[LoneTraveller]

Chassis Snaps on a 2018 BS4 Himalayan

This incident happened to an acquaintance from my Riding group. While Royal Enfield has agreed to replace the chassis, he has been asked to bear the labor charge of Rs 7,000. Some more damage was done to the bike while transporting the bike to the service center; the fuel tank and front mudguard got damaged. However, neither Royal Enfield nor the Service Center took responsibility for the transportation damage and blamed each other for it. They said they would check and try their best, but there has been no response from their end after that, and it has been almost a week since this incident occurred.

The owner uses the bike mainly for traveling from his hometown to Bangalore and back. He has hardly ever done offroading with it. He thanks his stars that the chassis snapped at a low speed, or the consequences would have been fatal. This incident and Royal Enfield's response have made him highly frustrated.

I own a 2018 BS4 Himalayan. On AUG 20th while riding at a speed of 30-40Kmph suddenly the chassis broke, and somehow I managed to stop the vehicle safely. Now the motorcycle is almost in two parts.

I took the delivery on OCT 31st 2018. After a year or so I started to notice the poor build quality of the motorcycle. It started with the detachment of the meter dial and is rattling like hell. The service center was not able to solve this problem. But even after all these, I continued with this motorcycle just because of the connection that I have with it. Today's incident really gave me a shock. I didn't expect the build quality of the motorcycle to be poor to this extend even after taking care of it well without even taking it off-roads often. I had really lost confidence in my motorcycle.

As soon as this happened, I contacted the Royal Enfield roadside assistance and booked their service for Aug 21st.

While transporting the vehicle to Koramangala Service Center, Some damages happened to my Himalayan. Now neither Royal Enfield nor the RSA is not taking responsibility for this damage. What they do best is blaming each other.

I sent an Email to Royal Enfield and till now I didn't get any response for that. All they want to do is just sell their Vehicles and not want to know what happens afterward

Regards,
LoneTraveller

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by LoneTraveller

This incident happened to an acquaintance from my Riding group. While Royal Enfield has agreed to replace the chassis, he has been asked to bear the labor charge of Rs 7,000. Some more damage was done to the bike while transporting the bike to the service center; the fuel tank and front mudguard got damaged. However, neither Royal Enfield nor the Service Center took responsibility for the transportation damage and blamed each other for it. They said they would check and try their best, but there has been no response from their end after that, and it has been almost a week since this incident occurred.

LoneTraveller, based on the facts that you have shared, it is pretty surprising to hear about Royal Enfield's lack of support on this issue. How many kilometers has the bike run so far? Has it been regularly serviced at the company SVCs?

Do ask your friend to take it up with the regional service head (contact details will be there in the Koramanagala SVC) and insist for a complete waiver of the fees. Considering that the additional damage was caused after the bike was loaded onto the company provided pick up truck, they (the company and / or the dealership and / or the RSA agency) should be bearing these costs, as well. Your friend should not have to pay one paisa from his pocket for these issues.

My Continental GT 535 developed a minor crack in the chassis (this is a known issue with the 535s, though it isnt widespread) and the company replaced the chassis and bore the cost of the labour. Here are some links that you can share with your friend to help in his discussion with the Royal Enfield team.

1. Chassis issue develops here
2. Waiver of chassis and labour costs here
3. Final bill details here

Hope better sense prevails at Royal Enfield and everything works out to the satisfaction of your friend. Ill ask the mods to move this to a new thread for maximum visibility.

[Potatopoco]

Go-anywhere motorcycles always pique my curiosity, and the "Himalayan" is undoubtedly the strongest contender if I were to buy one right now.
However, breakdown reports like these always manage to demotivate me. As a mechanical design engineer, I'm baffled how this prestigious corporation can't get the design and manufacturing process right despite years of experience.

I have no intention of spreading negativity about the company. I hold the organization and its judgments in high regard.
Minor niggles are tolerable, but chassis failure? I'll pass.

[rakesh_r]

I have a 2018 BS4 hardly run less than 10k and this incident seriously looks scary to me. I thought this issue was taken care in the BS4 variant, but this is ridiculous.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by LoneTraveller

Chassis Snaps on a 2018 BS4 Himalayan

This episode is as appalling as it is scary! So much for 100-plus years of manufacturing expertise. Chassis failure is taking design/manufacturing flaws to next level altogether.

Having read and seen enough articles/videos about poor quality levels and niggles even in 2021 models, this incident was the last nail in the coffin. I cancelled my booking of the RE Himalayan today.

[Aditya]

Chassis snaps on a 2018 BS4 Royal Enfield Himalayan - Posts moved to a new thread.

[navin_v8]

This looks really scary. I dread what will happen if the chassis snaps in the middle of a busy highway while cruising at high speeds. The guy was extremely lucky to notice this and that it happened at slow speed.

Even I was assuming that this issue would've been solved in Himalayan BS4 models, but to no avail. There were also some pics where some reinforcement to the chassis done by RE was circulated. If the chassis is breaking at the same point then there is some serious issue with either the design or the metallurgy. I am still an advocate for round tube chassis vis a vis square tube chassis when it comes to durability and strength. My old vintage RE Bullet chassis more than 50 years old is still in very good condition despite being to hell and back.

