- Fri Oct 23, 2020 7:04 pm
#93659
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.
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.
Previous bikes - far too many !!