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Originally Posted by Jude300 Thanks for the coverage of the event. Pics are nice. Just wanted to know if RE has plans to do the same across various cities or is it just this event. Any clues on that? |
Jude300, Thank you so much! I don’t have any idea about this taking place in other cities. I’ll check it with the store here and update if they are able to give any information.
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Originally Posted by navin_v8 forester mate what a brilliant write up about up close and personal encounter with the RE Himalayan and icing on the cake is riding it on the terrain which it belongs to.
I wanted to ask you about the torque band in the first couple of gears while doing crawling speeds? How is the torque delivery during offroading especially in the slush and sand? Do you have to work the clutch or little throttle input is enough to cross through? Also how does the rear suspension behave while jumping on and off?
Those mud covered pics of the Himalayan are truly amazing. |
navin_v8, Thanks a lot buddy!
Yes the low end torque is good, but at crawling speeds, one just can‘t rely only on the accelerator inputs. The clutch has to be worked upon quite a lot to keep the engine running, else the bike would stall. Even with a slim profile, it still is a heavy bike. In fact, as soon as I started off in my first lap, I slowed down to check the brake bite before venturing into the trail and guess what, I stalled it right there!
Once you’re anywhere between 3 to 4.5k rpm range, the bike pulls quite well in the initial gears.
The rear suspension aids handling and stability & keeps the bike taut whilst you're standing up on the pegs, but is definitely not that supple to provide the cushioning one would expect after encountering a jump. But since you would still be standing after the fall, the feel of the rebound isn’t that much while being off road.
Continuing further...
I headed back to the Resort after the off road antics and got to spend a good amount of time with a Granite parked there.
A Closer Look
The wide handlebar. It aids in a relaxed posture
The speedo console with brushed aluminum finishing around the pods. It’s quite informative & looks good as well
The chunky bar ends & the nicely textured gripping area
Switch gear feels good & tactile. But the fit & finish leaves a lot to be desired
The steel braided front brake line
The ORVMs aren't wide enough & don't provide adequate field of view of what's lurking behind
The dual purpose head light mounts, which can also hold jerry cans on either side. Notice the shoddy weld seam from the bygone era
And there’s no dearth of them throughout the bike
The edges of the fuel tank carry a much uniform construction
The beautifully carved moniker
The best angle to view this bike IMO
The LED tail lamps lend it a much needed contemporary aura
The handsome view from the rear three quarters
The ugly weld marks on the grab rail integrated rear carrier
The A/T tires provide ample grip on both on & off the road
The calipers are from BYBRE
Chunky looking foot pegs. Though, the one on rider's right had lost its rubber insert already
The sporty sounding exhaust. The construction & material aren't of the best grade and give a poor finishing on top of the already dated looks
The taut Mono-shock at the rear
The sturdy bash plate
And the SUVish ground clearance
The oil cooler is vertically mounted & is placed a bit high. Helps to keep it safe during slush crossings
The seat is very well-built. Neither too soft nor too hard. Provides reasonable comfort
The headlamp is a clear lens unit. A redesigning of this area would enhance the looks of the bike by leaps & bounds
The adjustable windshield
Another nice viewing angle
The On-Road Experience
After observing the bike thoroughly, I took it for a ride on the roads near the resort. I was extremely eager to see how it performs on the road, where it would probably see around 95% of its lifetime.
Engine & Gearbox
The LS 410 has good low end grunt, with a shorter first gear, just to let you take off. Post that, the action is quite brisk until the 80kmph mark. The meat of the power band is between 3k to 4.5k RPM, which is relatively low and the bike pulls cleanly without any vibes creeping in from the engine.
80kmph comes up with the tacho hovering below the 3.5k mark in fifth gear. And this I felt is the comfortable cruising speed for the Himalayan.
The gear shifts are smooth and precise. I could slot the bike into neutral very easily across all the three bikes that I rode during the day.
Ride, Suspension & Braking
The ride quality isn’t the most plushest, but given its A/T tires, you wouldn’t try and evade any visible pothole in your line of sight on the road. The front is pretty supple, while the mono-shock at the rear does make road undulations be felt to the rider.
The brake bite is much sharper at the rear than at the front and the rear tends to come out under hard braking. Skipped slowing down in time for a speed hump? Well, no problem! Just stand up and the Himalayan would make onlookers turn heads & notice! Alas, the front travel wouldn’t be used to its full potential in daily city commute.
The ride and braking are not confidence inspiring above a certain speed. Above 80, the windshield would be vibrating crazily and the rider would be more tensed about how to remain in control if something comes up ahead on the road.
Overall Impression
The Himalayan isn't a relaxed cruiser like its elder sibling, the Thunderbird. During longer rides, the rider would beg for more power & the ride quality isn’t going to keep things good either.
It's more of a city goer with a bigger engine to enjoy diesel like torque and relaxed commuting during rush hour traffic. But then again, the heavy clutch will need to be worked quite a bit in bumper to bumper situations. On the other hand, the headlamp separate from the handlebar & low seat height will aid to flick the bike easily in traffic.
Hence, for me, the Himalayan is a brilliant bike to go take it to the jungles or rock climbs, quite literally! But for touring purposes, it just doesn’t cut and there are better options from RE itself.
A final parting shot!