Royal Enfield Himalayan - yup, it's not a Honda!

[DirtFlier]

Although this woman may sound like a dizzy blond, she's done quite a lot of traveling and I give her much more credit than the "Long Way 'Round" boys who have support people/trucks close by. She did it all on her own and with a bike powered by a 400 cc, air-cooled single, with 24 HP. I'm not interested in the RE 650s but this Himalayan continues to fascinate me.

The Himalayan has an MSRP under $4900 and out-of-curiosity, I found an RE dealer about 45-minutes from me but all the 2020 Himalayans were gone. :-(

 

[JQL]

She's riding a Honda at the moment in the Netherlands while her Royal Enfield is being shipped back from South America...

 

[Reniram]

Strange how we all think we need 100+ hp and cruise control just to go a couple hundred miles to the rallies !!! but I like the fact that we have the choices and we ride because we can but I need a butt massage after the first tank of gas is gone.....

 

[suvcw04]

Who among us would not give a left body part for a BRAND NEW, fresh from the crate, CB350 Honda? All the motorcycle a prudent rider ever needed.

 

[Chucksklrst]

I think she sounds just fine. Too bad she is not a Burnette, but hey. Don't think I would ride the Middle East myself but then I have a US passport. She of course has a Netherlands / Dutch passport. Makes a difference in that part of the world. I would do Western Europe and Eastern Europe but would be very apprehensive in the Middle East. The bike is not my cup of tea but they have proven themselves.

 

[coaster]

I have followed her adventures for the last year or so, she started her adventures as a complete novice, but has graduated to a new level in her adventures.

 

[DirtFlier]

Reniram: Strange how we all think we need 100+ hp and cruise control just to go a couple hundred miles to the rallies!

At least for me, that's just garbage peddled by the motorcycle rags. For a long time to them, if the bike wouldn't do 110 mph in the 1/4 mile it wasn't worthy of being ridden. Although I've ridden plenty of powerful bikes, all the Hondas that I've owned have been V-twins (VT500FT, PC800, NT700V) except the most recent 2013 NC700XD with a whopping 43 HP.

Happy New Year everyone and please continue to be safe!

 

[Phil Tarman]

I just read an article Peter Egan wrote for the now-online version of Cycle World about spending a summer riding a Himalayan. He liked it a lot.

A 3,500-Mile Royal Enfield Himalayan Summer | Cycle World

 

[Coyote Chris]

I have seen a few of these out there....there is talk of bringing out a twin version. Pleanty of people in India ride bikes like this...right up into the Hymalias... and parts and service is available there.
I have a good friend who has two RE Bullets, one fuel injected and one not, and he rides them in the rural areas of North Idaho. Nothing wrong with anyone wanting to tour slowly on one of these, or any other small bike. Personally, the 300 versys like Chuck has would be a better option for me. Right now, I am still pleased with my Suzuki XT 650.
The Lady is rather interesting. There are pleanty of people who are adventuresome and are willing to live with the dangers of doing what she does where she does it. Many have lots of time and money. That's fine too. Their life. Not mine. Lets hope she pays attention to the travel advisories of the countries she passes through.

 

[Coyote Chris]

Who among us would not give a left body part for a BRAND NEW, fresh from the crate, CB350 Honda? All the motorcycle a prudent rider ever needed.

ME! i HAD A NEW ONE. Toured from Illinois to Colorado and back on it. No thanks.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I would want to see how it holds up in the real world.

I don't want to throw cold water on everyone. But I think I mentioned, long ago, how a Cleveland (former) R-E dealer gave up his franchise because he had too many brand-new machines coming back with dropped exhaust valves. He didn't want to do business that way - his shop, Cleveland Moto, would rather make the money on a fair markup at the sale, than sell something cut-rate and gouge the customers later. Or, rather than sell stuff that will have the customer coming back with issues.

Leads to an interesting product mix. He has SSR and Kymco, but gave up Royal-Enfield. He gave up Moto-Guzzi because he found the American distributors, which were Italians sent to the States, impossible to deal with and illogical in their requirements.

