Royal Enfield Himalayan

[Terry James]

Thanks for that Terry. All sounds good. Enjoy 
Just out of interest, what do you reckon its happy cruising speed is? Could it sit happily at 70 for instance, say on a motorway? What horse power is it compared to an EFI? Also, any of you lot know what the happy cruising speed of an EFI Bullet is?
I know us Thumpeteers mostly stick to the back roads, and both the Himalaya and EFI are ideal for our sort of riding, but I just wondered as sometimes we have to join the great unwashed on the monotony of the major routes 

Not run it in yet, so have to keep to 50mph for 300 miles. The BHP is modest at just under 25, but being a long stroke 411cc, it has plenty of torque, which is what I was looking for. I won't be using it on motorways. Other RE owners have told me the comfortable cruising speed of a Bullet is 65mph, if you can stand the vibration! The Himalayan has a balance shaft, the Bullet doesn't. The Himalayan also has EFI.
The frame was designed by Harris performance and I believe the new engine was developed in Switzerland and has a balance shaft. It's a totally new, ground up motorcycle, has longer service intervals and does 80mpg.

[timbo]

Thanks again Terry. The Himalaya just keeps getting more tempting. The last few years i toured about on a 2002 Bullet, and a Guzzi Nuovo Falcone, both great bikes, but eventually I got fed up with their happy cruising speed of around 50/55mph. It doesn't sound that much, but there is a big difference between a bike that does this and one that sits happily at 60/65.
Then again, I have the Dommie and the MT500, which are my first and second favourite bikes of all

[stogadog]

I saw one at the weekend parked up at Devil's Bridge and was quite taken by it. I can't believe that you are using the MZ for Winter though when you have a brand new Enfield that can take up that duty and keep the mZ clean!

[CrazyFrog]

I saw one at the weekend parked up at Devil's Bridge and was quite taken by it. I can't believe that you are using the MZ for Winter though when you have a brand new Enfield that can take up that duty and keep the mZ clean!

Hahahaha, like the way you're thinking there....

[Smithy]

It's all sounding good for the Himalayan and interesting that it seems to have been produced with a different type of motorcycle ownership than the Bullets. With a Bullet you expect to get the spanners out as Andy M has commented, that's part of the deal when you buy one, though my current 2016 model is a lot more reliable than the 2006 model I had from new.

With the Himalayan Enfield seem to be aiming at less of an 'Indian' ownership and more towards a mainstream owner. That can only be a good thing as I'm tired of people looking at my Enfield and immediately trying to find faults. I remember similar things happening when I used to drive Skodas back in the 80s but people don't laugh at them now do they?

More power to their elbow I say and I for one will be watching the Himalayan with interest. Well unless I test ride an Interceptor first!

Ian

[timbo]

Like the way you're thinking Ian
I see MCN slated the Himilaya as being under powered. but what would they know 

[CrazyFrog]

Personally, I think the MCN reviews are always very helpful. If they say a bike is a pile of carp, there's a very good chance I'll like it! 

[timbo]

     
Well said. You almost had me  there 

[Richard]

MCN journalists - couldn't write "arse" on a wall with a spraycan and get it right.

[Andy M]

Paper journalism is so last century. Performance bikes is actually written by an AI called Journotron 3000. Its really only  trying to find the correct 400 word array of the words knee-down, wheelie and doughnut that will gain it the maximum number of website hits.

Andy 

[timbo]

What! Conspiracy theories on the TC site! Whatever next! 

[Terry James]

MCN journalists - couldn't write "*******" on a wall with a spraycan and get it right.

I've ridden motorcycles for almost 50 years and in that time I've learnt that different motorcycles are built for different roles. Journalists are sucked into believing that power is everything and top speed is paramount. Don't forget, they have to please certain manufacturers otherwise they won't get access to certain machines. The Himalayan isn't aimed at journalists, it's aimed at people who aren't looking for outright power or speed. It has usable power not power that can never be utilised on British roads. I love mine and will be keeping it for a very long time.

[themoudie]

Here is another gabby person, this time trying to compare a BMW GS800 with a Himalayan! DIP!

Himalayan_road_test_Visor_Down

Further rantings may now ensue.

My regards, Bill

[Steve Lake]

Quite right Bill.... this thread is heading towards the 'MCN talk boJJocks' rant section.....
If it aint covered in plastic, with a head down bum in the air riding position, and has at least 200BHP, a top speed of 200MPH+, and a 0 - 60 of approx. 85 milliseconds then MCN staffers get very confused and can't work out why the bike has been built. .... oh... unless it's some kind of 'bobber' custom jobbie... seems to be a bit of a craze at the moment, and here, I to am confused .... what is the point of them?.
Anyway, all credit to Enfield India for sticking with, and improving, developing and marketing a good solid useful machine.

[Terry James]

I never read MCN or Visordown because of the poor and sycophantic journalism. I want a motorcycle for the real world, not some behemoth with more gadgets and BHP than I will ever use. Bigger isn't always better and it's about time journalists recognised it. A bike that's a nano-second quicker than last year's model or one that has an increase in cubic capacity with no perceptible difference, doesn't interest me at all. The Himalayan is just about perfect for the sort of riding I do, not the sort of riding journalists think we should aspire to.