[GTO]

Mod Note: Please stick to the topic, i.e. the Himalayan. Thanks!

[navin_v8]

The Rev'it riding gear and accessories tailor made for the Himalayan sure looks cool and functional. Coming back to my observations on the Himalayan.

The Fuel Tank: I believe RE deliberately chose to go with 15 litres stock capacity fuel tank. This might be to reduce the overall bulk and weight dynamics while going on off road trails. A high capacity fuel tank makes the motorcycle nose heavy and somewhat difficult to manoeuvre while taking sharp turns at crawling speeds on off road trails. The shape of the fuel tank is stubby(reminds of the yesteryears Jawa Yezdi) while being narrow behind to accommodate the legs for gripping it. This helps free space for the rider seat and thereby helps in keeping the wheelbase shorter. Lastly the shape of the fuel tank is flat at the front(when seen from top view) to accommodate jerry can mountings. Looks like it is designed with thoughts gone into it.

I will keep posting my observations for other parts.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by Oreen

Given their reputation, everything will fall off, but you will still love this bike. And I don't expect them to do anything differently. All their products are drool machines. That is until you own one.

It is a love affair, and once you come out of its clutches, you don't want to experience it again.

I agree with Oreen except for the parts falling off rant.
The company may be accused for low quality production if a part breaks off the motorcycle. But the rider has to take responsibility for loosing a part due to loose fasteners. The fasteners coming loose should be expected if you are riding a big vibrating single like Royal Enfield - the remedy for which is to check the fasteners with a spanner every 1000 to 2000 kms. Reduce this interval if you ride the rough roads. Another thing is that nothing falls of the motorcycle before chattering. So loosing a part means, the rider has missed or neglected the chattering. I ride a bullet and till date, nothing fell off my motorcycle and I don't intent to "touch wood". It is all about periodic inspection and maintenance.

As far as the Himalayan is concerned, Mr.Lal has announced that the motorcycle is equipped with a counter balancer which will reduce the vibrations. So hopefully, it won't be like it's ancestors.
regards Arun

[Dodge_Viper]

Originally Posted by adrian

I agree with Oreen except for the parts falling off rant.

Even I don't understand the "parts falling off" comment which many people make. I haven't seen a single instance of even a part getting loose forget the falling off part. Even in my bullet group nowhere I have witnessed such thing called as "parts falling off".

[outofthebox]

Complaining about falling bits and bobs off a bike is as silly as complaining about the loud noise & vibes made by the engine/exhaust of the bike. Falling bits and bobs is a part and parcel of motorcycling life and occurs quite frequently everywhere regardless of brand of bike.

My Brand new Ducati has had parts falling off as well as a Yamaha dual sport I used to own. Incidentally both are global superhits - one has been around for decades and the other has turned around the fortunes of the company. I just applied a couple of drops of Loctite No. 542 and moved on. It never reoccured again and I never heard any rants from any owners ever.

In fact I know at least two owners who have had the exact same part fall of their Ducati's in recent months in India, mostly due to poor road conditions. My neighbour who owns a Harley lost his number plate once on a road trip. He just got himself a new one without casting aspersions on the brand or ranting about it. It's a choice.

[navin_v8]

Continuing with my observations about the Himalayan. Next up is the:

Handlebar: Well RE is playing it safe here as per industry standards and what is been widely used in most of the ADV Tourers. Yes a single piece flat, high and a wide handlebar. Let's look at the geometry first along with the ergonomics. If one looks closely at the handlebar it is raised from bottom by making it sit on a projected holder bracket. This is done to give a rider an easy reach and a neutral upright riding posture which is ideal for touring. Also looking closely at the test motorcycles(although could not spot it on production version posted on their site) I could see a horizontal bar(known as cross brace in motorcycle terminology) joining the two ends of the handlebar in between, this piece is akin to off road motorcycles to prevent the handlebar from flexing and expanding due to torsional impacts. This is a very good piece of equipment and I will be glad if RE retains this in their production models.