There is something seriously wrong with the new chassis designs of RE as Neil pointed out his CGT535 to suffered a known issue related to the chassis. I am not sure if this chassis snapping episode has happened with their other models like Classic, Thunderbird or Bullet series considering all of these use more or less the same chassis design from the 1950's.

The RSA is a joke and along with RE has no respect for a customer's bike which is bought with hard earned money. Do not leave them as it is their responsibility to transport the bike safely.

The chassis snapping issue needs to be highlighted and I request the mods to put this thread on the TeamBHP's home page.

[Kosfactor]

There are several threads about Himalayan chassis breaking on our forum itself, earlier it was the weld that gave up now the metal itself - as the saying goes - Something's got to give.

Glad to hear that the rider is safe.

[scorpian]

You should be given a brand new bike by royal Enfield period!!
Asking you to bear labour cost is like adding insult.
Really sad that royal Enfield expects a customer to bear costs for a defect which has been widely documented.


Regards
Manoj

[ruzbehxyz]

Very sad. Few years back there was a report and photographs circulated on social media about a Himalayan with a chassis break in Ladakh. At that time many said this may be because of the rough terrain and incorrect riding habits. But then these bikes are supposed to be designed for such terrain, right ?

I have owned a Royal Enfield Classic 500 and to me, these are one of the most unreliable bikes around. No offense to the RE fan club, but this is just my personal opinion.

There was a time when I would see only Enfield in Ladakh, but on my last two trips to Ladakh, last year and this year, I have seen more and more riders on various other brands of bikes.

[gkveda]

Neither chassis breakage of Royal enfield family bike is surprising nor the service center or manufacturers behaviour post the incident is surprising.

Chassis breakage and multiple issues cropping up on Royal enfield within days of purchase is natural behaviour of the bike. If it doesn't happen to anyone, it is something unnatural. And even service centers or manufacturers washing off their hands, or asking the owner to bear the cost even though bike is in warranty are natural behaviour. If the service center accept to own the repair costs, then there is something seriously wrong with the dealership and corrective action will be taken by the manufacturer quickly.

Now coming to this issue, since the matter has been published in Team-bhp, now things will start working. Some SA or Regional manager will contact the owner and asks him to remove the thread. But, we won't remove the thread but publish that request also. After some time, they will budge and start negotiations on 50% to 80% cost to be borne by them.

This has become a trend with many Royal Enfield bikes. But, the tragedy is, when suggestions are polled for new bike, we forget all these issues.

Shame on enfield and their dealers. They never accept their mistakes in design and lack of quality

[YDS]

This is super scary!
I have a 2018 Himalayan, done ~30k & ready for a tour from Pune to Dehradun. Having been used changing cone set every 8k kms, things like this makes me doubtful & too uncertain about whether to continue or not.

[neil.jericho]

The BS3 Himalayans were known for having welding issues that led to major problems for owners. We have a thread for that on the forum. To my (limited?) knowledge, these chassis problems were addressed in the BS4 versions and the BS6 versions seems to be the most well built and refined iterations of the platform. This incident is the first that I can recall hearing of a BS4 bike suffering this same welding related chassis cracking issue. It should never have happened but this does seem to be a one off.

I wouldnt go so far as to say that Royal Enfield still has a problem with chassis building. They have learnt their lessons and upped their game. The modern Himalayans (BS4 and BS6) are taking tons of abuse in the real world and so too are the Interceptors that are being used for touring around the country. I will be genuinely surprised if a BS6 Royal Enfield comes up with chassis issues based on just regular usage. So, I would suggest that we dont start worrying about our brand new Royal Enfields parked in the garage. A swallow does not a summer make.

What I find unacceptable though, based on the presented facts, is that the company and / or the dealership, asked the customer to pay for the labour. And to rub salt in the deep wounds, both didnt accept the further damage to the bike during transportation by the company provided RSA That is just amateur hour stuff and I know that Royal Enfield has built the processes to ensure that such nonsense doesnt occur.

If I were Lone Travellers friend, I would insist on
- The chassis being replaced with the same matching number as the original. If there has been any further reinforcements in the BS6 chassis, then he is likely to benefit from that as well, since he will get a brand new BS6 chassis.
- The damaged parts being replaced with new ones
- No payment for either of the above

Ive got my bike serviced at the Koramangala SVC and they seem to have sensible chaps there. That said, I would still take my bike to the company operated SVC by the Madiwala lake. All things considered, Im sure that the company will do the right thing and sort this out.

LoneTraveller - do update us on how things progress with Royal Enfield.

[Jude300]

Originally Posted by LoneTraveller

Chassis Snaps on a 2018 BS4 Himalayan

Attachment 2198693
This incident happened to an acquaintance from my Riding group. While Royal Enfield has agreed to replace the chassis, he has been asked to bear the labor charge of Rs 7,000.

OMG! This is really scary.

As I see, this could be a good case to be taken to the consumer court. I too own a Himalayan and this sends chills down my spine. They brag about the capability of the Himalayan in the marketing videos and the the website itself and the quality they deliver is pathetic.

[ebonho]

This is beyond ridiculous.

How Royal Enfield is not sued beggars belief.

Instead we read mountains of text and see millions of firang videos extolling the virtues of this death trap.

Thanks for sharing. This is being forwarded to my doctor buddies in Australia who were thinking of coming to India and picking up a pair of these ...

Cheers, Doc