[shady]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyTangoFox

True, that is a possibility. I'll be sure to update the thread if that happens. As of right now, I've never really faced a thermal issue on my phone (touchwood).

Make sure you use a secondary phone as your navigation device, that way you can make sure your main phone isn't affected on a ride so you need to make calls or take pictures without hassles. I have a similar holder and the screen is scratched quite badly.

[raghu4655]

Originally Posted by adrena

I think the bigger worry is heat. You may face thermal shut downs very frequently.

Why not keep the phone in the pocket and simply use RE's Tripper navigation? No worry of ruining expensive phones and no distractions.

Very true about the heat. I have a BOBO waterproof wireless charging mobile holder. In my recent ride to Murdeshwara and back, faced the heating issue. I wasn't able to shoot videos because of the temperature. The video feature would not turn on. Phone would be very hot to touch too. This is when I realised the use of secondary phone.
About tripper navigation, i find it very basic and often useless as it has re-routing issues and drains battery a lot quicker.

[100Kmphormore]

Ghata crossed 14000 km yesterday morning, courtesy an offroading session at Sri Gangadhareshwara swamy betta, around 14 km away from Harohalli on NH948 (Bengaluru - Kanakapura - Kollegala highway). Not a very tough one, but a challenging one for a newbie like me. I have done many trails, but not serious offroading. The bike performed excellently, supplying oodles of low end torque when required. A little downer was the grip of the TVS Eurogrip Pancer rear tyre on the steep rocky section and the thick fine sand section in the beginning. It slipped once and nearly burned a small section of my riding pant upto my leg, leaving a small burn on my foreleg just above my boots thanks to the exhaust running extremely hot without the DB killer. It sounded amazing though, quite loud!

I am running a tubeless tube spoke setup on my rear tyre, a 120/80 tubeless TVS Eurogrip Pancer with a tube. The handling is a world of difference ever since, easily able to bend and corner due to the great grip or nipping in and out of gaps on single lane highways. Afterwards, breakfast at Vasu hotel and tried a few trails at Mukkodlu/Tattaguppe, the native place of my friend who had accompanied me on the ride, was back by 1 pm. Rode his Classic 350 Signals Desert Brown and that too is a really fun motorcycle, though the numbing vibration above 80 kmph makes me appreciate my Himmy . Really need a hydration backup, if the weather is hotter than 30 degrees.

After my Agumbe trip, the sound of the bike was boring me to bits, especially on expressways after 100 kmph. I cruise at 100, hitting 120 sometimes and nearly dozed off once. Researched on the available exhausts for the Himalayan and zeroed in on the Powerage exhaust, got it installed at Sandhya Automobiles on JC road. Considered the Red Rooster but it was a heat magnet and needed an air filter too for better breathing, was too loud even with the db killer and out of my budget of 7k. Costed 7300 including installation. Taking the DB killer off is extremely easy with the allen key provided, but a pain to put it back. best not to remove it at all, thanks to the excess heat as described above.

[masterChief007]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

I am running a tubeless tube spoke setup on my rear tyre, a 120/80 tubeless TVS Eurogrip Pancer with a tube.

Did you mean you used a tubless tyre with a tube? Or you have done tubeless conversion on your spokes?

[100Kmphormore]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

Did you mean you used a tubless tyre with a tube? Or you have done tubeless conversion on your spokes?

Tubeless tyre, didn’t touch the spokes.

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Update: LED Headlamp

One of the major gripes I've had with the Himalayan, which I brought up even on the first post on this thread, was the absolutely abysmal headlamp performance. For what is supposed to be an adventure tourer, the lack of a proper LED Setup or even a decent halogen setup is unacceptable. Bikes like the Dominar have a fantastic setup straight from the factory, and I frankly was disappointed with RE for this crappy light.

Anyhoo, in my Rasta Cafe right, which I did a while ago, I quickly realised that the stock headlamp was terrible even for pitch-black conditions (i.e. minimal to no ambient light) and wasn't even adequate for certain unlit city roads. Hence I decided I would have to get Auxillary Lights and change the headlamp bulb.

I saw a few options on the market, such as the Cyclops LED, Nighteye, Rawstone Canopus etc, and I finally ended up finalizing the Nighteye for its price-to-performance balance. Of course, as detailed by @bsenroy on his thread, and other senior members of the forum, there are a lot of duplicates of the Nighteye out there, and one should be wary when purchasing it to make sure it's the original.

I looked up a few videos online and found some tips to identify the same. Leaving a link to one such video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wTK...UgZmFrZQ%3D%3D

I ordered the bulb from HTRZ Modz in BLR, a fairly popular store. It cost me Rs 1199 (Free Shipping). For the Himalayan, you will need the H4 Adapter version of the bulb. Leaving a link below:

https://htrzmodz.com/products/nighteye-9000lm-h4


Box Came with the Bulb in its original packaging, a couple of stickers and a note. Was well packaged with bubble wrap to protect the product.





