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[Andy C]

3600 miles with a Himalayan.

Thought I would post up my thoughts now that I am heading towards another autumn / winter on the Himalayan.

I bought it new in August 2019 and I was determined to keep it as near standard spec as possible - I do tend to make a lot of mods to most of my bikes.

I remember looking at the Temp gauge on the way home and noticed that it was reading 36 degrees, it was a very hot sunny day but not that hot / sunny!!

Bear in mind that I bought the Him as a day to day / utility bike that I could use all winds / weathers to replace my trusty old MZ ETZ 251 which although reliable was pretty damned uncomfortable and lacked any kind of bottom end “grunt” so perhaps my expectations are not that high.

I was a bit disappointed with comfort after racking up the first few hundred miles, but happy to say that the seat seems to have run in along with the rest of the bike so no issues with comfort.

It took something like 1500 miles to loosen up, after which time it started to be a real pleasure to ride.

I did around 30 miles or so on the Motorway back in the summer - it was able to hold 65 / 70 but I really would not have wanted to cover many more Motorway miles on it, the bike is best suited to A / B roads and back lanes which is where I spend most of my time.

The front brake could do with a bit more power / bite, back brake is absolutely fine.

Fuel economy is really good - I don’t keep the numbers but I don’t spend much time in filling stations, talking fuel it seems to run best on branded unleaded, by that I mean non supermarket fuel.

Coming back to Mods, I have done a few which I feel have improved the bike, the mods are:

Our hosts Air Delete Kit - it really does improve bottom end

Our hosts front mudguard extension - keeps crud off the bash plate and engine

Our hosts rear hugger - it really does keep the muck off the rear shock. I don’t do much green laning / off road riding so tyre / guard clearance is not an issue

Homemade Booster Plug - it seems to have stopped the bikes tendency to cut out for no reason, which has always bothered me as it is a safety issue and does let the bike down

Cut down screen - the standard one leaves me feeling like I have been punched in the head. The lower screen still protects the instruments even if it does not afford much protection.

Oh yes, and temperature, I re located the temp sensor to the front of the bike, out of the air flow, it now reads much more sensible temperatures.

All in all I enjoy riding it, and it does exactly what I wanted it to.

[Trev]

Perfect timing, thank you. I've just bought a Himmy (I knew I would at some stage when I first test rode one about 2 years ago) although mine is going to be more for off road, BOAT, tiny back lane use than 'normal' road use. Mine is a low miles, less than year old 'immaculate' bike with the only mod being heated grips. It's currently with the guy I bought it from (a bike mechanic chap I've known for some time and has one of his own) who is going to grease linkages, fit a new shock, more off road orientated tyres with HD tubes and EBC front brake pads.

I'm going to use it a bit like that to get a feel for it, and get it up to 1200-1500 miles but am lining up a few mods so your Himalayan thoughts are perfect timing. I will be ordering the air delete kit, temp sensor relocator, fender extender, magnetic drain plug, rubber lever shrouds and a shock sock from our hosts and may add a silencer and spare cables as well to that list along with a service kite for next year (it's had it's first service done by the supplying dealer).

I already have some Acerbis Rally Pro (the slim ones) handguards to fit and will make some spacers to raise the front mudguard. Will see how I get on with standing/riding position before I muck about with different bars or bar raisers. Also plan to replace the battery with Li at some stage, did this with my 500 efi and much better starting as it 's spins the starter nicely regardless of temperature or how long left unused and saves a couple of kilos.

Interesting to hear your thoughts on the screen, I've been used to 'naked' bikes (before they were called that) or sportsbikes and not a fan of the short screen on my previous NC700X which seemed to cause more buffeting than it caused. The one on my Africa Twin isn't too bad and probably a decent compromise given the higher speeds that it cruises at but I really doubt the Himmy rider needs protecting from 'wind blast' so likely I'll be taking the mini hacksaw to mine as well. Any more detail from you on this would be appreciated as would be any other tips/suggestions.

Really looking forward to getting mine muddy, scratched, scuffed and used over the Winter ; )

[Andy C]

Trev - I'll take a measurement on my cut down screen. The standard screen really did leave me feeling like I had been punched in the head after riding the bike, the shortened screen does keep some of the spray off you, evident by how mucky it gets after following cars in the rain.

It also protects the rear of the instruments from the wet - if you look where the connector goes into the clocks it looks a bit open to me.

Dont really have any other tips, with the few mods I have done to mine I think it improves the bike.

I'll post up the screen cutting dimension tomorrow.

Cheers

[Andy C]

Just measured it.

From the top of the curve for the headlamp in the screen, measure 145mm up and then mark the screen paralell to the top edge - that will be the cut line.

I put some masking tape on mine to mark the cut line on.

Once cut I polished the edge using some progressivley finer grades of emery, followed by solvol.

Good luck.

[Trev]

Thanks Andy, I'll try mine for a while first but I expect it will either be going altogether or cut down similar to your suggestion. Much appreciated - Trev

[Andy C]

"How did you measure it"

With a ruler !!