2023 Royal Enfield Himalayan
Discussion
Well...despite knowing these bikes are woefully underpowered and perhaps a little small for my 6ft3 frame, I've had an itch to buy one of these for a while.
I already own at Tiger 1200, and just did 2000 miles all around scotland - super capable and a brilliant touring bike...BUT....a pain in the arse to run errands, pop to the post office, etc. It's just so big and heavy and I knew I wanted a smaller bike as a runaround. I had looked at an older Transalp 600 (I used to have one) or a dominator, but prices seem strong at the moment...spring is probably the best time for bike shopping as everyone wheels them out of the garage etc.
I then went down the rabbit hole of a classic Africa Twin - but prices are strong, and it is the opposite of what I want (small, nimble, etc).
Roll on last week and I start seeing some quite attractive deals popping up. MotoGB have lost the franchise (RE doing themselves) and have a load of stock to shift. Plus RE won't discount like this anytime soon, and they will have the new 450 coming out (probs £6k). I think this will protect used bike prices in the long run, so it seems a sensible buy. So I started looking again...had a couple test rides...
WOW! This bike is so much fun! Up to 50, it doesn't really feel slow and the engine is really charming. 65 is easily attained, and they will push on towards 75/80, but I'm not sure why you would want to. My use case is all the local stuff - 10 mile trips to town and back (on 50mph A roads etc). I also like the idea of popping around the lanes and maybe exploring some trails.
SO...I decided to pull the trigger. With used prices (low mileage) between £3 and £3.5k, it didn't make sense not to buy new for £4k which is the deal I secured. All through my local dealer who are really well known. 3 years warranty and 3 years breakdown cover.
Lot's of colour options and still stock of most things, but I was pretty settled on Lake Blue (as per the below).
Should have the bike in the next few weeks - parts and accessories are so cheap! About £100 and I have genuine handguards, engine guards, radiator/brake covers etc - all on their way from India! It's comfy, but I need to get the tall seat to just give me a little more room (which is about £280 for a well regarded aftermarket, but that's fine).
Will keep this thread updated as I go - and continue to update my opinions on the bike
I already own at Tiger 1200, and just did 2000 miles all around scotland - super capable and a brilliant touring bike...BUT....a pain in the arse to run errands, pop to the post office, etc. It's just so big and heavy and I knew I wanted a smaller bike as a runaround. I had looked at an older Transalp 600 (I used to have one) or a dominator, but prices seem strong at the moment...spring is probably the best time for bike shopping as everyone wheels them out of the garage etc.
I then went down the rabbit hole of a classic Africa Twin - but prices are strong, and it is the opposite of what I want (small, nimble, etc).
Roll on last week and I start seeing some quite attractive deals popping up. MotoGB have lost the franchise (RE doing themselves) and have a load of stock to shift. Plus RE won't discount like this anytime soon, and they will have the new 450 coming out (probs £6k). I think this will protect used bike prices in the long run, so it seems a sensible buy. So I started looking again...had a couple test rides...
WOW! This bike is so much fun! Up to 50, it doesn't really feel slow and the engine is really charming. 65 is easily attained, and they will push on towards 75/80, but I'm not sure why you would want to. My use case is all the local stuff - 10 mile trips to town and back (on 50mph A roads etc). I also like the idea of popping around the lanes and maybe exploring some trails.
SO...I decided to pull the trigger. With used prices (low mileage) between £3 and £3.5k, it didn't make sense not to buy new for £4k which is the deal I secured. All through my local dealer who are really well known. 3 years warranty and 3 years breakdown cover.
Lot's of colour options and still stock of most things, but I was pretty settled on Lake Blue (as per the below).
Should have the bike in the next few weeks - parts and accessories are so cheap! About £100 and I have genuine handguards, engine guards, radiator/brake covers etc - all on their way from India! It's comfy, but I need to get the tall seat to just give me a little more room (which is about £280 for a well regarded aftermarket, but that's fine).
Will keep this thread updated as I go - and continue to update my opinions on the bike
woop - can't go wrong. Congratulations. I really like them. Light and easy.
Something really simple about them.
I have a couple of friends that rode to South of France on a pair of the scram versions. They found them epic.
I would almost certainly have bought one if I didn't have the Triumph Scrambler (which I really like and don't want to get rid of) - which is my easy every day go to........
Something really simple about them.
I have a couple of friends that rode to South of France on a pair of the scram versions. They found them epic.