Fairly Large Light Piece, with an integrated cooling fan

One Sign that the video mentioned was the quality of the bulb itself and of the "Nighteye" print. Fake ones tend to have a bad-quality print that fades when you rub your finger.


The Fan

Some videos tend to distinguish between real and fake night eyes based on the number of openings on the fan cover, 3 in this case. However, many sources say this isn't true, and some come with 5-slot openings as well.



Another point to differentiate between a real and fake bulb is the white/grey border around the connector's pins. The fake ones do not have this and are entirely blacked out.



Fake Lights also tend to have a grey 'tip' as opposed to black, as is seen here

Now I'll get to what you're still reading this for, a comparison test. Please note that I have captured the images on my phone and tried to minimize the auto-image correction, but I wasn't entirely successful. However, the images will help you get a good idea of the upgrade and the difference, which is... wait for it...... Night and Day (Stole this from @bsenroy)

I headed down to an isolated road nearby with no street lights to test it out.


Pitch Dark Control Picture


Stock Low Beam, Pretty Bad, Imo. It was even worse in reality, the camera still enhanced it a little


Stock High Beam, Absolute Trash. Same case with the camera enhancement


Nighteye Low Beam - A world of a difference. Notice you can see the fence poles in the distance now. In reality, it was even brighter, the camera couldn't do it justice


Nighteye High Beam - Poles are visible more clearly now. However the throw isn't as focused as a projector would be

Overall I'm extremely happy with this purchase. I still will be investing in auxiliary lights later, but for now, this is more than sufficient. That's all for today folks, Cheers!

[Senotrius]

Originally Posted by shady

Make sure you use a secondary phone as your navigation device, that way you can make sure your main phone isn't affected on a ride so you need to make calls or take pictures without hassles. I have a similar holder and the screen is scratched quite badly.

This is the correct advice. For 5k one can get a basic Android smartphone on Amazon/Flipkart after offers. Need not be the latest or greatest. Just needs to have gps and Google maps. Use that for touring.Let it be the beater phone. There are plenty of videos on YouTube where the iPhone camera(for example) becomes impaired after prolonged use on motorcycles with holders. And those are branded holders with so called vibration protection.

[sole_rider]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyTangoFox

Update: LED Headlamp

Hey brother, did you have to make a hole on the base of the headlight basket? I also ordered the bulb from the same store. Mine is a 2019 January BS4 model. While trying to install, we figured the fan side of the bulb was touching the base of the basket. We couldn't properly close the headlight. So dropped the idea for now. On Monday we'll try again after creating a hole to properly accommodate the bulb.

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Originally Posted by sole_rider

Hey brother, did you have to make a hole on the base of the headlight basket? I also ordered the bulb from the same store. Mine is a 2019 January BS4 model. While trying to install, we figured the fan side of the bulb was touching the base of the basket

Hey Bud, so the store I got it installed at managed to fit it without making a hole, however he did use a heat gun to expand the back of the headlight basket. However in retrospect, I think a better solution is to make a hole in the rubber gasket to accommodate the fan. Here's a video explaining the same

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f30SVggl8Og&t=433s

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Update: Rynox Nomad Saddle Bags

Hey All, another important touring essential for the bike checked off the list!
@shyamg28 saar, whom I'm greatly indebted to, handed over his Rynox Nomad Saddlebags to yours truly, and I finally got to meet him in person Thanks again, Shyam

So I thought I must update this thread, as is my customary practice



The Bags in all their glory, and the gazillion straps XD

The Bags are of a semi-rigid nature, with a capacity of 25L Each (Non-Expanded) and 32L Each (Expanded), totalling to a massive 64L Luggage Carrying Capacity.


Main Compartment

Each Bag has one main compartment, one side compartment for smaller items and one water bottle holder that can easily accommodate a 2L Bottle.


Water Bottle Holder, with a little Tightening Mechanism

The Bags have multiple straps to help secure them in place. I'll leave a video link as to how to go about mounting them below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlOJiJ1vXRw

This is how I have setup the straps on my bike.

And of course, onward to the bike pictures XD



The Bags have good Clearance from the Exhaust. Mind you, the bags in the picture are empty, and with luggage I'm sure it'll sag. Hence the Zana Exhaust Shields are extremely useful here as it'll keep the in place.




They are fairly wide even whilst unexpanded. Will have to keep this in mind while manoeuvring the bike.

Moving on to a list of Pros and Cons, (Albeit I am yet to ride with them with luggage)

Pros:
1. Lovely design IMO
2. Upswept Nature, not affected by the exhaust fumes
3. Semi Rigid Nature, keeps the shape intact
4. Huge Storage Capacity
5. Very Practical, in terms of storage division


Cons:
1. Gets Dirty Easily, difficult to get stains off
2. A lot of straps to fiddle around with
3. You most probably will need a luggage exhaust shield for your saddle stays
4. Wide Footprint
5. Not Waterproof. The bag does have rain covers though. I'm planning to ger a pair of Wroom Drybags that go inside the bags for peace of mind.

