[shreyashuilgol]

Hi all,

This topic seemed interesting to me after seeing a lot of "influencers" moving from their old Himalayan to the new one.

I have an older Himalayan that is a pass down from my brother who has moved abroad. I enjoy it thoroughly and keeping taking it on 400-600kms one way rides quite regularly.

Earlier to the Himalayan, the bike I used as a jack of all trades (even for the rides) was a Yamaha FZ25 which I still own and use regularly in the city.

After starting to ride the Himalayan 411 on longer trips I realized the ease of having an Adventure Tourer. The pros of ruggedness and comfort weigh more than the con of low mileage for me.

I would now not go for anything which is not an Adventure tourer as my highway bike just for its sheer go anywhere ability.

I recently test drove the new Himalayan 450 and was actually very impressed by it's performance. Especially compared to the older version. But, I still have doubts lingering if it would make sense paying 3.5L+ (Hyderabad) for it.

Coming from the perspective of owning a Yamaha FZ25, I would have readily exchanged my bike for the new Himalayan. Especially after moving to working from home completely, the usage is mostly limited to highway rides.

But, would I do it with a Himalayan already in my garage? For me the answer would be no.
The main reasons are:
1. I know the bike reaches higher speed much more easily, but I don't prefer to cruise at more than 100-110kmph with an occasional pull to 120kmph. This I do even on the older Himalayan.
2. The mileage figures after speaking to a few new Himalayan 450 owners are almost the same as the old one.
3. The suspension of the the older one is also very good.
4. Higher maintenance costs.
5. The sheer no nonsense attitude. (Mine is a BS3 carburetor)
6. It costs a good chunk of money. Money enough to buy some really good used four wheelers.

Would love to see your opinions regarding the same, even though you might not be a Himalayan owner.

Regards,
Shreyas

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by shreyashuilgol

Would love to see your opinions regarding the same, even though you might not be a Himalayan owner.

Shreyas I would keep the old Himalayan 411 considering it’s in good shape or even spend some money to get it good shape but not exchange it for the new Himalayan.

Reasons:
After a test ride of both versions I anyday prefer the older one, better suspension and low down torque. Don’t own or don’t intend to own either, just my opinion.

All issues are sorted on your bike and you must be having a relatively carefree ownership compared to the new Himalayan which has issues cropping up regularly with no clue whether there are more to come.

The cost outlay as you mention, unless your heart really wants the new Himalayan there seems to be no reason to switch.

A new bike versus an old one generally is a heart versus head decision. Finally all the opinions don’t matter - if you can sleep peacefully with the old Himalayan, don’t bother

Cheers

[alpha1]

Has Royal Enfield published the torque-rpm curves for 411 cc engine vs the 450 cc engine?

I remember one of the often touted "feature" of the old Himalaya was the "long stroke motor". Long stroke typically means higher torque at the lower RPMs - the range that we typically use in cruising.

Surprisingly that narrative is completely absent this time.


@shreyashuilgol In your case, unless you are smitten by the new bike, I don't see anything that should make you plonk your hard-earned-saved money into something that offers a small delta that you may not even use or appreciate.

[bblost]

My 2018 Himalayan has almost 40k kms on it.

I have ridden it to Nepal, Spiti and Nathula. It has been a very reliable bike.

My close friends currently ride an Interceptor, Triumph Scrambler and Himalayan 450.

The only issue with my bike is the 0-100 speed.

It takes almost double the amount of time as these other bikes.

• Interceptor is 6.42
• New Himalayan is 6.3
• Scrambler is 6.9
• Old Himalayan is about 11+

We all like to cruise under 100.

But this difference in acceleration means, within a few minutes of our speed breaker infested highways...they gain a few meters every time and this translates to a huge gap within an hour of riding.

My car (Verna Turbo DCT) is also much much faster than my Himalayan.

Unless this is a problem you face, there is no reason to change the bike.

I am on the fence and maybe next year will end up upgrading as its becoming a nagging irritation.

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Originally Posted by shreyashuilgol

Would love to see your opinions regarding the same, even though you might not be a Himalayan owner.Attachment 2629534

I just crossed 18,000 kms and a little over 2 years on my 2022 Himalayan. I've ridden the new himalayan as well. The two major areas where the new bike outperforms the older Himmy, is in the sheer sophistication the suspension system offers, and the grunt the engine has. That being said, the new bike in my opinion is not a worthy upgrade over the current bike due to the sheer delta in cost you'll have to incur. A good 20-30k in "performance" modifications (also optional) such as a fuel X, a spark plug kit and an air filter, will allow you to hold 100-110 kmph all day long, and will also improve the riding experience in the city. I'd say stick to your current bike and only upgrade to the middleweight segment next (I'm thinking the 650-800cc ADVs). I say this because I rode the Vstrom 650XT sometime back and it felt truly like the next step after the current himalayan. Enough power to keep you engaged for a while, but no so scary that it'll deter you. Cheers!

[100Kmphormore]

We all like to cruise under 100.

But this difference in acceleration means, within a few minutes of our speed breaker infested highways...they gain a few meters every time and this translates to a huge gap within an hour of riding.

My car (Verna Turbo DCT) is also much much faster than my Himalayan.

Unless this is a problem you face, there is no reason to change the bike.

I am on the fence and maybe next year will end up upgrading as its becoming a nagging irritation.

As someone who rode it for nearly 2 years and 21600 km in all conditions (was my daily and tourer) - I agree with bblost, especially if you have faster bikes in your group. I rode solo mostly, but if you have faster, free revving motorcycles like the Interceptor, or even the FZ25/Gixxer 250 in a group - it will be a problem, unless you ride like theres no tomorrow without a care for safety, as I have seen some youtubers do. You grow out of it relatively fast especially if you like to maintain a brisk pace and have brisk acceleration.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post5710395 (Unleashing the inner demons | Salaga, my 2017 KTM Duke 390)
You may like to read this once as to why I upgraded. If I had continued my touring, it would have been the 390 ADV as my only bike instead of my present bike as I didnt want to be beta testing for RE with the 450.

[V0rtex]

Originally Posted by bblost

My 2018 Himalayan has almost 40k kms on it.


It takes almost double the amount of time as these other bikes.

• Interceptor is 6.42
• New Himalayan is 6.3
• Scrambler is 6.9
• Old Himalayan is about 11+

.

The Interceptor is faster than the Himalayan. Interceptor can do 100 in flat 6 seconds.

https://youtu.be/wIx9dnjecrA?si=e61L5LRreuFDd2o5

From what I’ve seen Himalayan takes 6.5 seconds to reach 100. But in my opinion what really matters is the tractability and torque the bike delivers, Himalayan is absolutely terrible in that department. Unless you are in that power band, it’s quite dull. Whereas the Interceptor has good torque available throughout the rev range.

[pedrolourenco]

I'm an owner of a New Himalayan. I have not owner or ridden the old Himalayan. So can't comment on the old Himalayan.
But there are tons of videos online about various aspects of the old Himalayan and the owners raving about how good it is. Most of the videos were made before the new Himalayan was launched.
Now many videos made after the new Himalayan launch also praise the old Himalayan and say things like the old one is so good. There is no need to buy the new one etc. Mostly Indian and British reviewers.
If you see the launch videos of the new Himalayan and the first rides, every single reviewer had only good things to say about the new bike.
Now if the old bike was so good why did RE spend so much money developing a new bike that is radically different to the old one? They could have just done some minor updates to the old one and continued selling it. Something for you to think about.
Once I ride the old bike, I'll be in a position to compare. On paper the new bike is clearly superior.

[PatienceWins]

Considering the cruising speed and the initial niggles of a new RE bike, I would recommend you to continue with the old Himalayan.

I have ridden the old himalayan extensively in the mountains and that is where it excels with its low end torque and excellent suspension. You will miss the low end if you upgrade, but would gain terms of acceleration and better high end.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by shreyashuilgol

.....Would love to see your opinions regarding the same, even though you might not be a Himalayan owner....

I have both the 411 (2021 BS6) and the first lot 450 (Dec 23 batch) and with time I have put in the kitchen sink in the 450 (FuelXpro, air filter, decat, etc etc). I had written about my views here back then:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post5688134 (2023 Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 | Now officially revealed)

After almost 6+ months, here is what I feel now:

# If you are riding in a group, long rides, then better to have 450, as it is an absolute delight on the highways. 10/10 times I will prefer the 450. (almost everything is better in 450 compared to 411 for this use case)

# When riding solo and short rides, I prefer the 411.

I don't ride in "city traffic" but if I were to use in city, then it would be 411

I do not intend to sell my 411 but will shift it to my village and use it when I go to the village for use there and nearby rides there.

Summary: Each one to his own and there is no template that can be applied universally. There is no logic for buying such motorcycles, apart from you have to have them :-)

[gharika]

If I had to pick one reason for not moving to new Himalayan, it will be their design decision to use engine as a stressed component of the chassis. I can live with and work around everything else.