The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

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uturntony
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by uturntony »

Tink wrote: Fri Jul 19, 2019 12:42 pm
uturntony wrote: Fri Jul 19, 2019 11:22 am
Tink wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:14 pm I was lucky enough to get a test ride at ABR festival 👍.... Took it off road 👌....
Fantastic bike and I will be buying one 👍
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Took my 2k mile Himmy out on the TRF rideout and then pasted it round the "adventure track" including all but two of the "experts" sections over three consecutive laps having one "off" going over a log and it performed admirably and came out absolutely unscathed except for a bent gear lever which was simply bent back again. The Himmy was a match for much more expensive machinery doing the same stuff as them. Hundred miles each way to get to the venue and back loaded with the camping gear was an absolute pleasure and brings a smile to my face when i'm getting along at 60 through the lanes with the big single doing it's job very well. It's now sat in the workshop cleaned up and ready to go again;

Think I may have stopped and spoke to you when you were trying to fit some bar risers on your Himalayan 🤔🤔???
No, that wasn't me. The only work i did on mine was to straighten the gear lever :)
P4ulie
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by P4ulie »

I managed to get a demo on the Himalayan at the festival, I was very impressed. Only getting one lap around the trail I'm very interested in taking a road demo from somewhere. One could well replace my shagged CRF250 for the daily commute when it finally gives up.

I was genuinely surprised at how well it handled
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uturntony
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by uturntony »

P4ulie wrote: Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:59 pm I managed to get a demo on the Himalayan at the festival, I was very impressed. Only getting one lap around the trail I'm very interested in taking a road demo from somewhere. One could well replace my shagged CRF250 for the daily commute when it finally gives up.

I was genuinely surprised at how well it handled
Yep, it really is a sweet handling machine both on and off road. Obviously it has its limitations in that it's ground clearance when off road isn't up to the standard of a true trailie but it did manage a deeply rutted trail where the ruts were that deep the top of it kept knocking the gear lever into neutral which was a bit of a nuisance, it did get through though with a lot of paddling and i wasn't alone with that as so did the others who were on much "better suited" bikes. On road, obviously 25bhp is limiting to some degree but because of the power delivery it's plenty enabling the bike to hussle along at legal limits (and above) on those nice twisty A and B roads whilst loaded up with all your gear. I was doing just that on the way back from the Festival when i spotted, in my mirror a white car closing on me so i upped the pace some more and dropped the car back and that went on for a good few miles. I eventually came to a 30 then a cross road, the car now was up behind me and yes, it was a (non suss) cop car. They didn't bother me so when i pulled away i had a big smile on my face, the Himmy does that for you :)
Tonibe63
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by Tonibe63 »

I took my 'new to me' Himalayan out for the first test ride today. First impression after 100 yards was "wtf ...... where is the power" but after 20 miles it's pinned in 4th through the twisties of a local B road and I'm grinning like a cheshire cat.
Going from a V twin 1200 to 411cc single was always going to be a shock but it is a proper giggle to ride flat out knowing that if a camera van is around the corner you have a good chance of keeping your licence.
I also ventured on to an easy but muddy local greenlane which I last rode 5 years ago on a Husaberg 390 and despite the Himalayan being on dual sport tyres at road pressures it handle it just fine with no drama.
Early days but I'm pleased with it.
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Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
Jak*
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by Jak* »

Hi, I went to the VMCC Founders Day event at Stanford Hall at the weekend. The Royal Enfield owners club had their annual rally on site. There were about ten Himmys on the Enfield Owners campsite and about another dozen spread over the rest of the site (A lot of Interceptors too). I spent a lot of time looking at others Himmys to see what mods people had made and a lot of time talking to owners. Everyone I spoke to was more than happy with their bikes and it was a common theme that although many had other bikes, the Himmy was the one that they chose to side the most. There is something undefinable that just makes them fun to ride.
Cheers Jak
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by Tonibe63 »

