The RE Himalayan ...

The Things We Ride
Onenoodles
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The RE Himalayan ...

Post by Onenoodles »

anyone got one or had one recently?
I sold my XT660z a few weeks ago and sort of regret it ... looking at the RE's, read good things and for what I want then might be an option ... oh and they are cheap :D

I don't ride fast anymore, 9 points have curbed that ... I like to throw camping gear on, set off for a few days, bit of off-road i.e. gravel and tracks and then the obvious road trips between i.e. Wales etc

Peoples thoughts on the Himalayan would be welcome ;)
Jak*
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by Jak* »

I have had mine about three and a half years and done 33,000 miles. For the first couple of years it was pretty standard but now has a lot of little mods and I have just fitted one of the Indian made ‘performance’ camshafts. If you avoid long stretches on motorways and straight dual carriageways it is brilliant on road. The handling means you can pass a lot of bigger bikes on the twisties. Excellent fuel economy (about 85 mpg is common) and a reasonable size tank means you only have to stop about every 250 miles or so. I have used mine for a mix of commuting and a couple of longish trips, Spain, Portugal, Italy etc, through the Picos, Pyrenees. Alps and Dolomites it was awesome. Did a few dirt roads over there too. I am not a great off road rider but it inspires confidence. I actually enjoy riding it off road more than I did my CCM GP450. It’s mild manners mean you can potter along and enjoy the views. I guess if you are a bit more serious off road rider you might want to upgrade the suspension, but it is okay for me.
Issues have been steering head bearings (they forget to tell the workers to grease them), the side stand is too long, the brake callipers seized if they got salt on them, some bikes have issues with relays (mine hasn’t), like a lot of modern vehicles if you don’t use them regularly the battery doesn’t last (mine is still on the original), the seat is not the best although mine seemed okay to star5 with and deteriorated after about 10,000 miles. Mine is a 2018 model and a lot of the problems have been sorted on the later ones or been subject to a factory recall. There is an excellent Facebook group.
Most dealers have ones you can test ride or Nathan Millward does his experience days when you can have a day out on the and other similar bikes.
Personally I reckon they are probably one of the most complete ‘adventure bikes’ out of the box. A lot of owners on the forum have bigger bikes as well but find they hardly use them cos the Himalayan is so much more fun. The last big trip I went on was Scotland and I thought about taking my Guzzi Cali 3 but I was doing mainly minor roads and 85 as opposed to 55mpg swung it for me.
I only wish Enfield had brought it out a year earlier, then I wouldn’t have wasted so much money on the CCM.
ErikGustav2
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by ErikGustav2 »

The Himalayan seems to be a little bit sensitive topic
Many persons have strong opinions about them.
Especially those that have never ride one, only read the spec sheets.
They claim that it is an under powered and over weight bike of Indian low quality.
And since it is cheap, it has to be bad.... logic

But... the persons that are using them, claim that it is a very good travel bike.
=> Listen to people that have actually used them.
And take one for a test ride.
They have a good second hand value.
So if you buy one and change your mind, it is not costly.

I think Nathan (mentioned in the last post) gives good and honest feedback on the Himalayan.
Based on real usage of this bike and a lot of others.
Look around in the list of his videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/nathanthepostman/videos

=
I have used an early Himalayan in Nepal. (BS 4, carburetor model) It was the perfect bike for those conditions.
It fitted the roads and the traffic conditions.So I understand very well, why it is designed as it is.

RE has a large network of dealers. Good support all over the world.
Has been in business for 120 years. And expanding.
RE has accessories like panniers to provide. You can get it with rack and panniers and.... direct from the dealer.
No Touratech parts are needed.

And Hitchcocks has some extra to offer.
RE is now produces/assembled even in Colombia and Argentina.
If I ever get to do my dream to tour South America, it will probably be on an Himalayan.
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Onenoodles
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by Onenoodles »

Thanks for the feedback gents ... it is very tempting and I will sort out a test ride, looking at the videos from Nathan (and others) then he swaers by them and bought his second and he has done big trips.
Thanks again both.
Onenoodles
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by Onenoodles »

Onenoodles wrote: Fri Mar 18, 2022 6:14 am Thanks for the feedback gents ... it is very tempting and I will sort out a test ride, looking at the videos from Nathan (and others) then he swears by them and bought his second and he has done big trips.
Thanks again both.
Tonibe63
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by Tonibe63 »

Some good answers above.
I bought a 67 plate when it was 18 months old with 3k miles on the clock because I had doubts about how it would suit me as a second bike, I still have the bike but now it has 7.5k miles on it. Other bikes with 4 times the power have come and gone, the only other remaining bike is my long-term 1200gs which has done 500 miles since buying the Himmy.
It suits the use I have for it, which is putting 2 bikes in a van and driving to Scotland or Wales for bike holidays. I couldn't say if I could handle it being my only bike to cover European travel but this year I hope to get a couple of solo UK camping trips in.
To me you have to have the right mindset of enjoying the scenery rather than corner to corner blatting it and only you can answer that by owning one.
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.
Oop North John
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by Oop North John »

The Scram 411 might be a good alternative for those who do less hardcore off tarmacked roads:

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/r ... 022-review

Richard Simpson Mark II
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

See the YouTube on it by Offroad Ofcourse, and also the Knox one.

The only bad thing seems to be the amount of parts that fall off it or are damaged on the Knox video. They rode the same route on a KTM 390 Adv and nothing fell off it.
garyboy
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by garyboy »

never ridden a Himalayan, so, reluctant to post ... but Noraly .. a much admired and respected world bike traveller, started off on a Himmy, where she had head bearing go and clutch? cable go at regular intervals. She loved the bike but when she transferred to a crf250 L she preferred that as it was lighter by 50kg? with about the same power, as well as longer service intervals, and much more appropriate to gnarly trails, as she could pick it up easier and handle it better and go where it would be dubious on the heavier Himmy.

She rode that crf like a pro in the Kalahari Rally, and she impressed me a lot .. wow .. wot a girl !!
OK, she broke it, but she was carrying too much weight on the tail end, but it stood up reasonably well against much more powerful bikes, though she kept wishing for more power.

She tried out a rally-prepped KTM 450 exc and absolutely loved it .. but conceded she would not get one of those mainly because of the short service interval, so inappropriate for long days in the saddle around the world.

Then she shifted to the crf 300 Rally .. and so far .. (i not got far on series 6 yet) .. is absolutely delighted with the bike ... though i have noticed the front end is very bouncy.

This may serve to put the Himalayan into context ... and.. you start off saying Easy Trails, but end up doing more and more adventurous stuff?

Hope this helps (I waz bored anyway)
Onenoodles
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Re: The RE Himalayan ...

Post by Onenoodles »

Yep ... she is some girl is Noraly ... she has guts and determination and throw in a winning smile and humour and its easy to see why she seems to get the reactions that she does.

Still unsure what to do ... still drawn to replace the XT660z with another one ... was so enjoyable to ride, or I may just go back to road touring and get something comfy that I can blat down to the Sth France, Spain etc i.e. ZZR1200? another Varadero (had 5 over the years and been great for touring)?

Not wanting to spend above £4000 and decent XT's are bringing a bit more than that but I will keep looking.
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