[sprocket]

Did anyone in Bangalore register their bikes in Jan 24?

RE is quoting the pre-hike ex-showroom price for bookings before the 31st of Dec, but how is the price increase handled at the RTO side?

Could you share your experience?

[tech_rider]

Originally Posted by sprocket

Did anyone in Bangalore register their bikes in Jan 24?

RE is quoting the pre-hike ex-showroom price for bookings before the 31st of Dec, but how is the price increase handled at the RTO side?

Could you share your experience?

Some discussions were already happened here. I'm mentioning same here. RTO and Insurance rates would be on new price, difference of price increase would be given as a discount on on-road price

[rishi.roger]

So an update on crash guard and some accessories:
1. Spoke to OEM dealers as it was pointed out by a fellow bhpian in last post. Unfortunately they denied any stocks plus they said they will be able to get it only after the dealership.
2. Tried other dealerships in town and found Crash guard at one of them. Went to the dealership and at the time of purchase they received a new stock of accessories. This turned out to be Rally Kit (Bash Plate + Crash Guard) and Radiator guard.
3. I went ahead with the rally kit as it offered more protection for the sump as well as the design was minimal yet sturdier than the standard crash guard. It felt a bit heavier as well but still a lot lighter than aftermarket accessory manufacturers. The coating/paint and finish also matched well with the bike.
4. Now comes the interesting part, Fixing the Rally Kit at the dealership seemed like an impossible task. The left side of the crash guard fits well and easily. However the right side fitting for the second mount of the frame is behind the rear brake lever. Remember the triangular frame that houses (bushings to minimize vibration ?), so its behind it. Taking that out and fixing the crash guard there is a task! They gave up and I advised if they can ask service center nearby to fix it as I'm afraid the dealership could end up over-torqing the bolts too (the way they have been doing it so far). I had to go through a nightmare very recently due to service experince from Bajaj so this was a scary experience at RE too!
I was hoping they would download the Installation manual but looks like they were over-confident (?), not sure if its their fault. Perhaps a complicated design by RE. I downloaded it for them and shared it for help.

The service center fortunately proved very helpful and did it quickly.
Lesson: If its the first time your dealership is installing it, please ensure they are aware of have the right set of tools. It doesn't seem like a very simple job like other crash guards.

The total cost of Rally Kit + Radiator Guard was 10700 where 10 percent discount is provided by RE within first 30 days of purchasing a bike.

[rishi.roger]

Some more updates on my recent queries.
Pic 1: Rally Kit on Hanle Black. Looks small though coming from Zana on previous bike.
Pic 2: Went ahead with RAM mirrors. Cost ~14k. Waiting for anti-theft locks.

Pic 3: Was thinking to get a mobile mount but without charging as Himalayan already has Type C charger port. Didn't want to add more weight so went ahead with a lightweight solution. Total kit was ~10k. Since Himalayan does have vibrations in handlebar so I didn't want to risk my phone's OIS.

Now I'm hoping to get the following:
1. Barkbusters Knuckle Guard with Storm Wind Deflector. I can't seem to find one in particular for Himalayan 450 yet. My goto shop here mentioned Month end as waiting time for it to arrive.

2. Full Windshield (Although the RE GMA windshield looks good but not sure how much wind blast it will protect from. I used one from aftermarket previously by carbon racing for Dominar and it felt better than stock. Right now, there doesn't seem to be any aftermarket offering so GMA waiting continues).

3. 810mm seat saddle for city.

4. Tubeless RIMs, just like everyone else

[BlackPanther31]

The headlights on this bike is absolutely useless, can anyone recommend some good alternatives or should i go ahead and install fog lamps?

[Sebring]

Can you dip it a bit further down and check? I did that and its good

Originally Posted by BlackPanther31

The headlights on this bike is absolutely useless, can anyone recommend some good alternatives or should i go ahead and install fog lamps?

[adc]

The LED headlight of H450 are most useless and pathetic to the say the least. My 20 years old CI Bullet Electra has better light throw and thought finally let me have some LED lights!

Originally Posted by Sebring

Can you dip it a bit further down and check? I did that and its good

The stock position came had its own umbra and penumbra type thing like those old torches and did exactly that as a desperate solution ie dipped it further.. Now this seems good in city where you have quite a bit of ambient light.. but the moment i was on the highway night time.. it was like driving blind..


This video grab shot is while on the Kolkata Leh ride done end December 2023 and this is close to Barhi, Jharkhand, some 450 km from home.

As you can see i thought driving much further as the sun went down on the highway and with no fog on clear winter night but frankly speaking what i got was now was seeing the road clearly in that pitch dark just a 1 sec before - to the state where i was following the white mark and the edge of the road to make myself safely out there plus the road condition is not that good as six lane widening is going on.

