Anyone got or ridden a Himalayan?

cliffa said:
Another quick update. The fuel gauge quite quickly went down to almost empty, so I filled up @ 297Km on the tripmeter. According to the manual the fuel tank hold 15 Litres +/- 0.5 litre. Imagine my surprise when I filled the tank to the brim and it only took 10.12 litres !! So when I got home and worked it out it did 29.34 Km per litre, which equates to 133 MPG if I'm not mistaken !! I need to confirm it the next time I fill up, but it's pretty impressive.

Cheer,

cliffa.
Click to expand...

I think 29.34 KM per litre is more like 83mpg Cliffa. Still bloody good though.
 
Dohhh, :confused::confused: yes I forgot to convert back to MPG :oops::oops::oops::oops::oops:. So it does 133KM per gallon which equates to 83 Mpg. as you so rightly say.

Thanks for pointing that out.

I'm selling it...

;)
 
Another update. I refilled after another 325Km, and it took 9.87 litres which equates to 32.93 Kmpl or 93Mpg. I knew it handles well, but have just read that Harris Performance designed the frame & geometry which explains it !! (They have now been bought out by RE).

I'm up to 622 Km now. soon be overtaking some of those 961 boys :)

Cheers,

cliffa.
 
cliffa said:
Well, I picked it up tonight, and second impressions are even better. It was dark by the time I left the dealer. The lights are good, all the switches fall easily to hand, and the instruments, well judge for yourselves...

Cliff
Just re-Reading this thread and noticed that your bike had 7644 km on the odo when you parked it after your night ride - do they ride them from India to the dealers? ;)
John
Click to expand...
 
Mind you I am cracking up some KM's - I'm up to about 670 now. Not bad for February / March.
 
cliffa said:
Another quick update. The fuel gauge quite quickly went down to almost empty, so I filled up @ 297Km on the tripmeter. According to the manual the fuel tank hold 15 Litres +/- 0.5 litre. Imagine my surprise when I filled the tank to the brim and it only took 10.12 litres !! So when I got home and worked it out it did 29.34 Km per litre, which equates to 133 MPG if I'm not mistaken** !! I need to confirm it the next time I fill up, but it's pretty impressive.

EDIT - **I was mistaken as was so kindly pointed out to me. It's 133KM per gallon, or 83MPG (Imperial)

Cheer,

cliffa.
Click to expand...
Still, that isn't bad mileage.
Cheers
John in Texas
 
I test rode one last week and was preparing to buy it based on the MSRP of $4500
US + tax and license. My impression riding it was that: It handled quite nice; Was
VERY under powered for a 400cc engine. I have a Honda CB300F which is much
quicker.; The front disc brake seems quite uninspiring. During the test ride, the bike had 8 miles on the odometer. The clutch was poorly adjusted, was hard to shift, and began slipping above 4000 rpm. I expect that was due to poor dealer prep. Nevertheless, for it's purpose as a smaller sized adventure bike, it seemed priced right and I was prepared to whip out my credit card. When I sat down with the sales rep to discuss terms I was informed that there was also a $1200 transportation and dealer prep fee. At $6200 out the door, I asked the gent if he could sharpen his pencil. He agreed to knock $100 off the price. Oh! And for a set of RE hard bags they wanted $1000. So, I left feeling battered by that outrageous transportation fee. I bought my Yamaha FZ-09 sport bike new for $8000 out the door. There is no comparison in build quality. Oh! That Honda CB300F was $4000 out the door. I still like the Himalayan and it's concept. It's just the price seemed out of kilter. My buddy bought a Honda CRF 250 dual sport, 2 years old with 2,000 miles on it and like new.
 
