[man_of_steel]

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.

He is partially correct. His statement that Pirelli Sport Demon tyre is tubeless is correct. The same will be mentioned on the tire wall too. But that is not the case with the CGT. In CGT it is mounted on a spoke rim which is incompatible for a tubeless tyre. And of course, a tubeless tyre can be run with a tube inside it. RE has done just that. And it wont make any difference if it is aluminium or steel, the spoked wheel will still be a spoked wheel.

There are tubeless conversion kits available for making spoke rims compatible for tubeless applications. It works by sealing the inner central portion of the steel rim where the spokes meets the rim. But what I am not cent percent sure is if this is safe and if this will hold when wheel truing/spoke tensioning is performed and will have to be reapplied again.

Loved the tire balls, ingenious!

Anything that increases the unsprung weight is a strict no no. Atleast for me!

[anandpkumar]

Hi folks,

I might be in Pune next week on some work. Do any of the Pune RE showrooms have the Himalayan on display? Pune guys?

I checked with two of the RE dealers here in Ahmedabad, and they both had no idea. A standard 'it will come in March' was the reply. When I said that dealerships in Delhi/Gurgaon have already started displaying the bikes more than a week ago, they again gave the standard reply . Seems like I was more excited at this new bike than the RE dealers themselves!

[ringoism]

Originally Posted by adrian

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

True, rentals were notoriously poorly maintained for years up here and provided a lot of heartbreaking experiences on would-be trips to Leh; things are improving lately (but of course they charge 4-5 times the daily rate now vs. then, too).

Like your uncle, an older friend here has a very nice 1999 std. 350 that never has given much trouble, having traveled widely (to Zanskar with pillion even). He counts himself lucky though, saying that with the old CI's it was very hit-or-miss: if you got a good one you were blessed, a bad one and you were "cursed".

That said there have been, in more modern times, a lot of legitimate complaints about privately-owned and decently maintained UCE's, especially the 500's (even my company technician friend freely admits such). Parts may not fall off (much), but have been known to break / wear out / seize / otherwise fail far too often. I was also rather shocked last year to find (in the best of the British tradition) oil spots on the showroom floor under practically every new bike up at the local dealer's here in Manali (Dungri).

The Himalayan really does need to better this if it would be a success. The brand is "stretching" itself a bit, and if the new model doesn't fit the well-worn "modern classic" mold then it had better at least be reliable / practical enough to be lovable by more than a few.

-Eric

[adrian]

Originally Posted by ringoism

That said there have been, in more modern times, a lot of legitimate complaints about privately-owned and decently maintained UCE's, especially the 500's (even my company technician friend freely admits such). Parts may not fall off (much), but have been known to break / wear out / seize / otherwise fail far too often. I was also rather shocked last year to find (in the best of the British tradition) oil spots on the showroom floor under practically every new bike up at the local dealer's here in Manali (Dungri).

Now this is totally unacceptable - Parts breaking off, premature wearing of parts, twisted frames (yes, even the UCEs come with twisted frames) and the territory marking. Hope the Himalayan does not inherit these traits.

I got my Standard UCE in 2011 and then an average of 3 to 4 motorcycles rolled out of the showroom per month and the maximum number of bullets that reached the ASS for service per day was around 5. The demand for the motorcycles were very low and some how the build quality of them were good (may be because of the more relaxed time spend on each motorcycle at the assembly line)-only the engine sounded like skeletons dancing on a tin roof. After the boom that took the company to the new heights and just before the opening of the second factory, RE was not able to handle the demand and as a remedy, I think they just increased the speed of the assembly line. My cousin got his bullet some where in 2012 and on comparison with my motorcycle, the build was pathetic (the silencer, the non epoxy treated fuel tank, the oil filler cap made of cheap plastic etc).The only good thing in comparison was that the engine was refined.

[Gordon]

The Himalayan is currently doing its round in Mumbai. Anyone manage to spot it and take a look?

[maker_of_things]

Went to Andheri today to get a look of the Himalayan. The bike seems well built. Build quality also is pretty good.

Coming from a Classic, the handle seems a bit far but not too far. Will be well suited for longer rides. Instrument cluster is clean and functions well, along with a gear indicator, clock, service distance etc.


The front beak is actually pretty robust unlike some aftermarket beaks I've seen dancing like Shakira on some off road modified Enfields.


The seats are VERY comfortable.


Those bear claw footpegs and brake lever look solid. Methinks that the rubber inserts in the footrests are removable.


As I said, comfortable seats! And the rear brakes have steel braided brake lines as well. Sweet! Talk about Christmas coming early this year!


Exhaust note of the bike.

Sounds good!