I would almost certainly have bought one if I didn't have the Triumph Scrambler (which I really like and don't want to get rid of) - which is my easy every day go to........
posted before about my dad who after much deliberation (correctly) opted to buy an interceptor rather than one of these.
He's just taken the interceptor off the road to protect it over winter and stuck his deuville back on, has done nothing but moan since about it being heavy, slow and awkward
Tell you what though at £4k brand new for a Himalayan with 3 years warranty its practically a throw away bike! buy now, beat on it for the length of the warranty and if its still running after 3 years you're quids in!
He's just taken the interceptor off the road to protect it over winter and stuck his deuville back on, has done nothing but moan since about it being heavy, slow and awkward
Tell you what though at £4k brand new for a Himalayan with 3 years warranty its practically a throw away bike! buy now, beat on it for the length of the warranty and if its still running after 3 years you're quids in!
andburg said:
Tell you what though at £4k brand new for a Himalayan with 3 years warranty its practically a throw away bike! buy now, beat on it for the length of the warranty and if its still running after 3 years you're quids in!
Exactly my position TBH - and genuinely, despite the lack of power, they make riding a hoot. Something about being full throttle everywhere, particularly when living semi rural like I do. I smiled so much, pottering about on it - it makes you want to ride for the sake of it. The Triumph Tiger 1200 is amazing, but almost too refined - it's staying for sure, but I feel like these two bikes will give me a good range of options.andburg said:
posted before about my dad who after much deliberation (correctly) opted to buy an interceptor rather than one of these.
He's just taken the interceptor off the road to protect it over winter and stuck his deuville back on, has done nothing but moan since about it being heavy, slow and awkward
Tell you what though at £4k brand new for a Himalayan with 3 years warranty its practically a throw away bike! buy now, beat on it for the length of the warranty and if its still running after 3 years you're quids in!
If anyone is London based, I always argue it's a free bike. When you factor in the cost of trains, tubes to get to work - you very quickly get a free bike, or at least you spend one year of train money and you have it as long as you want - I think my Triumph paid for itself in 3 years and it was 10kHe's just taken the interceptor off the road to protect it over winter and stuck his deuville back on, has done nothing but moan since about it being heavy, slow and awkward
Tell you what though at £4k brand new for a Himalayan with 3 years warranty its practically a throw away bike! buy now, beat on it for the length of the warranty and if its still running after 3 years you're quids in!
I love these. Great fun to bumble about on. Have been very tempted to add one to the stable, but don’t have a lot of space at the moment. I didn’t feel it was underpowered but I did feel it was underbraked. On my first ride on one I thought I’d see what it’d do on a short dual carriageway and coming up to the roundabout I braked from about 65mph at about the same point I usually would on my Speed Triple. Had a bit of a panic when not much happened! Only modern bike where I felt you really need to use the back brake to slow down, rather than just steady things occasionally. Would definitely consider an upgrade if I was regularly two up with luggage.
One of the few bikes I keep coming back to and really want to add one to my garage for no other reason than ‘Because’
Strap an old milk crate to the back of if and it’s the perfect bob about bike.
If the old SV650 ever dies and goes up to carb heaven, (who am I kidding, SV’s never die!) it would definitely be replaced by one of these.
Strap an old milk crate to the back of if and it’s the perfect bob about bike.
If the old SV650 ever dies and goes up to carb heaven, (who am I kidding, SV’s never die!) it would definitely be replaced by one of these.
Congratulations. The colour schemes, inc. on your blue and white Himalayan look great.
I was twiddling my thumb in a dealer for a few hours a couple of weeks ago. I swung my leg over a used one and rolled it back and forth. I think the rack and pannier hangers was stamped with a 7kg weight limit. I think there was a couple of used Interceptors, one at £4K. I used my bike three times on Friday and the first time my bike was the first bike in the free parking spot in the middle of town. When I got back there was a noughties Thruxton and one of these. The Thruxton got a glance but I walked past it to look at the Himayalan. It was a few years old and there was a bit of iron oxide and the oil cooler looked a bit furry.
I was twiddling my thumb in a dealer for a few hours a couple of weeks ago. I swung my leg over a used one and rolled it back and forth. I think the rack and pannier hangers was stamped with a 7kg weight limit. I think there was a couple of used Interceptors, one at £4K. I used my bike three times on Friday and the first time my bike was the first bike in the free parking spot in the middle of town. When I got back there was a noughties Thruxton and one of these. The Thruxton got a glance but I walked past it to look at the Himayalan. It was a few years old and there was a bit of iron oxide and the oil cooler looked a bit furry.