Its dangerous and life threatening on the highway with this kind of light setup, had to stop in Barhi itself. Auxiliary lights are a must on the H450 and without cutting wires and hopefully will get some pointers out here - but that does not take away the fact the the main headlight still then would score a 0 out of 10 on night highway ride. The headlight glass or bulb or both needs an update.


This is on the 2nd night near Kanpur, where the highway was great with regular white markings and as could ride and still in fact had to take the ambient light of the cars to maintain decent visibility till Kanpur

[tech_rider]

Originally Posted by adc

...

Auxiliary lights are a must on the H450 and without cutting wires and hopefully will get some pointers out here

...

This video might give you some info. Maddog alpha

https://youtu.be/CydNKCKnp1U?si=LXFBx35-MuvHS6Mv

[Sebring]

Guys, I had noticed something strange when I purchased it. With under 3 litres of fuel, I wasnt able to balance the bike properly at standstill. It leaned far right once, and I struggled to pull it to the left. But with 10 litres it was normal. The weight distribution/center of gravity on the bike is a bit off (Could be!), being so tall and the air filter moving under the tank etc.
Or this could be just me feeling this (being new bike and all)

[techfreak]

Originally Posted by rishi.roger

So an update
4. Now comes the interesting part, Fixing the Rally Kit at the dealership seemed like an impossible task. The left side of the crash guard fits well and easily. However the right side fitting for the second mount of the frame is behind the rear brake lever. Remember the triangular frame that houses (bushings to minimize vibration ?), so its behind it. Taking that out and fixing the crash guard there is a task! They gave up and I advised if they can ask service center nearby to fix it as I'm afraid the dealership could end up over-torqing the bolts too (the way they have been doing it so far). I had to go through a nightmare very recently due to service experince from Bajaj so this was a scary experience at RE too!
I was hoping they would download the Installation manual but looks like they were over-confident (?), not sure if its their fault. Perhaps a complicated design by RE. I downloaded it for them and shared it for help.

I installed it as DIY at home.
I too struggled on right side at the same very point behind the right foot rest. What one needs is a 24mm open ended spanner then it was a quick job.

I too went for rally guard as it adds only about 3kg addl weight and that too way low on the bike so might actually give it a little more stability. Sharing a snap below of the installed rally guard and radiator guard.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by adc

The LED headlight of H450 are most useless and pathetic to the say the least. My 20 years old CI Bullet Electra has better light throw and thought finally let me have some LED lights!

Absolutely! It is one of the worst I have experienced (other than some scooters) on a two-wheeler and hence I chose to highlight in the first post itself as "Headlamp is woefully inadequate".

The halogen headlamps of my Hunter 350 is way, way better than these LEDs.

[Sebring]

Another insight; We took the tyres out for a possible OUTEX application in a few days and the light weight aluminum rims are MADE IN MALAYSIA. Inside, the star shape hubs (Spokes tether) are usually found on high end imported vehicles.

[rishi.roger]

Originally Posted by techfreak

I installed it as DIY at home.
I too struggled on right side at the same very point behind the right foot rest. What one needs is a 24mm open ended spanner then it was a quick job.

I too went for rally guard as it adds only about 3kg addl weight and that too way low on the bike so might actually give it a little more stability. Sharing a snap below of the installed rally guard and radiator guard.

Perhaps this requires an installation video . But I posted this to ensure our fellow bhpians are aware about it and don't spend hours figuring out.

Also, I have to admit that Kamet White Looks more suited for accessories as how the color blends perfectly. I think it looks weird on the hanle black with silver finish. Perhaps RE should have variant in Matte Black. I wonder of the material used could later on comply with aftermarket paint procedures.

Also, those of you finding headlamp inadequate, have you tried adjusting it ? The high beam by default was pointing in the sky. I adjusted it using an allen key (on the lower right behind the lamp), and it helped a lot. Keeping it at the same level as low beam helps to concentrate both lights and benefits highway usage a bit.

[Sebring]

I have pre-ordered few ZANA accessories in black, lets see how it looks on the Handsome Hanle

Originally Posted by rishi.roger

Also, I have to admit that Kamet White Looks more suited for accessories as how the color blends perfectly. I think it looks weird on the hanle black with silver finish. Perhaps RE should have variant in Matte Black.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Another insight; We took the tyres out for a possible OUTEX application in a few days and the light weight aluminum rims are MADE IN MALAYSIA. Inside, the star shape hubs (Spokes tether) are usually found on high end imported vehicles.

Didn't quite understand this.

Possible to post some pictures? I doubt anyone else has removed the tyres in their Himalayan so far.