I had my first proper ride on the bike on Sunday (120 miles) sticking to A and B roads and really enjoyed it. The highest speed limit all day was 60mph which the Himalayan can maintain all day long, overtaking anything doing more than 50 takes a bit of planning but instead of riding at licence losing speeds on the big bikes you just have to
keep the Himalayan pinned and ride the bends, a bit like driving a go kart where if you brake then it takes a while to recover the speed.
I thought riding for miles at high engine revs would be hard work but the Himalayan engine is quite smooth for a single and not at all clattery.
I know it's the new kid in the garage but it has taken pole position nearest the door and I intend it to be first choice over the summer, time will tell if it's still here in 3 months but right now it's surprisingly fun to ride.
Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by P4ulie »

I had a road test ride today as the demo at the ABR festival was purely round the track. It handled brilliantly through a good mix of 20mph town, rural b roads, fast a's & a bit of dual carriageway. I really enjoyed it......but some advice from them that have had it a while.

The bike had 43 miles on the clock & was very tight, initial acceleration was uninspiring to say the least, even compared to my CRF250 let alone the GP450. Once the engine has bedded in does this improve somewhat? It was very sluggish. It chugs along happily once up to speed though.

It will be mainly used for taking me to work, site visits & back home, reasonable acceleration off the line to get ahead of the traffic is vital.

Are the panniers worth including in the spec, I do carry tools / toughpad around & fed up with it on my back.

Fair bit of buffeting from the screen, seems to put it straight into your face (I'm not especially tall), any work arounds?
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Tonibe63
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by Tonibe63 »

I joined the Uk Himalayan facebook group long before buying mine and the concerns you mention ie lack of power and wind buffeting are on there.
From memory there were a lot of comments about the engine being tight for the first 1k miles or so but a noticeable improvement from then on.
The lack of power was a shock to me but had I had a test ride then I would have known that. In all honesty I may not have bought one because my head was fixed in the 0 to 50 in 3 seconds before changing into 2nd gear (whilst looking for cameras and cars) mindset so I decided to just buy a used one (3,700 miles) and ride it for 3 months, only 2 weeks in so too early to tell.
You've had recent experience of smaller bikes so the change will be less dramatic so go get a test ride and ride it like you intend to use it.

Buffeting and screens are also mentioned on the owners group page. My standard screen was cut down by the previous owner hence I don't get buffeting just a healthy dose of wind on the chest that let's you know that you are at the national speed limit :D . Having had big bikes with Wunderlich barn door screens (with added buffeting) and others with bikini screens I know my preference. On the Himalayan some have found a way around the issues by lifting the screen up very slightly to reduce the air pressure difference which causes buffeting. Again I would say test ride a bike the way you want to use it.
Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by Slowlycatchymonkey »

Jak* wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:05 pm Hi, I am just trying to renew the insurance on mine and am sick to death of filling in online forms and after several pages finding that these specialist motorcycle insurers have not heard of the Himalayan. Does anyone have any recommendations for companies that actually have heard of it?
Cheers Jak
Ah yes I had this too and after 20 mins on the end of the phone they discover ‘Royal Enfield’ and Indian Royal Enfield are listed in two different areas due to them being two different companies. One of the defunct old school and one the resurrection. So I check the drop down menu and sure enough they’re all there under Indian Royal Enfield. They tell me sometimes it’s also under Royal Enfield India.
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Slowlycatchymonkey
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Re: The Royal Enfield Himalayan ,great value.

Post by Slowlycatchymonkey »

P4ulie wrote: Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:54 pm I had a road test ride today as the demo at the ABR festival was purely round the track. It handled brilliantly through a good mix of 20mph town, rural b roads, fast a's & a bit of dual carriageway. I really enjoyed it......but some advice from them that have had it a while.

Are the panniers worth including in the spec, I do carry tools / toughpad around & fed up with it on my back.

Fair bit of buffeting from the screen, seems to put it straight into your face (I'm not especially tall), any work arounds?
Couldn’t decide on the panniers, knew I’d leave them on and didn’t fancy doing that so went with this recommended bag which works a treat and comes on and off easily. The waterproof liners are a bit suspect so I use cheap dry sacks in them if the weathers changeable.

https://www.motolegends.com/accessories ... Black.html

Hitchcocks do different screens, dont know what difference they make though.
http://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycle ... malayan%20
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