't remember much of the scenery. But i could tell you exactly how the tarmac was, exactly where the grip is and all that. That's how demanding it can be.
This also demands good care. It's a high strung machine. Niggles will happen here and there. Be prepared to deal with it.

And this is why I want to switch over to a more calm machine. Something that lets me look around while it silently transports me across our roads. Something that keeps my heart rate south of 100 beats /min. (it's usually north of 100 every time I am on the RC390. Many times it has triggered exercise mode on my smart watch.)

So what's your poison? You wanna be enthralled by the bike every single time? Or do you wanna be a bit laid back? This is what you should answer. Specs and data are all secondary. Both bikes will do well in India whether it be cities, highways or smaller towns. How intense do you want your ownership to be is going to give your answer. Baaki sab moh maaya hai.

[AulusGabinius]

Originally Posted by MotoChild

A little caveat here: On the main stand, with 245mm seat height, i almost had to tip toe. (I'm 6'2") No other bike has ever made me feel like that, which for me was little turn on.

Tried it at Dhone Automobiles in Pimpri-Chinchwad the day before, and agreed. I'm 6'2" as well, and I could barely get my heels all the way down on the main stand. I think I would take the touring seat with the 855 mm height though, to feel like I'm perched on top in full comfort like the 390 Adv.

[Sam9293]

Originally Posted by AulusGabinius

Tried it at Dhone Automobiles in Pimpri-Chinchwad the day before, and agreed. I'm 6'2" as well, and I could barely get my heels all the way down on the main stand. I think I would take the touring seat with the 855 mm height though, to feel like I'm perched on top in full comfort like the 390 Adv.

Hi, do you have a tentative delivery date from Dhone ?

[AulusGabinius]

Originally Posted by Sam9293

Hi, do you have a tentative delivery date from Dhone ?

Dude they don't even have a test bike. I haven't booked one, but the Pimpri Chinchwad Dhone says no deliveries before February.

[Sam9293]

Originally Posted by AulusGabinius

Dude they don't even have a test bike. I haven't booked one, but the Pimpri Chinchwad Dhone says no deliveries before February.

Wow....Dhone, Market Yard has a test bike since 29th Nov and are saying delivery by mid to late Jan'24

[bhansali_hardik]

There seems to be a clear distinction for folks who have pre-booked and booked by RE! Which is a great move by RE. They will be delivering all the bikes in pre-booking queue and will then take up the regular bookings for delivery (say one color has lesser demand in pre-booking vs inventory available) only those will be routed to regular bookings. They have to deliver and prioritize all the pre-bookings.

At least this is what my dealer wants me to believe and he has gone mum on the pricing from being confident to using the pre-booking cut off prices during reveal to pricing at the time of delivery is a big Q again.

Given that RE has sent out bulk mail to all the queries about the pricing (will remain same), will they be liable to be sued if they deny it later?

We should start a petition already, given that this looks really choppy already.

[Linea]

I've done a small analysis of Royal Enfield's tentative delivery dates through the official website. Utilizing one of the provided API URL, I've compiled a XLSX file detailing delivery estimates for various models across different dealers as of 07-12-2023.After reviewing the data, it appears that Hanle Black and Kaza Brown variants are currently available for a shorter delivery period (within 20 days) at select dealers. However, other variants indicate a tentative delivery period exceeding 100 days.
To validate this information, I cross-referenced the data with https://makeityours.royalenfield.com, and the results aligned.
The data is just for reference, please consult your preferred dealer and proceed further.

[AulusGabinius]

Originally Posted by Sam9293

Wow....Dhone, Market Yard has a test bike since 29th Nov and are saying delivery by mid to late Jan'24

Well it is a tiny showroom, they didn't get a Super Meteor till like August for test rides.

[Sam9293]

Originally Posted by Linea

I've done a small analysis of Royal Enfield's tentative delivery dates through the official website. Utilizing one of the provided API URL, I've compiled a XLSX file detailing delivery estimates for various models across different dealers as of 07-12-2023.After reviewing the data, it appears that Hanle Black and Kaza Brown variants are currently available for a shorter delivery period (within 20 days) at select dealers. However, other variants indicate a tentative delivery period exceeding 100 days.
To validate this information, I cross-referenced the data with https://makeityours.royalenfield.com, and the results aligned.
The data is just for reference, please consult your preferred dealer and proceed further.