But...R-E may have worked the bugs out, but I'd want to be sure before putting money down on it. A Honda, it's not.

I think any American who rides a RE and is smart, knows the limitations of the machine. These 400-500 cc bikes are NOT for the interstate. They are NOT happy over a certain power level. They are very happy at 35-45 mph.
The Honda dealer next to our campground in Spearfish has a bunch of fun bikes that ARE fun as long as you know their limitations.

 

[Coyote Chris]

These guys cruised the H. at 80 mph....I would say they were living on the edge....

Durability Test: Pushing the Limits of Royal Enfield's Himalayan - ADV Pulse

With the skyrocketing price of extremely complex, extremely capable, extremely luxurious adventure bikes on the market, it seems that this unlikely bike from an unlikely manufacturer has come at just the right time. But, anyone can make a bike that talks the talk, but we wanted to see if the...

www.advpulse.com

 

[Phil Tarman]

Royal Enfield has been under new ownership for at least a couple or three years. The new owner has put lots of money into the brand and its processes. Buying Harris Chassis and opening a new product development center are examples.

 

[DirtFlier]

I read a long interview with the CEO of RE and he said he wanted to introduce 1-2 new bikes each year. I've attached a YouTube video of an RE factory from a few years ago and it shows the inner workings of an RE factory and I was impressed. Except for the color on the faces of worker bees, it wasn't too much different than the many Honda factories I've visited in Japan.

 

[ST1100Y]

I just envy folks for having that much time and founds at hand to disappear on a trip over half or even a full year... :unsure:
Must be nice to have no obligations and just GO RIDE... :sneaky:

 

[rc_heli_nut]

Dropped exhaust valves? Think I'll stick with my Honda, it'll always get me home!

Brad

 

[suvcw04]

Read a story about the 650 RE Interceptor. There is a dealer in Iowa, and I seriously thought about buying one.
Then, I checked the internet.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO thank you.

 

[Hondafan]

I can totally understand buying a Himalayan. It is not a cookie cutter styling exercise, and it actually has some character. It would also open up a new type of riding....more relaxed, so you get to smell the roses. Looks pretty easy to work on, which is rare nowadays.

The Himalayan has an MSRP under $4900 and out-of-curiosity, I found an RE dealer about 45-minutes from me but all the 2020 Himalayans were gone. :-(
[/QUOTE]

 

[ST1100Y]

I can totally understand buying a Himalayan.

Dunno... isn't it a bit too exotic to get parts for in really remote areas?
Methinks I'd prefer an NX250 as a technically simple, lightweight dual-sport...
OTOH might just the Himalayan be a good selection, as there many no-name Asian made/copied bikes and mopeds around, hence sharing common parts with it...

 

[Coyote Chris]

I can totally understand buying a Himalayan. It is not a cookie cutter styling exercise, and it actually has some character. It would also open up a new type of riding....more relaxed, so you get to smell the roses. Looks pretty easy to work on, which is rare nowadays.

The Himalayan has an MSRP under $4900 and out-of-curiosity, I found an RE dealer about 45-minutes from me but all the 2020 Himalayans were gone. :-(

[/QUOTE]
There is something about the H. that speaks to Americans. Its a nostaliga bike. If its not your only bike, I see nothing wrong with it as long as the forum folk are not having any major issues. And you are willing to live with its quirks showing up in the Youtube road tests.... If the engine has really been improved over the 500cc Bullet engine (I have ridden the Bullet) then I would like to test ride one to see how bad the vibration is at 60 mph. And how good the brakes are. It might be just the ticket for those nice roads around Kaslo. Or North Idaho. Maybe we should all ride one if they have one in stock in Spearfish.
I like the tubeless tire mod.

RE Himalayan Ovalanda Edition with extra-functional accessories unveiled

Cooperb Motorcycles, based in the UK, has improved the Himalayan as a revamped Ovalanda Edition. It comes with a lot of functional accessories.

www.rushlane.com