New Himalayan - preventative maintenance ideas?

[tom_himalayan]

I have a new RE Himalayan Euro 5. Only 70 miles from the showroom thus far and will be looking to rack up some miles on her this summer.
She is fairly immaculate right now, and I am wondering what preventative maintenance/adjustments I should make now to prevent common faults in the future.

Any thoughts on weak points of the Himmy and what might be done up-front to prevent issues?
[if this thread has already been covered then apologies and please do direct me to it...]

To start us off, one issue I have heard of from a blog...

Issue: Headstock bearings susceptible to fast wear / failure
Fix: Strip the assembly down and pack with high quality grease?

 

[Bluestrom13]

IMO yours will be OK. Mine is a 2021 reg, '20 manufactured Euro4. Almost 6000 miles since June. Steering is fine.

I believe (perhaps wrongly) that RE took the criticism on board and upped their game.
Brake calipers being another example - later ones are OK.
There will be others along with similar or opposing views, so I'll wish you well with the new bike, and ride safe.

 

[Ajr650]

I'm in the same boat as you, although I won't have mine for a week or 2. I'm not going to do much other than ride it for few miles and then think about bits I would like to or need to look at. Although I probably will be putting on some Acf50 or similar when I do get it home

 

[petespace1]

Here is a blog from a well known MX shop. I buy lots of stuff from them.
what one needs to remember is that as the Himalayan is used by different people in varying environments if riding only on dry road no dramas; however If off road and or a lot of wet roads etc etc. read on..

especially about brand new bikes being stripped and greased before first ride. yeah yeah different type of bike etc but the point is it’s not a Himalayan problem just politely it’s a where the and how the ‘ahem’ do you ride problem.

How To: Inspect and Grease your Bearings | MXstore Australia

A commonly overlooked part of maintenance on a motocross bike is the bearings in your linkage, wheels and steering head

www.mxstore.com.au

Enjoy the new bike

 

[petespace1]

Just saw this one come up this morning on youtube about head bearings Wee Jaunt Himalayan steering head bearings after 11k miles…

 

[Roy Gavin]

RE changed the grade of the bearings and the type and quantity of grease, among a fair few other things. - there is a list out there somewhere detailing most of the changes they made but for some reason RE don't want you to see it.
Just like they don't want you to see the workshop manuals or parts lists either, they would rather you used your local dealer for everything!@
Use the MXstore a lot too.
With free postage, good prices and most items in stock it is easier than going to our local dealers who have next to no stock and, usually, lousy prices on what little they have.

 

[Morgan60]

1.25 amp Battery Tender. When I’m not riding, it’s on the battery tender.

 

[tom_himalayan]

Just saw this one come up this morning on youtube about head bearings Wee Jaunt Himalayan steering head bearings after 11k miles…

@petespace1 - great video, thanks for posting.

@Morgan60 - noted on the Battery tender, I learnt the hard way on this one and have had the tender connected ever since!!

 

[Roy Gavin]

@petespace1 - great video, thanks for posting.

@Morgan60 - noted on the Battery tender, I learnt the hard way on this one and have had the tender connected ever since!!

Head bearings fail for three reasons - the are the wrong grade, they are lubed with the wrong grease, or they are wrongly adjusted.
The vid was not explicit on any of these points.
My NSK bearing type and grade is HR30205J, other brands may differ but there must be some prefix or suffix , or both, grease type EP2 to NLGI GC-LB standard and you want 1 thou of an inch preload on the top bearing when the lower bearing is taking its share of the weight of the bike.
And no need to touch the wheel , brace or brake to lube the lower bearing, you can just jack up the sump until the rollers are exposed1

 

[tom_himalayan]

Head bearings fail for three reasons - the are the wrong grade, they are lubed with the wrong grease, or they are wrongly adjusted.
The vid was not explicit on any of these points.
My NSK bearing type and grade is HR30205J, other brands may differ but there must be some prefix or suffix , or both, grease type EP2 to NLGI GC-LB standard and you want 1 thou of an inch preload on the top bearing when the lower bearing is taking its share of the weight of the bike.
And no need to touch the wheel , brace or brake to lube the lower bearing, you can just jack up the sump until the rollers are exposed1

Thanks Roy for the insights.
Any tips on how you measure and apply the 1 thou preload to the bearing? Torque on the tightening bolt or some other measure?

 

[Roy Gavin]

There is a graph on a Timken site which shows wear related to preload and wear is better with a little preload than without any, as it is contact with the cups which keeps the rollers in alignment.
But they stop short of nominating any figures for general use!
RE nominate that you remove all play but don't specify if that is with the wheel on the ground or in the air,
BMW specified 7 inch/ lbs but few will have a torque wrench that accurate!
Don't know the thread size in the adjuster but if it were 1.5 mm one turn would be 60 thou so one thou not much.
Steering feel comes in to it too, on my Beemers with the front wheel off the ground I tighten the bearing till when you tap the bars in the central position the drag slows the forks so they just fall gently on to the stop.
Probably gives more preload than 1 thou, but the bearings in my R80 G/S PD have lasted 230,000 km that way.

 

[Bluestrom13]

I tighten the bearing [with the wheel elevated] till when you tap the bars in the central position the drag slows the forks so they just fall gently on to the stop.

+1

 

[dabs]

I'm surprised to see no method to lock of that adjuster nut once it's set but i guess 1000's of enfields cant be wrong, am used to Yamaha's with a lock ring and top nut..

 

[Roy Gavin]

The 30mm nut on the top of the fork stem might be intended to clamp the top triple down on to the adjuster, and if it is then a little thought when you tighten up the bolts which clamp the triple to the tubes and the top nut is required.
But , yes, some bikes seem to do it better, with a positive clamp on to the adjuster.
If you want a real dumb way to do it look at BMW Airhead forks which have a 3 mm flat plate as a top triple, even at 90 ish ft/lbs torque on the top nuts they flex and unscrew themselves.
I mark all the Beemer nuts so I can detect it early, if you do the same with the Hima center nut it might indicate wherher or not you have things sorted out and the adjustment is solid. DAHIK!