There’s the voice of reality & reason - well said Minkyminkyhead wrote:as a obsevation and being fair minded as well i took a himalayan out a while back ..to be fair im a big unit 16 stone and 6f 1in tall and it was a pretty cramped affair for me ..the side panels and the exhaust conspired to make it a pretty awkward stance to stand and keep my feet comfortable on the footcontrols ..stuff i guess that can be solved ..it has a pleasent nature on the road and its quite nice to ride ..over 5k its a bit stressed and past it touque curve where the crf starts and at 7k is like a pig in shit ..so different
its a pretty good hobby slagging the coconut shy crf suspension with most ..but the truth is the rear shock has no rebound and the front forks actually do a pretty reasonable job unless you want to hit washing up bowls at 40 mph
i did take the himmy down the local coach road which is tree rooted whoopsy distressed and broken badly ..its a fair test on any suspension made easier or harder by the speeds you choose
heres the truth the himilyans suspension is borderline terrible down there harsh crashy deflecty and you will damage it pretty easily by bottoming out its beyond its remit over 20mph ,,even a stock crf mushy and bouncy is light years better on that track it one of them that has whoops that land you on a upslope of the next adverse cambers big holes teree roots and gravelly rain ruts
id say the crf is 50 percent more capable there than a himmlayan as is with nothing done ? if you want to ride the fill remit of uk tracks ...if you get the crf up to full suspension spec ,,proper sag full travel expect a seat height south of 940mm which at a guess it 10cm highr than the himmy its then tbo on different planet when it comes to the knarly steppy stuff ...you can place a full face adv lid iunder the belly pan of the rally after around 12inches clearance and it still gets banged now and again .the other big upside of that is the pegs are clear of all but extream deep ruts i have no measure but id think maby 5inches higher than the himmy from the base of the front wheel
..so you have to be clear on what you want it for and do you really need it ?
id say for sure a fully set up rally properly done will be far too tall for your dad as a novice if hes under 6ft .it is a a tall perch similar to most enduros
..im pretty sure your looking at distresed roads and jeep tracks maby easier trails to ride together .
tbo id get a himmy each share one set of spares and tools be safe and steady with the ability to get both feet on the ground on the awkward bits .. save a grand or more on the rally and get a rear shock each and whatever the himmy lads say is good for the front .....as imho the himmy suspension is pretty poor paricularly the rear ..when questions are asked in a high speed hit envoroment
...just needs to be upgraded at both ends to make life plusher and more contoiled
These Himalayan bikes are over hyped I reckon