lazyeye6 said:
I test rode one last week and was preparing to buy it based on the MSRP of $4500
US + tax and license. My impression riding it was that: It handled quite nice; Was
VERY under powered for a 400cc engine. I have a Honda CB300F which is much
quicker.; The front disc brake seems quite uninspiring. During the test ride, the bike had 8 miles on the odometer. The clutch was poorly adjusted, was hard to shift, and began slipping above 4000 rpm. I expect that was due to poor dealer prep. Nevertheless, for it's purpose as a smaller sized adventure bike, it seemed priced right and I was prepared to whip out my credit card. When I sat down with the sales rep to discuss terms I was informed that there was also a $1200 transportation and dealer prep fee. At $6200 out the door, I asked the gent if he could sharpen his pencil. He agreed to knock $100 off the price. Oh! And for a set of RE hard bags they wanted $1000. So, I left feeling battered by that outrageous transportation fee. I bought my Yamaha FZ-09 sport bike new for $8000 out the door. There is no comparison in build quality. Oh! That Honda CB300F was $4000 out the door. I still like the Himalayan and it's concept. It's just the price seemed out of kilter. My buddy bought a Honda CRF 250 dual sport, 2 years old with 2,000 miles on it and like new.
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a bit of a shocker. Over here the list price is around CHF6600 (the Swiss Franc pretty much 1:1 with the USD) for the bike, so they are already more expensive (that's no surprise to me) however, they only charge CHF250 for delivery!! I got mine just under one year old for CHF5600 with 8000 Km on the clock, including all the luggage & bags you see earlier in the post, and a new front tyre thrown in (not really sure why as the one on it is fine). I did buy mine in the winter, so that may explain some of it.

I agree with you on the power and the front brake, however many folks have stated that you don't want an overly powerful brake off road - which is true. ( you have to remember the markets these are sold in). Apparently EBC HH pads will improve it. I don't agree with you on the handling, it's not quite nice, I think it's excellent. I honestly think it's the most chuckable & predictable bike I've ever had. ( even on knobbly's).

My advise would be to look for a used bike or another dealer. There is no way I would pay $1200, especially if they can't even adjust the clutch right.

Another word of caution, I'm not sure how tall you are but the panniers mount pretty high (in fact the tops are level with the pillion seat) so it can be quite awkward getting on and off the bike. I'm 6' 2" Or 185cm with a 32" inside leg, and I sometimes struggle to swing my leg over when getting off.

Like I said I agree about the power, but in Switzerland where there are speed camera's everywhere it's almost perfect, however if it had another 5HP it would be great. I was over in the U.K. at Easter and my brother and I went to the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham (he'd never been before and loved it) And while we were there we got talking to a guy called Jim Lee, who used to work at Meriden as a bike tester. Boy the stories he could tell ! Anyway, he mentioned that there were three Indian guys from the Royal Enfield test and development centre at Bruntingthorpe in the museum. By chance I happened upon them (read hunted them down), introduced myself as an owner of a HimalIan as they pronounce it, and asked about tips to bump up the power. They cooly said for an offroad bike it has enough - no answer to that I guess. Anyway, they said there will be a larger engined bike coming out either next year or 2021. So I said, oh yes I heard about the 650 twin bike, and they said no it will be a 600 single but not sure if it will be air or water cooled yet, so they must have some prototypes already running I guess.

Anyway, I think the bike is great, but I'm sure it's running very lean, as it hunts at small throttle openings in lower gears. There is a replacement engine management box you can buy which apparently sharpens up the response, but some adopters are not convinced, so I may wait awhile. So in summary I still have no regrets buying it at all, but it would be nice to have a few more HP.