Another unknown advantage of the cross brace is that one can mount their GPS on it. The cross brace on the test motorcycle makes me say one more time that some serious thoughts have gone into while designing and building the Himalayan.

[ringoism]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

Even I don't understand the "parts falling off" comment which many people make. I haven't seen a single instance of even a part getting loose forget the falling off part. Even in my bullet group nowhere I have witnessed such thing called as "parts falling off".

On a little trip from Manali to Manikaran on a pair of rental 500's, something very important fell off my friend's RE; namely, the brand-new (HSRP) number plate, which the owner had just received, and, not having time to get it properly riveted in place, had hastily screwed it on (not tight enough obviously). Bet that cost him some real pains to get replaced...

More seriously, I've had stuff come loose, as have others on all sorts of bikes, on most of my trips to Spiti Valley (H.P.), among the roughest of roads... On Bullets it's sometimes the carrier mounts, and very often the side-stand springs snapping/falling off, making things rather inconvenient further on, once the stand is wired/tied up in place and one can only use the center-stand on a laden bike on uneven surfaces... A one-time companion had the foot-brake pivot snap off the frame of his 350UCE near Chandra-Tal (after some wrongful abuse, admittedly) - also rather inconvenient, to say the least. On my old KB-RTZ, the one I recall was the nut that holds both the silencer and the swingarm bolt in place - totally lost somewhere approaching that same remote lake... I borrowed one from a less critical area of the bike and got going again in short order. True enough as one posted above, that for folks riding regularly in rough conditions, a bit of Loctite or even safety wire (aircraft-maintenance-style) can be helpful on fasteners in critical places, as will be a bit of checking at stop-points along the way. Unless you're talking about over-stressed metal / plastic parts actually fatiguing / breaking off, I don't see any issues here.

Though if you're on a Bullet, do bring along an extra side-stand spring for your remote, off-road wanderings... the rental guys here will tell you it happens a lot...

-Eric

[adrian]

Originally Posted by ringoism

On a little trip from Manali to Manikaran on a pair of rental 500's, something very important fell off my friend's RE; namely, the brand-new (HSRP) number plate,

Just taking ringoism's post as reference, I think majority of the people review the Bullets based on rides in rental ones. May be that is where the "parts falling off saga" and "unreliability" came to being.
An uncle of mine has a 15 year old CI 350 bullet which is still going strong with an un-opened engine. One of the similar guy I know is our fellow member Tharian. Both are ride more rant less types

[anandpkumar]

Hi Everyone.....newbie here, though I have been hovering around team-bhp for a long while. Finally bit the 'bullet' (pun intended) and got my membership!

I have owned one of the first thunderbird 350s to be released in 2003. To say that parts kept falling off this bike is an understatement. Even on good roads - I live in Ahmedabad, and most folks would agree that the roads in Gujarat are some of the best in India - the thunderbird had a bad habit of losing parts and creating other problems. I finally sold the bike after a few years because of the un-reliability.

Having said that, I am still excited about the 'Himalayan'. You have to give credit to RE for trying hard and putting in an effort to build a good bike. I have test riden some of RE's more recent creations - the Thunderbird 500 and the Continental GT. Though not perfect, these are far better that the one I had in 2003 in terms of quality. I am hoping that RE quality has improved quite a bit over the past decade or so, especially given their focus on the international market - which is less forgiving than us Indians when it comes to quality. I would however still refrain from buying this bike in the first year of production, rather wait out for the teething problems to be ironed out.

Exciting times for the India adventure bike enthusiast - we now have bikes across different price categories. Starting with the Himalayan, then the Kawasaki Versys (though technically, this is more of a tourer), the Triumph Tiger 800 XR/XC range and finally the Ducati Multistrada, Triumph Explorer, BMW GS1200 etc at the top

Best,
anandpkumar

[navin_v8]

To continue with my observations, this time it is the most important part:

