Royal Enfield Himalayan heating issue: Only 5-month old & 3000 km done

When the engine overheats in heavy traffic, the motorcycle tends to stall between gear shifts.

BHPian rider@55 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I'm in the 6th month of owning a Royal Enfield Himalayan BS VI and have ridden her around for almost 3k kms. From day one of 'running in' the engine, I've faced the problem of the engine 'overheating'. Overheating to the extent that I feel the heat creeping in through my riding denim. When I mentioned this to the personnel at the Official Service Center (Soniya Motors, Manpade, Thane), I got the response that it being a new engine, this was bound to happen. Also, when the engine overheats, it being ridden in heavy traffic conditions, it would die off in between gear shifts. To fire back the engine, I would have to get back to neutral and then start all over again.

An experienced Himalayan rider shared with me the same problem he used to face with his bike. He recommended I take the bike on a long ride and hopefully, like in his case, the problem would fade out for me too. So, I did. But it was winter and my rides along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway were smooth sans traffic bottlenecks. So did not feel the engine overheating.

Recently, with the mercury in Thane, Maharashtra, going north like a drag race machine, I can sense the engine heating up even on short rides of less than 10kms. My engine crash-guard becomes hot thanks to the engine heating up.

When I did a generic check for the same on YouTube, a rider who faced this problem shared that the replacement of the 'liquid cooler' unit on his Himalayan gave him a solution. Not being a 'grease monkey' (the phrase used with due respect to engineers & techies), I don't know if this is 'a' solution or 'the' solution, or if there is some other solution. Would sincerely appreciate the input and/or assistance from people who know how to handle such glitches.

Thanking all responses in advance.

Here's what BHPian rakesh_r had to say about the matter:

The Himalayan’s engine is prone to heating up a bit. One of the attributes causing this is the stock RE engine oil which I didn’t like at all. I switched to Amsoil and the heating was reduced a bit. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done to take care.

On the stalling issue, it’s mostly the EVAP circuit that is the culprit. It can either be a clogged Purge valve or the canister or the hoses getting crimped. In my case, I completely eliminated the EVAP canister, after which I haven’t faced any stalling issues. If your bike stalls frequently in heavy traffic or while parked under the direct hot sun, open the fuel lid to relieve the trapped pressure inside the tank.

There’s a channel on YouTube called On two wheels Ben, which has some really nice information on how to take care of some of the issues faced with the Himalayan.

Here's what BHPian Amil had to say about the matter:

If you feel it's overheating, it probably is. The rising heat just adds more fuel to the fire. The way you described it, reminds me of Harley.

Himalayan should not heat up that much as it is not a high-revving engine. You can easily cut through traffic at low rpms with that low-end torque. Try to keep those rpms low in case you rev it much. Air cooling should suffice but they have added an oil cooler so probably is a reason behind that.

If this service center technician is making excuses, get it checked at another service center, check if the oil cooler is working properly. Have you made the oil change yet? Maybe a wrong grade oil was put in the engine, which could contribute to the overheating. Also, try switching the spark plug with a cooler running iridium one.

Here's what BHPian kosjam had to say about the matter:

One of the easiest fault-finding tools would be to ride your bike to the showroom and take a test drive on their test drive vehicle while the sales guy you interacted with, takes a test drive on your bike, simultaneously.

Meanwhile, check if the oil cooler fins are dirty. Is there any protective covering on its backside that the showroom forgot to remove before delivery of the bike?

Ideally, the best way to diagnose the bike would be to get it checked by an experienced Himalayan rider (since you mention that you are not a grease monkey) who would give you impartial advice.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.