This is something my dealer corroborated. Royal Enfield is dispatching units of same colour together. So even if you are ahead as per pre-booking ranking, unless RE dispatches the set of units of your colour you are out of luck with delivery. I hope I am wrong though.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by Sam9293

This is something my dealer corroborated. Royal Enfield is dispatching units of same colour together. So even if you are ahead as per pre-booking ranking, unless RE dispatches the set of units of your colour you are out of luck with delivery. I hope I am wrong though.

+1 that's what I could gather from speaking to my dealer when I spoke about possibility of changing color.

It's surprising and irritating that RE had so many bikes to hand out to media folks but hasn't arranged for test ride bikes at dealers for those who have actually booked it. I declined to buy the bike without a TR and now there is a radio silence from the dealer on the test ride.

[Sam9293]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

+1 that's what I could gather from speaking to my dealer when I spoke about possibility of changing color.

It's surprising and irritating that RE had so many bikes to hand out to media folks but hasn't arranged for test ride bikes at dealers for those who have actually booked it. I declined to buy the bike without a TR and now there is a radio silence from the dealer on the test ride.

They have sent display bikes to the showrooms but no test drive bikes. It was luck that I found a showroom in Pune that had a bike ready and I could test ride it. Try calling other dealerships in your area and check if they have any bikes for test drives.

[maskebail]

Got an ad for rentals from RE, and did a quick search to check if they have new Himalayan, surprisingly, it did show up on the RE rentals search page; looks like it is offered by Twist Throttle BTM. On checking their website, it shows as available but sometimes shows as not available for the selected dates.
Will wait for a few more days and then check this; I am somehow not sure if I can get the entire story of the bike with Short test rides from showrooms, a full-day rental would be a good way to get a feel of the bike in different conditions.
Anyone wanting to get a proper experience on the bike before deciding to go for it can check this out.

[bhansali_hardik]

Had an interesting day yesterday, spent 2+ hours on the saddle and rode close to 60 kms in Bangalore with a mix of dense traffic and a few open stretches with a pillion. Few observations which are not so obvious on the internet yet.

This bike was ridden 600+ kms and had been serviced. They got an software update as well.

Bad things first:
1) the machine certainly vibes and there is a considerable buzz below 3~3.5k rpm.
2) the eco mode should be called limp mode best to be used on highways where you cruise at low speeds and do not anticipate aggressive overtakes.
3) I wouldn’t turn ABS off unless I have spent considerable amount of time on this machine.
Brakes are real sharp and the abs is not that intrusive if you figure out how the bike brakes without ABS.
4) fit and finish for the price at few spots are not acceptable
5) fan turns on quickly in city and will be on 90% of the times which is acceptable, the blow out from radiator will get you on shins certainly post 30 minutes. Short rides shouldn’t be an issue around city
6) the toggle button will fall out first on this bike, not tactile no feedback just a pain to use it especially with gloves on
7) TFT with basic information is really great, do not expect it to be working on all the navigation and other fancy tricks flawlessly. Couldn’t connect my iPhone.

Coming to the good parts:
1) power band surge has oodles of torque and the bike just goes!
2) enough space with a pillion, best bike so far where my other half did not complain on the saddle in the city traffic.
3) TFT with basic odo looks amazing, great readability and can’t think of a better odo in the market right now
4) sounds sweet when revved and it’s addictive
5) big bike feels and the extended wheel base helps
6) suspension is great, firmer than previous iteration but gets the job done in a great way!
7) plethora of options to customise
8) if the pricing doesn’t go bonkers, great VFM

[keroo1099]

Managed to take a quick look at the bike yesterday. First impression is its big and imposing, and I'm sure I looked silly trying to get a leg over the bike on the stand.

For RE, the attention to detail is impressive except for one single weld.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by Sam9293

They have sent display bikes to the showrooms but no test drive bikes. It was luck that I found a showroom in Pune that had a bike ready and I could test ride it. Try calling other dealerships in your area and check if they have any bikes for test drives.

The Chennai cyclone seems to have delayed the trucks with bikes it seems.

Which showroom did you visit that had. TR bike? Calling hasn't helped - either calls aren't getting picked up or bikes are not available for TR. Maybe I will visit the showroom you went to tomorrow.