Forum

[Eagle56]

Just looking at the Himalayan but not ready to take the plunge yet.

I keep looking at these bikes which in lock down don’t come up very often.
My thoughts were good looked after used over new but as new prices are low is it worth the risk ?
There doesn’t seem to be a mega amount of difference in cost and the dealer gives back up.
Some used bikes are not much off new prices I’ve seen some higher when a dealer has a deal.

A thought is a new bike not run as per recommendation will it a well as one that has.
A Used bike may have been abused off road and solely a track bike and you would never know or would it really matter?
A Benefit the tedious run in period is done by someone else and there can be savings if the right bike comes up.

It’s a tough call

[Trev]

This is the dilemma I had when I decided to go for a Himmy, I've never bought a brand new bike, and probably never will, as I don't need the 'I'm the first person to have ridden this' or 'look at my new number plate' thing to light me up and I see no sense in losing thousands to depreciation for those dubious benefits. However ..............

The Himmy is a bit of a curve ball as it's super low price and, relative, desirability means even 3 year old bikes have only 'lost' about a grand. I was looking for one to use not polish (who would polish a Himalayan?) but didn't want one that had been too abused. Also like you, the ones I was looking at seemed a little pricey yet still sold so I ended up going for a 700 mile, 6 month old one with a couple of extras at about £700 saving on new, on the road, price.

I would still go second hand but, as the Himmy is one of those bikes that attracts extras like a cow attract flies, try to get the best combo of mileage, service history and extras that you would spend out on yourself. Even though the parts are relatively cheap compared to other brands, stick on heated grips, different tyres, shock, hand guards and the odd heel guard and you'll still spend getting on for £800 so finding one with the extras already on it can make quite a bit of difference.

Part of the issue is that it's such a cheap bike that many are bought as 'second bikes' and owners will probably keep them for years as they don't owe them much. The depreciation proof bike? No, not by a long shot, but if you're considering Himmy ownership then you're probably not the type to be attracted by next years 8 mode LED dash and another 17 ride modes or the Special Edition Ohlins shod works replica to turn up on at the Sunday morning bike meet and therefore less likely to feel itchy wallet fingers every Spring.

Buy a decent second hand one, get it muddy, potter about aimlessly on it and you'll never look back ...... apart from to check what's overtaking you next

[Andy C]

My spin on this one.

For years I had an old MZ ETZ 250 that was my general purpose / use all winds / weathers bike, I started to find it uncomfortable and although the engine had some mods was lacking in "grunt".

While looking around for an alternative I noticed that the Himilayan was getting some good reports, certainly "Itchy Boots" travels made the bike sound like a good all rounder, and certainly reliable.

MZs are fetching silly money, which is what I got for mine, so with that cash burning a hole in my pocket I opted for a new bike, in hindsight I could have bought a decent used one, but at least buying it new I would be sure that it was properly run in.

So far I have limited myself to just a few mods, although I agree you could spend a hell of a lot.

Have clocked up just over 4000 miles on it now, the running period was a bit teedious but worth it.

It's a great replacement for the MZ as I do lot of local A & B road and back lane riding, having said that last year I managed a run of just over 120 miles each way mainly on A roads and 20 miles or so on the Motorway. It's not really suited to Motorway riding 20 miles or so is about the limit.

The 120 mile each way ride was in the heat of the summer and the Temp Gauge (before I re located it) was reading 42 degrees.

Not had a single issue with the bike to date and dont regret buying it, but I still wish I had kept my old MZ

At the end of the day you pay yer money and take yer choice.

[Eagle56]

I’ve only bought two bikes from new
Harley fatboy not a good experience
And Verseys 650 with problems.
Both gone.

[Eagle56]

In retrospect it was good to have some recall to correct faults with new.

[Jon Hill]

Absolutely brilliant bike. I bought mine secondhand with under 2k miles recorded (why do people buy bikes and hardly use them?) A great alternative to the MZ, but with the benefit of great fuel economy. Very versatile, good on tracks and perfectly adequate performance. Good entertainment from the compass which goes berserk when I use a magnetic tank bag and just what the temperature gauge measures is beyond me! Get one bought!

[Eagle56]

They do attract a lot of bad press/reviews but I’m verging on the fact that a lot of reviews are just writers using the same online quotes and engine spec,s.
I would feel save in saying most of reviewers have either not ridden the bike or only for a just a quick spin or only on a new bike with a tight engine after ridding a large capacity rocket full of electronic gizmo,s.

I’m quite happy now keeping to speed limits on A and B routes with the occasional Motorway jaunt and the ability to tackle a muddy track once now and then .

My bikes

Classic 500 big smiles
XL1200 CB tends to gather dust.

A Himalayan is a very attractive possibility

[Trev]

Absolutely brilliant bike. I bought mine secondhand with under 2k miles recorded (why do people buy bikes and hardly use them?) A great alternative to the MZ, but with the benefit of great fuel economy. Very versatile, good on tracks and perfectly adequate performance. Good entertainment from the compass which goes berserk when I use a magnetic tank bag and just what the temperature gauge measures is beyond me! Get one bought!

Love your comments on the compass and temp gauge, I still haven't managed to ride enough figure of eights to get my compass out of calibration mode so it flashes manically at me all the time, reminds me it's an Enfield . I relocated the temp gauge from out of the warm air flow and it now only reads about ten degrees high, at least feels like I might be in the UK instead of India

Yup brilliant bikes, what a bike should be instead of electronic cobblers everywhere and 'Sunday morning bike meeting works replica carbon indicator switches'

[Andy C]

The Temp sensor - I re located the temp sensor to alngside the headstock - there is a wire cable guide that has a loop in it just big enough to accommodate an M6 screw that will hold the temp sensor in place. It is protected from being exposed to the full air flow by various cables and bracketry. Now seems to read something more "real world". I remember when I first picked it up from the dealer, it was a really hot and sunny day.........but not 36 degrees.

The compass - something that I often contemplate what it is trying to tell me, does the arrow point to the compas point I am travelling to, or away from it? I honestly dont know as it seems to vary. Not something I get that excited about to be honest as the chances of me actually needing a compass are pretty remote.

Just a foot note, the dealer I bought mine from told me that he had several customers with "sports" bikes who bought Himalayans as there second bike, at least 2 of these no very rarely ride their sports bikes as they enjoy the Himalayan so much.

[Jon Hill]

I bought Himalayan whilst searching for a BSA B33. However prices of such bikes are ridiculous for a heavy, old and oily chugger which would need time consuming maintenance, which I cannot be bothered with anymore. I also looked at Redditch Bullets, which although cheaper were generally a bit tired for my money. My mate wants to ride trails in the Pyrenees next year (hopefully! ) BMW GS models are ten foot high, have suspect transmission, rate marginally better than a KTM for reliability and cost far too much. The Himalayan is brilliant on windy twisty country roads and gives maximum smiles per mile.