Completed 1,000 km with my Himalayan 450: 5 likes & 5 dislikes

Vibrations are aplenty. From the foot pegs to the handlebar to the seat. The vibrations especially kick in at 4.7k rpm and settle down at 5.7k rpm.

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1,000 Km Ownership Review

I completed 1000 Kms this week with a small trip to Chikamagalur after getting the first service done. I must have done around 60-70 kms in the city and the rest on the highway. Here are some of my thoughts about the bike till now.

Some Pics

The good

• Excellent on the highway. The H450 keeps going, munching miles like candy and before you know it you've reached your destination. It is well planted, can do high speeds consistently and is fairly comfortable while doing so. Someone aptly put the H450 as being built 80% for highways and 20% for the off-road bits
• Suspension is just Brilliant. You can ride much faster over bumps. Just need to make sure that you don't do that with a pillion!
• Pillion comfort is good. My wife has rarely felt comfortable as a pillion on a motorcycle. She finds the H450 acceptable enough to ditch the car. That is a win for me!
• Maneuverability even with the large 21 incher at the front is great. I could lean effortlessly at corners and did not feel overwhelmed by the weight. Responsiveness is a tad bit late and this is where the weight is felt
• Brakes are great. They work really well and the ABS didn't feel intrusive. No complaints here

The not-so-good

• Can need a little readjustment with riding style while in the city due to the lack of low-end torque. Can't take full advantage of being a motorcycle in slow-moving traffic due to the length and weight.
• Vibrations are aplenty. From the foot pegs to the handlebar to the seat. The vibrations especially kick in at 4.7k rpm and settle down at 5.7k rpm. I tended to avoid this rev range by riding at a lower gear or riding at lower/higher speeds. Again this requires a readjustment in riding style because now to cruise at 95-110 kmph, you need to drop a gear to stay in the higher revs. I do have the Route95 Air Comfort grips installed.
• The seat is decent. I did face two challenges with it. First, I kept sliding forward while braking moderately hard at the 825mm seat height, will try the 845 mm seat height to see if this feels better. Second, the vibrations get through the seat and make it a little uncomfortable for longer distances. I was saddling every few 10s of kms to get some blood back to the butt and that helped a lot.
• Mirrors are useless at high speeds. It is just a shaky mess and makes you feel like watching a 144p video on a 4k screen. That's why RE has the touring mirrors option at the high price of ~Rs 6,850. They know the standard ones are useless and anyone who wants to tour will have to replace them!
• I still have not been able to connect to my Google Pixel. This is a major problem for me as I am stuck between getting a phone holder and waiting for the update to fix this issue.

Overall, I have enjoyed these 1000kms with the H450. I love riding it even with all the shortcomings. Luckily, I have not faced any mechanical issues. I am looking forward to lot more rides on this beast!

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