Cheers,

cliffa.
 
lazyeye6 said:
I test rode one last week and was preparing to buy it based on the MSRP of $4500
US + tax and license. My impression riding it was that: It handled quite nice; Was
VERY under powered for a 400cc engine. I have a Honda CB300F which is much
quicker.; The front disc brake seems quite uninspiring. During the test ride, the bike had 8 miles on the odometer. The clutch was poorly adjusted, was hard to shift, and began slipping above 4000 rpm. I expect that was due to poor dealer prep. Nevertheless, for it's purpose as a smaller sized adventure bike, it seemed priced right and I was prepared to whip out my credit card. When I sat down with the sales rep to discuss terms I was informed that there was also a $1200 transportation and dealer prep fee. At $6200 out the door, I asked the gent if he could sharpen his pencil. He agreed to knock $100 off the price. Oh! And for a set of RE hard bags they wanted $1000. So, I left feeling battered by that outrageous transportation fee. I bought my Yamaha FZ-09 sport bike new for $8000 out the door. There is no comparison in build quality. Oh! That Honda CB300F was $4000 out the door. I still like the Himalayan and it's concept. It's just the price seemed out of kilter. My buddy bought a Honda CRF 250 dual sport, 2 years old with 2,000 miles on it and like new.
Click to expand...
I just bought a Interceptor. Quite the deal, they paid the sales tax, tag and inspection fees. Out the door for $6674, not bad. I take delivery on Tuesday.
John in Texas
 
N0rt0nelectr@ said:
I just bought a Interceptor. Quite the deal, they paid the sales tax, tag and inspection fees. Out the door for $6674, not bad. I take delivery on Tuesday.
John in Texas
Click to expand...
Niiice, which colour di you get?

Regarding a bigger Himalayan, I think if they make it too big it will lose some of it's appeal.

Cheers,

cliff.
 
cliffa said:
Niiice, which colour di you get?

Regarding a bigger Himalayan, I think if they make it too big it will lose some of it's appeal.

Cheers,

cliff.
Click to expand...
I am getting the Ravishing Red one. In a odd twist my wife was all for my buying a new bike and she picked the color. She has MS and can't ride anymore but has no problem with me getting a new bike. As for the Himalayan that was a rumor that I heard from a friend who is more connected than I.
I will post pictures and riding thoughts in a later post. How do you like your Venom?

Cheers
John in Texas
 
Thanks John, I look forward to your pics and impressions.

I love the Venom, but don't get to ride it enough, partly because it's not stored at my house so it's a bit of a faff to get, but also because I am renovating a Moto Morini Camel 500 at the moment, and it's taking a lot of my time.


Cheers,

Cliff.
 
Anyone got or ridden a Himalayan?
Just bought the wife a 2019 demo (4000km) model it should turn up in a couple of weeks. from the comments the bikes seem more expensive in the US with the $ conversion hers works out to about 3700 US I've ordered aftermarket pipe on it for a few more horses and they have put lowering blocks on it as she is a bit short, she rode one for about 300km (pics in 650 thread) I've got this for her as we are planning an India trip next year and she'll have a year to practice. I'll get to have a play too but be happy to ride a bullet over there .
 
Bluedog 55 said:
View attachment 10965 Just bought the wife a 2019 demo (4000km) model it should turn up in a couple of weeks. from the comments the bikes seem more expensive in the US with the $ conversion hers works out to about 3700 US I've ordered aftermarket pipe on it for a few more horses and they have put lowering blocks on it as she is a bit short, she rode one for about 300km (pics in 650 thread) I've got this for her as we are planning an India trip next year and she'll have a year to practice. I'll get to have a play too but be happy to ride a bullet over there .
Click to expand...
Hi Bluedog, nice one. Is that the actual bike ?

Have you already paid for the pipe? The reason I ask is there is a Welsh guy on YouTube who fitted one, and when dyno’d It was discovered that the factory pipe gave more HP. ( although it didn’t sound so nice).


Cheers,

cliffa.
 

Similar threads

savingclassicmotorcycles
Himalayan an Classic 350 reborn
2
Replies
21
Views
1,625
worntorn
W
savingclassicmotorcycles
Royal Enfield Himalayan
2
Replies
34
Views
2,289
gpzkat
gpzkat
J
New Norton Commando 961, has anyone got one ?.
Replies
12
Views
2,549
Hortons Norton
Hortons Norton
C
  • Locked
I have finally ridden a commando! And brake questions.
Replies
9
Views
865
Paul
Paul
Back
Top