Royal Enfield Himalayan

Finally a "royal" adventurer. Himalayan is the only adventure bike in the market today, I waited for 4 hours for getting my hands on it. After which I think I could write about the "Pahari".The adventure segment in India isn't exploited by the automakers. Plunging this fact, Enters the rugged Himalayan! RE has given Himalayan a retro look that solves the purpose of an adventurer too, like its comfortable, and reliable. The suspension is just right and the frame is well-balanced. Engine section bike comes with an all-new four-stroke, air-cooled, 411cc engine churning out 24.5 bhp(max) @ 6500 rpm and torque of 3.3 km @ 4500 rpm. The engine feels smooth, has Torque, and allows you to revv effortlessly. The 5-speed gearbox is well set between RPMs so you don't have to hit them too often. I rode the bike in normal terrain, So I wouldn't be knowing about the off-road performance, on-road, you never feel the need to push the engine to high revs which indicates that torque distribution along the RPM is pretty well done. Issue- one thing I felt a little bit off the hook was the heavy clutch, It gives your forearm quite a workout eventually wearing you down, And there's no clutch adjustment nut too. The chassis and dynamics of the bike offer a brilliant biuld with great suspension, ideal for all terrain.

It has been around one year of me owning the dream bike of almost every middle class adventure enthusiast or the ones who dream of visiting leh/ladhak on this beautiful machine.But unfortunately i only had the pleasure of driving this goliath of a machine on the streets of kashi and some small routes such as lucknow/varanasi, Kanpur/varanasi.So will not be the right person to comment on it's extreme off-road capabilities but if you are looking to buy this magnificent beast for your daily travel and inter city travel then do read this review.The good:- the confidence:-overtaking a bus, Car or some other vehicle is a piece of cake, You get that power in the 1st & 2nd gear itself, You get that confidence of riding a strong and fast machine.The comfort:-the seats are one of the most comfortable in the market with good posture support, I am 6.5 and even i can sit straight and ride comfortably on this bike.The suspension:- i switched from tvs jupiter to himalyan and i was able to feel the comfort as a rider on this machine, Potholes and puddles are nothing in front of this bike, Ofcourse the suspension is made for off roading and city roads are like the easy level for this bike.The bad:-the mileage:- a 411cc bike will drink a lot but you feel it on your pocket every time you pay for fuel.The weight:- with the bike weighing almost 200 kg you feel the burden when stuck in heavy jams.The lights:- the manufacturers could have invested some thoughts while designing the headlamps, I feel that a bike which is this big shoud come with atleast a decent headlamp.The service:- as there are not many himalayans in my and many other smaller cities it is difficult to get it fixed by local mechanics unlike it's predecessor bullet and also the scarcity of parts in open market will force you to visit service center.That's all from my side, Hope you like this review.

Well i bought this bike in 2016 and i have carburettor model bs3 which i still have.Himalayan is costly to maintain (80-110 paisa / km) in comparison with others.It has a 411 cc single cylinder 4 stroke engine which produces nearly about 24.3 bhp and max torque is 32 nm at 4000-4500 rpm.Let’s talk about the suspension it has 41 mm forks at front with a travel of 200 mm however in the rear it has monoshock with linkage and 180 mm of wheel travel which is alot and i have driven this bike on many terrains mostly off-road and i am telling you that in this price range of rs.2.20 lakh it is like a gift to the indians to buy an entry level moter cycle because at this price range you’re not going to find any other adventure moter cycle moreover it has front tyre of 90/90 r 21 and in rear it has 120/90 r 17 which help’s in off-road conditions.Cons- 1 average is pretty low himalayan will give 23-27 kmpl in cities on highway it will give not more than 32 kmpl.2.Rear tire mileage is quite low max it can go around 7000 kms only due to weight approximately 200 kilo’s which is quite heavy.3 sometime on highways bike feel underpowered and it creates lot of vibrations which you will feel all around your body specially on the handle bar so i think re could have made this bike more smoother and should have give a 6 speed gearbox for highway cruising.4 let’s talk about the coil set which helps to charge the battery.I have driven my himalayan around 44000 kms and i have changed my coil set 4th time average life of himalayan coil set is around 10000 kms only because of the poor build quality of the coil set and it will cost you around for carburettor models rs 3200 nin carburatted around rs 4-4300.At the end just want to say that royal enfield did a great job on this himalayan and with the time they will do improvements.

Performance-wise it is a good bike, Nimble and well equipped for the long-distance haul. The seat is to the softer side, Good for a short distance but you start feeling the chassis after 200 kms, which is not that of a good feeling. Pros:- 1. Good for long-distance rides 2. Availabilities for aftermarket options 3. Availabilities of service centers 4. Good off-road capability 5. Good cruising speed of 130 km/hr 6. A very good service period of 10k kms cons:-1. Faulty electrical wirings 2. Very weak chassis, issues of cracked chassis, find it in google pics. Build quality of the chassis is really very bad. ( personal experience) 3. Bad performance of shock absorbers after 1-2 years of riding, goes to the very stiff side like riding without any shock absorbers. 4. Oil leakage from the engine 5. A lot of vibrations on the visors and handle especially. 6. Major cone set issues, please use better cone bearings. 7. Lights need to be changed to led. 8. Underpowered for highway cruising. 9. The engine needs a lot of refining, please improve the forever present tappet noise and head noise, its very annoying. 10. Very bad after-sale service. Overall the bike is not that good and not that bad. Almost all the parts need to be changed from the aftermarket. At the last it's like buying a lottery, Totally depends on your luck. If you are lucky you get a good bike if not the problems start from day one. And there is no option to exchange once you have bought an item or product from the Royal Enfield.

I have owned the bike for a good 1.5 years now, I have done a tour of 1500 kms (round trip), I rode it on the terrain of northeast India. I have mostly ridden it in city traffic to the office and here is my review. The bike is absolutely fantastic in terms of ride quality and terrain handling. You need just this much power for any tour, (it's perfect for our Indian road conditions and mileage is good too). In the city, it is okay but very heavy (you might resent your decision of buying it) but once you take it to highways especially the twisties on a hilly area you will love the ride and feel awesome that you own this bike. But there are certain issues that I faced that compelled me to think about selling the bike. The biggest issue is that there will be a lot of problems with the bike one after another, Most of the problems can be dealt with in the service centre (they are very good ) but some could not (you will literally feel like a mechanic). You want the feel of raw motorcycling to get a Royal Enfield but if you want a no-nonsense and reliable machine get a Honda (which I plan next). Lastly, I would say don't rush because youtube reviews are mostly paid and biased (very few websites like Zigwheels put genuine reviews and are actually helpful). Talk with people owning the bike facing issues and more importantly take a test ride.