The Wheels: Well RE again is playing it safe by sticking to industry standards of 21 inch front and 17 inch rear wheel configuration. Although I believe a 19 inch front and 17 inch rear would've been a better configuration. Nevertheless the existing configuration is equally good. Why so? Well the 21 inch front wheel is ideal while going on off road trails and desert riding(Rajasthan anybody) due to the larger diameter to overcome obstacles and undulations(as it covers a larger surface area, think simple geometry) encountered while offroading. Although it will be a bit difficult to steer it while riding on tarmac so a 19 inch is preferred, but the 21 inch wheel on the Himalayan has a skinny tyre which will help to keep the weight down while giving enough traction due to its pattern. The smaller size 17 inch rear wheel coupled with a semi fat tyre is ideal to propel the bike while keeping it stable and providing enough traction due to its pattern. If anyone of you guys have seen the Ford Schlesser Buggy(Dakar Rally) wheel configuration you can notice how the fatter and smaller diameter rear wheel helps propel the buggy while providing enough traction while climbing up and down the inclines ditto for the Rallye Dakar Motorcycle wheels. Also a fatter rear tyre helps to distribute the weight well while keeping the motorcycle balanced. I again repeat some serious thoughts have gone in while shortlisting the wheel configuration.

The spoke wheels choice made my RE on the Himalayan are ideal on an ADV tourer and the spokes can take a beating as they flex and absorb the impacts unlike mag wheels which might crack after taking a beating while doing offroading. Also a spoke wheel can be repaired easily and cheaply which is not the case with mag wheels. If you watch those shows on AXN channel where daredevil motorcycle stuntmen make their motorcycles jump in the air above 50-80 feet, their motorcycles are equipped with spoke wheels. This is an extreme example but I hope I have made the point. But the only con of the spoke wheel on the Himalayan is that one can't fit a tubeless tyre(which is very handy) which is ideal while doing offroading away from the civilization. There are special spoke rims that can be found on expensive ADV motorcycles which can easily take a tubeless tyre due to their construction. These kind of spoke rims are extremely expensive, so RE might have skipped it to keep the costs down. You win some you lose some.

Aesthetically the 21 inch front and 17 inch rear tyre gives the motorcycle an intimidating leap forward stance. Also the blacked out rims with chrome spokes look killer on the Himalayan.

[The Great]

Royal Enfield Himalayan test rides at dealership to start next month.

Source

[adrian]

Royal Enfield Himalayan Brochure with detailed Technical specifications.

https://www.rushlane.com/royal-enfie...-12186470.html

The ignition system is TCI.

[maker_of_things]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

. But the only con of the spoke wheel on the Himalayan is that one can't fit a tubeless tyre(which is very handy) which is ideal while doing offroading away from the civilization. There are special spoke rims that can be found on expensive ADV motorcycles which can easily take a tubeless tyre due to their construction. These kind of spoke rims are extremely expensive, so RE might have skipped it to keep the costs down. You win some you lose some.

I read on XBHP that Continental GT used tubeless tyres. Can someone confirm it? If they used the same kind of wheels on the Himalayan, it would be great.

Source

Also, while going through some DIY kind of methods to convert spoked wheel to accomodate tubeless tyres, I came across this article. Loved the tire balls, ingenious!

Also the blacked out rims with chrome spokes look killer on the Himalayan.

I just noticed this now. This does look absolutely amazing!

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by maker_of_things

I read on XBHP that Continental GT used tubeless tyres. Can someone confirm it? If they used the same kind of wheels on the Himalayan, it would be great.

Actually tubeless tyres can be converted to tube type as tubeless tyres on spoke wheels will not hold for long unless the inside nipples of the spokes are sealed. I have not seen the anatomy of he CGT rims so can't comment.

Also, while going through some DIY kind of methods to convert spoked wheel to accomodate tubeless tyres, I came across this article. Loved the tire balls, ingenious!

Mate I have come across these methods but how long will they hold is the question. Although any of the above methods can be used as an option for someone who wants to install a tubeless tyre.

[arulpeem]

Originally Posted by maker_of_things

I read on XBHP that Continental GT used tubeless tyres. Can someone confirm it?

Continental GT has tubes. I had a puncture in my rear tyre. Being a wired wheel there is no choice I suppose. But not sure if the tyres are basically tubeless.