I did about 1000km off-road on one of these in the Himalays. They really are quite capable, despite being heavy and not that powerful. I think a lot of the capability comes from now worrying about dropping it like you would a 15k GS or whatever. Sand, mud, ice, snow the thing just kept on going. I'd have one in the UK if I hadn't already put a deposit down on a Triumph 400x 
guitarcarfanatic said:
andburg said:
Tell you what though at £4k brand new for a Himalayan with 3 years warranty its practically a throw away bike! buy now, beat on it for the length of the warranty and if its still running after 3 years you're quids in!
Exactly my position TBH - and genuinely, despite the lack of power, they make riding a hoot. Something about being full throttle everywhere, particularly when living semi rural like I do. I smiled so much, pottering about on it - it makes you want to ride for the sake of it. The Triumph Tiger 1200 is amazing, but almost too refined - it's staying for sure, but I feel like these two bikes will give me a good range of options.Add in that on an old bike you get all that, they're easy enough to fix yourself and most often make money rather than lose them and it's a cheap hobby!
My 'new' (1957) Norton Dominator cost under £4500 from a dealer, £38 for a year's insurance, tax is free and doesn't need an MoT. With a bit of elbow grease and TLC it'll never be worth less than paid so it's a cheap bit of fun!
I've rented two Himalayans and a Scram in India, the Scram felt much better, handled better and felt more modern, despite the two bikes being almost the same.
I'm not sure if I'd want one in the UK, they really are quite slow but the Scram was much better looking. Fuel economy is great but all of them suffered with poor front brakes, headrace bearing notchiness and the battery is quite low capacity.
In India it's the default choice, perfect for the limited roads and even on sand and gravel it just about has enough power to keep ploughing on, even at altitude and on whatever low octane petrol was available. It's also very strong, I thought several times I'd hit potholes filled with water too hard and must have bent a wheel or damaged a tyre, but no, all fine. The ceat tyres are not very good in the wet but perfectly fine otherwise.
I'm not sure if I'd want one in the UK, they really are quite slow but the Scram was much better looking. Fuel economy is great but all of them suffered with poor front brakes, headrace bearing notchiness and the battery is quite low capacity.
In India it's the default choice, perfect for the limited roads and even on sand and gravel it just about has enough power to keep ploughing on, even at altitude and on whatever low octane petrol was available. It's also very strong, I thought several times I'd hit potholes filled with water too hard and must have bent a wheel or damaged a tyre, but no, all fine. The ceat tyres are not very good in the wet but perfectly fine otherwise.
InitialDave said:
I do quite like these.
Question OP - with the new model apparently just round the corner, was there something specific that appealed to you more about this version? I can see the benefit of it being the simpler, proven one.
It’s exactly that - simpler, more charm. The new one looks good (check Noralys latest video - itchy boots), but…Question OP - with the new model apparently just round the corner, was there something specific that appealed to you more about this version? I can see the benefit of it being the simpler, proven one.
A) It’s going to be more expensive. At least a grand more.
B) It looks a little odd. I love the classical look of the original Himalayan, and the dash has a nice mid 90s feel. The new single pod design is a little too stripped back for me (although the Google cast thing is clever).
C) Unproven - If it’s great, I can always upgrade in a few years once reliability proven and bugs ironed out.
Also - lot's of packages from India have started arriving. Genuine RE parts are dirt cheap off India and have all arrived in a week.
Heel guard - £13
Large engine guards - £32
Touring Seat - £54 (I got this as I may fit a Seat Concept seat and it needs a sacrificial base)
I also grabbed a few bits from AliExpress...
Side Stand Foot - £14
Upgraded oil cooler guard - £12
Will get all these fitted at the weekend. I switched the OEM bulb to a Osram Nightbreaker as well
I have hand guards, bar risers and a Tall seat on the radar as well
Heel guard - £13
Large engine guards - £32
Touring Seat - £54 (I got this as I may fit a Seat Concept seat and it needs a sacrificial base)
I also grabbed a few bits from AliExpress...
Side Stand Foot - £14
Upgraded oil cooler guard - £12
Will get all these fitted at the weekend. I switched the OEM bulb to a Osram Nightbreaker as well
I have hand guards, bar risers and a Tall seat on the radar as well
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff