Himalayan 450 vs Scrambler 400x: My take on both after a day of riding

Overtaking everyone felt so effortless on the Himalayan, no hesitation from the engine and it pulls really hard.

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After taking couple of small test rides of the Himalayan and pinning down my impressions in the earlier thread, as the dealer test rides aren't giving me the full picture I wanted, especially the highway performance, I have rented out the bike from Royal Brothers Bangalore for a day and covered close to 230km, 80-100 km in the city and the rest on the highway. Also rented out Scrambler 400x as well and here are my observations after spending a day with each:

HIMALAYAN 452 - Super fun on the open roads but very unpolished:

Starting with the pros:

• Suspension: This has been reiterated by many BHPians, including me in my first impressions, the suspension is just outstanding. It felt absolutely perfect in the city, absorbing every single undulation on the road. In addition, what surprised me the most, is its composure on the highways, with the bike super stable even at high speeds. RE has really hit a sweet spot with the suspension.
• Fuel Efficiency: Didn't do a tankful to tankful analysis but when I took the bike, the onboard display showed around 30.2 kpl. By the time I returned it, it went up to 31.3 kpl which is a pleasant surprise. I did return the bike with more fuel than I expected, filled it up initially with the expectation of getting around 28-30 kpl.
• Highway Performance: Once we cross 3.5-4k rpm, it felt like I switched on some turbo button . Overtaking everyone felt so effortless, no hesitation from the engine and it pulls really hard, just point and shoot. Some videos on the YouTube showed that the 452 has little to no speedo error, so we are covering very good distances in no time as well. (but there's a catch here. More on that in cons)

Didn't focus much on the display and other little things as they didn't matter much once I started riding. So, that's where my pros ended.

Coming to the cons:

• Feels like it's on life support below 3k rpm - a little more punch here would have been nice for going around within city but this lack of low end required me to constantly shift the gears within the city. On the highway though, it felt like the silence before the storm but within city limits, I rarely crossed 4k rpm.
• Vibrations: My initial impressions were from the bike I test rode from Whitefield showroom which felt quite rough, then I went to the electronic city showroom and took a test ride again. The test ride bike there felt much better and smoother below 4k rpm (both bikes had around 500km on the odo, maybe improper maintenance or quality control from RE?) but yes, coming back to the bike I rented out, it had 3647 km on the odo. Up until 4.5k rpm, the bike felt fairly smooth with minimal buzz on the handlebar, though the vibes were more on the footpegs (to reiterate, I ride a CB350RS right now). But from close to 4.7k rpm to 5.7k rpm, the whole bike becomes vibey - the handlebar, the footpegs, the seat, the mirrors. I tried staying in 100-110 kph for a while but it felt so uncomfortable that I had to raise my speed to 115 or settle down below 95. Couldn't ride close to 120 for too long, so finally settled down at 90-95 during my last 70 km of highway ride. Couldn't take the vibes anymore. We can atleast reduce the handlebar vibrations a bit by using grip puppies or something and the footpeg vibes are manageable with better shoes but vibes on the seat (?).
• Seat: Continuing from above, do not know what they have tested for thousands of kilometers. The vibes on the seat are the most annoying part. I couldn't go non-stop for more than 80 km (I usually stop after 200km on my RS for mandatory hydration break, not due to fatigue). In addition to the vibes, there is something off with the contouring of the rider's seat (not everyone might face this but I felt uncomfortable on the stock seat after a while), there is good enough room to move around and if we try and sit on the wider part of the seat, the front of the pillion seat sticks out onto our back and all the vibrations made the experience underwhelming. I was constantly thinking, all that explosive and super addictive performance from the engine is thrown to the bin by the vibes. RE should seriously work on the refinement.
• Mirrors: Don't want to elaborate much on these stock mirrors. One word - Useless. You won't be able to see anything after 95 kph. Just a buzzy mess. Equivalent to not having any mirrors. They are only useful within city.

Neutral but necessary upgrades needed immediately:

Grip puppies: These would go on by default. I have these on my RS as well, just like the way they feel but I have seen them reducing quite a bit of buzz as well on other bikes.

Taller windshield: The stock one is surprisingly insulating until my chest, but the problem is all the wind is being thrown directly onto my helmet (above 95 kph). Either we have to go without that windshield or go for a taller one.

Touring seat: As I said, I felt the stock seat to be off and was uncomfortable. So, this would be a default add on for me if I buy this bike. I hope it reduces the vibrations felt on the seat as well.

Different mirrors: These are a must for those primarily going on highways most of the time.

Since we reached till here, let me give a quick comparison of the Himalayan with the Scrambler 400X here itself.

Scrambler 400X: Extremely fun within the city, not so much on the highway:

Positives:

Is lighter, much more refined than the Himalayan, has very good bottom end, very good drivability, can pull from as low as 40 in 6th gear, soft suspension absorbs normal bumps very well in the city and easy to handle once on the move. Also exhaust sounds nice. Stock seat too feels very plush. I had a blast with the 400X within the city.

Negatives:

Until 75-80, is creamy smooth and feels faster than Himalayan but then after that, even though the speed builds up, but it doesn't feel effortless. It's like, "I have the power, but I don't want to give it to you but if you force me, I will reluctantly oblige." In comparison, the Himalayan feels like a rocket after 4000 rpm and on highways, even though there was buzz and vibrations, it felt so effortless to overtake everything, just point and shoot. Also, the 400X has around 9-10% speedo error it seems, at 110, I might actually be doing only around 100 and it felt like that as well.

400x too has buzz starting from around 90 kph but it was not so straining as in the Himalayan (I was able to sit at 110 easily without much fatigue on my hands, while in Himalayan, you have to either be below 95 or above 115). What's still a downside are the vibes through the seat. The scram 400x too has them starting from 90-100 kph, still better than Himalayan, but not by much when it comes to seat.

Neutral observations:

Fuel efficiency is comparable, but I feel Himalayan will give slightly more. Also has smaller 13 litres tank, so overall, much less range than the Himalayan. Not an actual negative but is an important factor.

The suspension is set up on the softer side. It rounds of most undulations very nicely, but the sudden ones are sent to our spine directly. Lacks the finesse of the Himalayan's suspension.

Do these bikes feel like an upgrade over the 350s of the market?

Himalayan 452: The engine definitely feels explosive and the suspension is incredible. If RE can sort out the issue of vibrations and make it more smoother, this definitely feels like an upgrade over the current crop of long stroke 350s (but I don't have much confidence on RE). I was having a blast when I was overtaking on the highway with the Himalayan, even though I hated the cruising phase.

Scrambler 400X: No, it doesn't feel like an upgrade from my RS. There was never a high moment in the rev band, and you will get used to it very soon and start craving for another upgrade 2 or 3 years down the line. To put it bluntly, feels a little boring. But it felt extremely easy to ride, so will be an excellent choice as a first bike.

What am I thinking now?

A Honda - the Honda NX500 to be precise. After riding both the Himalayan and Scrambler 400X, I can easily see the value the NX500 offers, and I am relating more to the words told by BHPian KarthikK in this official review. Can't wait to test ride it and if everything works out, am looking forward to buying it in the second half of this year. Also, I am very used to the amazing Big Wing service experience and the peace of mind a Honda offers. Even though my RS is from the first batch, I haven't faced any issue other than the battery conking off. So, I have established a level of trust with Honda.

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