[Gordon]

All in all, from what I guage, this seems like a better deal than the classics. Time will probably tell, but I see a good future for this bike considering that you are getting more for your money.

[barcalad]

My first post on this thread and first opinion on this motorcycle.

It sure as hell is an attention magnet!

[Red Liner]

Just read this review of the 2016 klr 650,and it kind of sounds exactly like what a review of the himalayan is going to read like.

http://www.motorcycle.com/manufactur...ki/klr650.html

In other news, I headed out to check the himalayan, and yes I think this is a superb purpose built adv bike. But, I still think it should have come with a few basics which is more power, dual channel abs and fuel injection.

Good start and I hope these things come in next year. He'll they will be forced down royal Enfield 's throat anyway.

[P.S.]

Any Thunderbird 500 riders done a test ride?

Comparisons please

[petrolhead_neel]

Originally Posted by P.S.

Any Thunderbird 500 riders done a test ride?

Comparisons please

Test rides haven't started yet. Once they will, I am sure that there are many enthusiastic TB500 owners who will be taking the test ride of the Himalayan and will be updating on this thread. Do keep an eye if you are keen to know.

Granite Grey looks better to me than the white!

Ride safe,
Neel

[Red Liner]

Test rides begin March 17 according to the guys at the Saket store.

I must say they are quite helpful and allowed me to spend as much time on and off the saddle as I wished.

Then I got bored and left.

[petrolhead_neel]

Stumbled upon this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0-rc73qtqc

& this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XliZJPndZnY

Regards,
Neel

[navin_v8]

Continuing with my observations about the Himalayan. This time it is the choice of lights and exhaust.

Lights: I was a bit taken aback with the choice of Halogen lights without an HID projector on the Himalayan. Well maybe RE would've skipped the projector HID to save on cost while achieving its target price. About my personal experience with just simple halogen(on my AVL Tbird) vis a vis Tbird500. The halogen light on my AVL Tbird although has a limited spread but the intensity of lighting a dark road is a tad bit better than the HID Projectors on my Tbird500. I always wondered which is better, to me if the road is really dark then the AVL Tbird's halogen takes my vote due to its intensity of illuminating the road. The headlight is placed at a height for a reason and that is to illuminate the road farther ahead than a conventionally placed headlight. Why do we see flashlights on the top of offroad and rally vehicles, there's a reason for it. The headlight is also mounted higher because of the basic configuration of an ADV tourer wherein it has a high front suspension coupled with a secondary high beak mudguard. It may look ugly but is highly functional, then again looks come last while designing an ADV tourer. Function over form is the mantra.

The rear LED light is a godsend due to the brightness it provides while riding in the dark as well as in the light as compared to conventional bulbs. Also the fact that LED consumes less power is welcome. It also looks aesthetically good as compared to conventional bulbs and has a longer shelf life. The housing(looks like metal) in which the LED is placed looks robust and strong and can take the beating while loading and unloading luggage. The tail lamp design reminds me of the BSA Goldstar tail lamp.

One issue that might crop up is the unintentional hiding of the tail lamps when one mounts a tail bag atop of the rear carrier. You win some you lose some.

Raised Upswept Exhaust: I don't need to reiterate the importance of a raised exhaust while riding on offroad trails especially water crossings. The way RE has designed the exhaust is simple yet looks good. I once had an incident wherein I water forded with my AVL Tbird on an offroad trail. Apart from the exhaust been partially submerged in water(which limited me to the first gear) it also took some beating from the stones and rock underneath. Luckily it didn't break but was left with some bruises. The need for an upswept exhaust in such terrains is a good addition. I don't know if the upswept exhaust results in bettering the sound whatsoever. One more advantage is, if one likes leaning with their motorcycles on corners an upswept exhaust wont kiss/rub the tarmac as a straight exhaust would. RE has also kept the bend pipe close to the body to keep the design compact, it is more geometrical unlike the round bend pipe found on yesteryears Bullets. I distinctly remember vintage Honda motorcycles sporting the same design exhaust although most of them were multi cylinders. RE has also reinforced the exhaust using heat shields and bash plates to protect both the rider and the motorcycle. One issue with an upswept exhaust is one can burn the base of their conventional saddle bags(due to contact with the exhaust at the base) unlike straight exhausts. But since RE is providing hard case panniers this will be taken care of. Besides we also have many saddlebag models custom built and suited for upswept exhaust design.

[petrolhead_neel]

Folks, seems like RE has a FI version of the Himalayan in the pipeline. Don't think it's going to come to India if not for stricter emission norms.

Sharing an Instagram screenshot from RE's own page. Look at the second reply by royalenfield_na, which is the North American division of Royal Enfield.