Aitrus
Well travelled
- Location
- Georgia, USA
New guy here in the Pacific Northwest of the US. I'm looking for some feedback from some experienced Himalayan owners - preferably ones with more traditional cruiser experience if possible.
I currently own a 2012 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT. I've had it since my military retirement in 2018 (a present from my wife - I'm a very lucky man!). I'm 90% happy with it, but I can't do everything I want to with it. I ride back and forth to work and take the occasional weekend 200-400 mile cruise. Once a year I'll do a 1,500+ mile trip, mostly on back roads / two-lane blacktop. I avoid the interstates when I can and like cruising around 60mph or so at the most. I also like to go camping, usually by accessing off-the-beaten paths via fire roads, dirt tracks, etc, but I can't do that too well with my Vulcan. It's possible on gravel roads, but not practical.
I live in Washington near the Idaho border, and my bike works well here - as long as I can park it in the garage during the off season or if rain is in the forecast. I have a prospective job offer in Georgia, and have some weird logistics to work out with the bike. One solution is to move first and leave the bike in storage, then fly back and road trip the bike from Washington to Georgia. An attractive option to be sure.
Another possible solution is to sell the Vulcan and buy something else in Georgia. Here are some decision points I'm thinking about that are making me lean towards a Himalayan as the new - and only - ride.
- In Georgia it's possible to ride year-round (or nearly so) to work, but with all the rain I'll need something that's more weather-proof than my current ride. Parking the bike outside is also likely. My breaking point for deciding if it's too cold to ride is 35 degrees. If there's a chance of icy roads I won't risk a ride, but otherwise I try to ride whenever possible.
- On long distance cruises I avoid interstate highways when possible and stick to country roads. Curvy two-lane blacktop at 45-60 mph, planning the route through small towns and beautiful countryside - that's the kind of long distance multi-day ride I enjoy most.
- I like to go camping a lot, but don't like established campgrounds where I have to pay a fee to enjoy nature. I like taking fire roads and trails into hidden places for camping, but I don't do a lot of "adventure riding" in the sense of striking out over areas with no roads, no trails, and rough terrain.
- I have zero experience on dirt bikes, hill jumping, track racing (either dirt or pavement), etc. I have no desire for getting such experience, so I don't need a bike designed for those things.
- I don't mind doing my own maintenance, so something that is wrencher-friendly is a plus.
- I'm 5'9" with a 30" inseam, so a towering BMW is not in the cards for me. I like being able to put my feet down at stoplights.
- I'm frugal by nature, so a high-priced ride isn't ideal, but I prioritize reliability quite a bit. Something of good quality that's reliable for a reasonable price under $10,000 is what I'm aiming for. No need to pay for engine displacement or sparkly farkles that I won't ever use.
- I like a classic look, either classic cruiser or a WWII-era "jack of all trades, master of none" kind of motorcycle. To me, the Himalayan has an attractive look that would fit right in on an Indiana Jones movie set.
- As a kid I grew up riding a Big Red 250 three-wheeler and a Honda PA50 moped (we called it our "Hardly a Davidson"). Both of those were single cylinder engines, so the thump of the Himalayan's single is welcome to my ears.
All of these things are what lead me toward the Himalayan, which seems like a solid jack-of-all-trades kind of motorcycle. I've watched a lot of reviews on the bike, and have particularly enjoyed Ol' Man Ronin's channel. And I've watched Itchyboots, of course. I'm looking forward to the day that FortNine finally does a review on it - if he can ever get his hands on one.
So some questions I have for the audience:
- Is this bike a good daily rider for commuting purposes over local non-Interstate streets?
- Is this bike good for multi-day cruising on two-lane roads where a traditional cruiser tends to shine?
- Is this bike easy to work on for an average do-it-yourself rider? Meaning, somebody who's not a novice and can change his own friggin' oil and bolt on parts when modifying the ride to suit, but who's not capable of doing an engine rebuild.
- Does this bike handle long periods of wet weather well? I read that it's become a popular ride in the UK which has me thinking it handles rain well, but I haven't found any long-term owner reports on this aspect of the machine. The only negative is an occasional report of condensation in the speedometer case.
- What are common issues and complaints about the bike? Any recurring or common mechanical issues to be aware of?
- What are common improvements made to the bike? For example, on the Vulcan 900: a lot of riders put on bigger rear tires and front and/or rear pulleys (more or fewer teeth) to get lower revs / less vibration at highway speeds; a lot will do some amount of debaffle work to deepen the tone of the machine; etc.
- I've seen reports of both a 450 and 650 version of the Himalayan in the works. Any truth to the rumors?
