Irishguy
Well travelled
- Location
- Lick Skillet, Alabama
After waiting about a month for the previous owner to get the VIN number error sorted out and waiting for the DMV to get it in his mailbox, it finally came in the mail Friday. So I made the 3 hour drive yesterday and came back with the Himalayan on the back of my trusty Dodge Ram.
When I parked the truck and walked up to the bike, it was the very first time I had actually seen one in person. And certainly the first time I had ridden one. I liked the black, red and silver combination better than I thought I would. I was hoping to find a white one, but when buying used you can't be too choosey about colors and such nonsense. She has under 200 miles and quite a few farkles despite the previous owner hardly riding it. Bar risers, hand guards, and guards for the oil cooler, heel guards, etc... She's a 2021 with 18 months left on the factory warranty and there was only $4400 missing from my wallet as I drove away.
Got her home without incident on a hitch carrier I bought from Amazon, and finally took her for a decent ride on and off-road. These are just my initial thoughts...
Our mountain cabin is a few miles down a remote forest service road, so she's going to see dirt every time a throw a leg over her. Off-road, she reminds me of some of my old school dirt bikes I have owned in my younger years, such as my old Hodaka Wombat Combat, or my old Bultaco Pursang 360, only bigger and with a big 4 stroke single. The "Toaster" tank harkens back to my old Hodaka's as well and I simply love the look. It's quite a handsome bike. The Bike looks kind of chunky and vintage, which belies it's surprisingly good handling in the dirt.
Despite not riding dirt for a long time, I almost immediately felt comfortable on her. Mine has the Ceat tires. Don't know much about them, but they seemed up to the task to me. I was running around 35-40 mph in the dirt and it felt very stable and planted. The 21" front tire and the suspension absorbed the rocks and holes like a pro and my initial impressions were that I probably won't feel the need to go screwing with the factory suspension set-up.
On-road, she just simply puts a smile on your face. Living at our cabin in the mountains of Northeast Alabama, we have a lot of curvy, back country roads and this little gem just seems to want to eat them up. Sure she's no cafe racer, or sport bike, but she certainly does remind me of my old Triumph Tiger 1050 (without the power.) And that's a high bit of praise. I had to Google it, and was surprised to find that the Himalayan and the Tiger 1050 weight about the same, because the Himalayan feels much lighter than the Tiger ever felt. The Tiger feels at least 100 pounds heavier.
The folks at Royal Enfield and their friends at Harris in England have simply done a marvelous job on this bike. She flies through the curves like a steam powered Angel skimming the surface of the Earth. The thought that kept coming to my mind as I effortlessly fell into the turns and chugged out of them was: "What a brilliant motorcycle. Absolutely brilliant." The Indians have created something that is somehow greater than the sum of its parts. A modern fuel injected bike that comes from the factory equipped with a soul.
When I parked the truck and walked up to the bike, it was the very first time I had actually seen one in person. And certainly the first time I had ridden one. I liked the black, red and silver combination better than I thought I would. I was hoping to find a white one, but when buying used you can't be too choosey about colors and such nonsense. She has under 200 miles and quite a few farkles despite the previous owner hardly riding it. Bar risers, hand guards, and guards for the oil cooler, heel guards, etc... She's a 2021 with 18 months left on the factory warranty and there was only $4400 missing from my wallet as I drove away.
Got her home without incident on a hitch carrier I bought from Amazon, and finally took her for a decent ride on and off-road. These are just my initial thoughts...
Our mountain cabin is a few miles down a remote forest service road, so she's going to see dirt every time a throw a leg over her. Off-road, she reminds me of some of my old school dirt bikes I have owned in my younger years, such as my old Hodaka Wombat Combat, or my old Bultaco Pursang 360, only bigger and with a big 4 stroke single. The "Toaster" tank harkens back to my old Hodaka's as well and I simply love the look. It's quite a handsome bike. The Bike looks kind of chunky and vintage, which belies it's surprisingly good handling in the dirt.
Despite not riding dirt for a long time, I almost immediately felt comfortable on her. Mine has the Ceat tires. Don't know much about them, but they seemed up to the task to me. I was running around 35-40 mph in the dirt and it felt very stable and planted. The 21" front tire and the suspension absorbed the rocks and holes like a pro and my initial impressions were that I probably won't feel the need to go screwing with the factory suspension set-up.
On-road, she just simply puts a smile on your face. Living at our cabin in the mountains of Northeast Alabama, we have a lot of curvy, back country roads and this little gem just seems to want to eat them up. Sure she's no cafe racer, or sport bike, but she certainly does remind me of my old Triumph Tiger 1050 (without the power.) And that's a high bit of praise. I had to Google it, and was surprised to find that the Himalayan and the Tiger 1050 weight about the same, because the Himalayan feels much lighter than the Tiger ever felt. The Tiger feels at least 100 pounds heavier.
The folks at Royal Enfield and their friends at Harris in England have simply done a marvelous job on this bike. She flies through the curves like a steam powered Angel skimming the surface of the Earth. The thought that kept coming to my mind as I effortlessly fell into the turns and chugged out of them was: "What a brilliant motorcycle. Absolutely brilliant." The Indians have created something that is somehow greater than the sum of its parts. A modern fuel injected bike that comes from the factory equipped with a soul.
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. Waking up to that kind of view in the morning must never get boring. Nice write up of your bike as well. I haven't picked mine up yet but really looking forward to it