Overall I'm very happy to have this product and would definitely recommend these bags to anyone looking to buy them.

Cheers!

[shyamg28]

Those bags have been through some lovely experiences.


Congratulations! You have now progressed to riding an autorickshaw

PS - they didn't look like that brand new as well. What sorcery!

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Those bags have been through some lovely experiences.

More touring experience than me, that's for sure XD

Originally Posted by shyamg28

Congratulations! You have now progressed to riding an autorickshaw

Maybe Swiggy/Zomato Next?

Originally Posted by shyamg28

PS - they didn't look like that brand new as well. What sorcery!

Took some time and effort, but was worth it

Also, I forgot to include this in the previous post, but Uno hit the 8000kms Mark a couple days ago



Bike's been running well so far (Touchwood). Will mostly cross the 10k km mark in the next month and will get the bike serviced after that. A few pending things to be done such as valve clearance/tappet adjustment, replacement of a missing swingarm cap etc. Overall, have been absolutely loving the Himmy

[100Kmphormore]

Nice saddlebags! Shyam, any more secret accessories in the closet let me know :-P

WhiskeyTF and shyamg28, are your front fork rubber boots coming off the fork everytime you return from a ride when you encounter speedbumps? Its annoying as the fork isnt as protected if it isnt firm. Will get it replaced at the official RE center under warranty. Also, an irritating buzzing noise from the instrument cluster at 3k - 5k rpm.

Ghata is at nearly 15000 km, fresh from a ride to Mantralaya, Kurnool this week and an extensive overhaul of the suspension, brakes and clutch plates at 14042 km - which had burnt - was a damn surprise. I had no thought of getting her checked that much in detail, since my only complaint was the bad brakes, swingarm noise and hard gearshifts, she was also due for an oil change.
Zoheb of Art of Motorcycles after a check ride had indicated rear suspension sag, front fork nosediving upon braking, and tappet noise, and dismantling the bike apart sent me pictures of the clutch plates, burned and in no way to be used. He recommended to change the clutch plates, do a complete service (5950 - worth every penny for every 10000 km on the Himalayan), and a suspension and brakes overhaul, apart from regular oil and oil filter change etc. (switched to fully synthetic Motul 7100 from the 5100 that i used last time - doesnt feel much different to be honest). the wheels had a slight bend and was balanced and aligned.

Suspension is more progressive and behaves well, doesnt hit the lower back. Loved riding it on the Gooty-Yemmiganur stretch where these small speedbreakers do not warrant a stop at all, the only drawback being my rear numberplate starting rattling. Brakes are as usual, not much bite from either one, the rear wheel locking and ABS kicking in repeatedly especially in hard braking. Took around 5:30 hours both ways to cover the 397 km, an hour extra for breaks, the lovely Hebbal - Gooty 250 km done in 3 hours. Maintaining 120 kmph was not an issue at all, though you wish the extra juice after 100 kmph. Got only 22 kmpl :(.

Got it done for Rs.15800 (quite pricey!) and the bike certainly feels different. However, I do not know if this will be my city/touring bike anymore. The heating, lack of speed and good brakes, this sort of maintainance requirement for so less a package is a dealbreaker. I know this is a go anywhere machine particularly offroading but cant afford to keep 2 bikes for now, since my next might be the VStrom 650XT. Given that the 450 will be launched pretty soon - got this info from a Kochi based RE dealer whom i met at breakfast at Dolphins cafe, I am looking to sell it before its already dismal value in the market falls even further (Beepkart offered 1.7L and the max I am getting on OLX is 2 lacs, looking for atleast 2.3L).

[burst_mode]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyTangoFox

One of the major gripes I've had with the Himalayan, which I brought up even on the first post on this thread, was the absolutely abysmal headlamp performance. For what is supposed to be an adventure tourer, the lack of a proper LED Setup or even a decent halogen setup is unacceptable. Bikes like the Dominar have a fantastic setup straight from the factory, and I frankly was disappointed with RE for this crappy light.
...

Any good reviews of the Rawstone Canopus? There isn't much information out there.

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

WhiskeyTF and shyamg28, are your front fork rubber boots coming off the fork everytime you return from a ride when you encounter speedbumps? Its annoying as the fork isnt as protected if it isnt firm. Will get it replaced at the official RE center under warranty.

Its the same for me, but then again, it isn't by much in my case, just a couple of millimetres, so whenever I notice it, I pull the sleeve back up.

Originally Posted by burst_mode

Any good reviews of the Rawstone Canopus? There isn't much information out there.

I couldn't find much really, but there are a decent number of reviews on their other products.