- If the Himalayan isn't for me, what other rides do you suggest I look at?
Thanks for taking the time to read, as well as for responding (for those that choose to do so).
I currently own a 2012 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT. I've had it since my military retirement in 2018 (a present from my wife - I'm a very lucky man!). I'm 90% happy with it, but I can't do everything I want to with it. I ride back and forth to work and take the occasional weekend 200-400 mile cruise. Once a year I'll do a 1,500+ mile trip, mostly on back roads / two-lane blacktop. I avoid the interstates when I can and like cruising around 60mph or so at the most. I also like to go camping, usually by accessing off-the-beaten paths via fire roads, dirt tracks, etc, but I can't do that too well with my Vulcan. It's possible on gravel roads, but not practical.
I live in Washington near the Idaho border, and my bike works well here - as long as I can park it in the garage during the off season or if rain is in the forecast. I have a prospective job offer in Georgia, and have some weird logistics to work out with the bike. One solution is to move first and leave the bike in storage, then fly back and road trip the bike from Washington to Georgia. An attractive option to be sure.
Another possible solution is to sell the Vulcan and buy something else in Georgia. Here are some decision points I'm thinking about that are making me lean towards a Himalayan as the new - and only - ride.
- In Georgia it's possible to ride year-round (or nearly so) to work, but with all the rain I'll need something that's more weather-proof than my current ride. Parking the bike outside is also likely. My breaking point for deciding if it's too cold to ride is 35 degrees. If there's a chance of icy roads I won't risk a ride, but otherwise I try to ride whenever possible.
- On long distance cruises I avoid interstate highways when possible and stick to country roads. Curvy two-lane blacktop at 45-60 mph, planning the route through small towns and beautiful countryside - that's the kind of long distance multi-day ride I enjoy most.
- I like to go camping a lot, but don't like established campgrounds where I have to pay a fee to enjoy nature. I like taking fire roads and trails into hidden places for camping, but I don't do a lot of "adventure riding" in the sense of striking out over areas with no roads, no trails, and rough terrain.
- I have zero experience on dirt bikes, hill jumping, track racing (either dirt or pavement), etc. I have no desire for getting such experience, so I don't need a bike designed for those things.
- I don't mind doing my own maintenance, so something that is wrencher-friendly is a plus.
- I'm 5'9" with a 30" inseam, so a towering BMW is not in the cards for me. I like being able to put my feet down at stoplights.
- I'm frugal by nature, so a high-priced ride isn't ideal, but I prioritize reliability quite a bit. Something of good quality that's reliable for a reasonable price under $10,000 is what I'm aiming for. No need to pay for engine displacement or sparkly farkles that I won't ever use.
- I like a classic look, either classic cruiser or a WWII-era "jack of all trades, master of none" kind of motorcycle. To me, the Himalayan has an attractive look that would fit right in on an Indiana Jones movie set.
- As a kid I grew up riding a Big Red 250 three-wheeler and a Honda PA50 moped (we called it our "Hardly a Davidson"). Both of those were single cylinder engines, so the thump of the Himalayan's single is welcome to my ears.
All of these things are what lead me toward the Himalayan, which seems like a solid jack-of-all-trades kind of motorcycle. I've watched a lot of reviews on the bike, and have particularly enjoyed Ol' Man Ronin's channel. And I've watched Itchyboots, of course. I'm looking forward to the day that FortNine finally does a review on it - if he can ever get his hands on one.
So some questions I have for the audience:
- Is this bike a good daily rider for commuting purposes over local non-Interstate streets?
- Is this bike good for multi-day cruising on two-lane roads where a traditional cruiser tends to shine?
- Is this bike easy to work on for an average do-it-yourself rider? Meaning, somebody who's not a novice and can change his own friggin' oil and bolt on parts when modifying the ride to suit, but who's not capable of doing an engine rebuild.
- Does this bike handle long periods of wet weather well? I read that it's become a popular ride in the UK which has me thinking it handles rain well, but I haven't found any long-term owner reports on this aspect of the machine. The only negative is an occasional report of condensation in the speedometer case.
- What are common issues and complaints about the bike? Any recurring or common mechanical issues to be aware of?
- What are common improvements made to the bike? For example, on the Vulcan 900: a lot of riders put on bigger rear tires and front and/or rear pulleys (more or fewer teeth) to get lower revs / less vibration at highway speeds; a lot will do some amount of debaffle work to deepen the tone of the machine; etc.
- I've seen reports of both a 450 and 650 version of the Himalayan in the works. Any truth to the rumors?
- If the Himalayan isn't for me, what other rides do you suggest I look at?
Thanks for taking the time to read, as well as for responding (for those that choose to do so).