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A brief review of the Hima 452 mk2 after 50km/1 hour test ride near Frankfurt.
FINISH. The finish at least in black/gold 'JPS special' colours is stunning. The photos don't do the lustre and shine justice.
Some savings on metal parts etc is also obvious but mostly overshadowed by the design, quality paintwork and overall finish.
The switchgear is basic bordering on inadequate. The indicator switch was already broken (the bike had 50km!). Every 2/3 attempt it would not move left or right until depressed to cancel at least twice. The TFT display button is also very fragile – doubt it will last more than a few months. Feels wobbly and with little feedback. Hit and miss as to how many times you have to press it to get anything to happen.
ERGONOMICS: for me at 170cm or 5’7” the low seat height of 825mm is perfect. I actually did the whole test ride with the seat set at 845mm and it was basically fine for on road. The seat actually has 4 positions as both front and rear spars can be set in two positions. If you find the seat slopes too much forward or backward this might provide other options. Didn’t have time to test this.
Pegs are nicely positioned for seated and standing riding stance. The seat itself is very comfortable, at least up to an hour that I did. Compliant but firm and very well shaped.
The bars are ideally located with a nice reach and spread for both highway and offroad standing. The grips are a bit hard and transfer quite a bit of buzz to the hands at 5000-7000 rpm.
The side stand is simply too short, parked it has a lean angle of 20-30 degrees, and this makes the 196 kg weight very noticeable and intimidating for shorter riders – as you put it over onto the side stand you feel like you are going to drop the bike on the ground. This is completely unnecessary and puts a huge stress on the side stand as the lean is so extreme. In reality ‘walking’ the bike around while parking it feels light and manageable – at least compared to my 230 kg Moto Guzzi! Once moving it feels like it’s 20 kg lighter than reality.
My mate who is 185cm test rode it after me and also commented on the perfect ergonomics so it seems RE have got this spot on.
HANDLING: for a 21” front with a very long 1510mm wheelbase the bike feels light and nimble both in town and on long sweepers. The suspension, even without any front adjustment is compliant and well damped (no chance to test off road but some ‘Landstrasse’ were potholed and rutted), both front and rear. Again RE have hit a sweet spot. My buddy who is 25 kg heavier (so 80-110 kg range) also found it exceptional – especially compared to the rock hard Hima 411 he arrived on!
ENGINE: last but not least, the new Sherpa motor. Surprisingly smooth and willing to rev – unintentionally exceeded the running in limit frequently – partly due to near unnoticeable gear changes – a super light slipper clutch and very light gear lever action. The motor is vibey and buzzy, but at least compared to my V-twin Guzzi, not an issue at all – perhaps after hours on highway it would be intrusive. I tested the X400 two weeks ago and that is very smooth to the point of being boring, but the Sherpa is better in every other respect. Way more torque from 2500 rpm, much smoother delivery, more character and way better fuel injection mapping. The Triumph was truly unrideable in town at 30 kmh limit zones – first was in red zone and in second it was lurching and spluttering. The Hima was perfectly behaved at anything above 2000 rpm and could pull away in 3rd without complaint. A dream to ride in town by comparison with the Speed/Scrambler.
CONCLUSIONS: This is really not a Himalayan Mark II in any sense. The engine is completely different, a modern over-bored high revving single, compared to a lazy long stroke 411. Everything about it is upgraded, better and completely different. The old 411 Hima could live on as a different bike in a different price range. The new Hima is just a very approachable and appealing motorbike, and as a mid-size ADV there is no other option if you are under 180cm tall!
This is really perhaps the ultimate ‘do it all’ bike – it will be my scooter/mofa replacement for shopping and dropping kids at school, it will be my first choice for touring and blasting around the Black Forest local twisties. Unlike the Triumph 400’s this is not just for posing around Cafes!
It really is a masterpiece for 6.000 Euros. There are certainly better bikes out there for each specific usage, adventure, off-road, twisty blaster, cruiser, commuter, but none will do all of these at anything like this price. I am sure it will sell incredibly well. The dealer mentioned that so far every test ride had resulted in a sale!
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