The Royal Enfield Himalayan review: The best adventure tourer in India!

History of Himalayan

The Royal Enfield Himalayan was in launched in 2016 and was the first affordable Indian off-roader. Coincidently, I was looking to buy a higher engine capacity motorbike at the time. Royal Enfield is notorious for service and quality issues forcing me to wait for initial user reviews before committing to buying the bike.

Once sales commenced, the quality and service issues created a monumental or shall I say Himalayan challenge for Royal Enfield. Not a good sign for a prospective buyer. It looked like I would have to look at another bike. In 2017, the government of India required all vehicles sold to be BS4 compliant from May onwards. The new emission standard meant Royal Enfield had to switch to a fuel injector instead of the carburettor system for fueling.

With the BS4 update, many issues were fixed as per the CEO of Eicher motors at the time Sid Lal. Still, I decided to wait sometime before buying it. In the winter of 2017, I had enough of riding my Honda Unicorn and finally took the plunge to buy a new bike.

I had two choices, the Bajaj Dominar or The Royal Enfield Himalayan. A test ride for both the bikes was in order. I liked the Himalayan for the ground clearance, off-roading capability and ride comfort. The Dominar on the other hand felt premium, high of features and punchier engine.

With test rides done, I went back and pondered on my decision for a few days all the while reading reviews online to come at a decision. Finally, I decided to buy the Himalayan since my main use would be touring. After booking the bike, it was a long wait of 2 months before I could take delivery.

Look and feel

The Himalayan looks like a capable off-roader with a good amount of thought being given to luggage carrying capacity. There is ample space for mounting luggage and jerrycans for carrying fuel. It does look a bit intimidating but has a comfortable seating height, can’t say that for the pillion as they do need to climb up.

The instrument cluster is basic with a mix of digital and analogue elements. The seating position will give you confidence and the bike does not feel heavy although it is (180kg dry weight). The wind protector looks good but it does not do a great job is protecting the rider from wind blasts, it goes well with the overall look of the bike though. The round mirrors do not provide the necessary sight, replacing it with a square one is recommended. The rear number plate light is really flimsy. It can break easily with minimal pressure, I have replaced it twice so far.

The seat cushioning is ample and comfortable for long rides. The quality of plastics do not feel premium but that means you will save a lot if you have to replace any of them. The paint finishing on the fuel tank, front and rear mudguard is good.

Engine and ride quality

The engine is called LS410 with LS standing for Long stroke and it has just about enough to reach 100kmph and cruise at that speed all day long. This is the ideal speed for touring on this bike. I experienced this during my Kerala ride when the bike ran for 500+ kilometers for 2 days without breaking a sweat. The riding position is comfortable and sometimes you tend to forget how long you have been on the saddle. The brakes on my bike (the BS4 variant) is not sufficient, thankfully, the current BS6 version has ABS which is a must on Indian roads. In city rides, there is an issue of heating which becomes prominent in bumper to bumper traffic, since the bike is air cooled, there is not much escape from this heat dispense from the bike. The ceat tyres do a good job of taking all the bad roads, potholes and offroading you throw at the bike.

Post-sales servicing, affordability and durability

Being a Royal Enfield I expected to see some issues and mine had a weird problem of having 4-5 punctures within the first few months. At that point, I wished the bike had tubeless tyres. I tried to take it to the showroom but they didn’t have any solution to solve the problem. Keeping the tyre pressure at the prescribed level solved the issue for me. I check the tyre pressure every week, before a ride and also during the ride. I have not faced punctures after the initial 4-5 times. The bike has survived some good amount of off-roading and highways along with the occasional splash in the water. The servicing done by King’s auto riders, Baner has been exceptional to date. Parts are not expensive compared to the competition. Royal Enfield also offers a Road Side Assistance which is of great help in case you get stuck at an unwanted location. The cost is a nominal ₹800 for the year and is highly recommended for all Royal Enfield owners.

Verdict

The Royal Enfield Himalayan in the current BS6 form is a better package from the initial one that was launched in 2016. Although the peak engine output has seen a loss of 0.5bhp, that should not be an issue considering speed is not its forte. For me, the bike is primarily a capable touring machine. You can ride the entire day while not feeling tired at the end. The off-roading capability of the bike gives you the confidence to take it on a trail’s and you know it will not give up on you. My Himalayan has clocked 24,000 kilometers so far and the overall experience has been great.

Sure, the competition offers some additional features, better technical tools but if your main objective is touring long distances, the Royal Enfield Himalayan is the only touring bike you want to buy. Royal Enfield might launch a 650 Himalayan in the near future but there is no official word from the company on it. A 650 Himalayan would be one deadly package. The power of the twin cylinder engine, the off-roading capability of the Himalayan and the vast cost advantage Royal Enfield brings to the table, a play to hit the ball out the of the park!

For now, the Himalayan in its current form is enjoying its soaring popularity, don’t take my word for it, the sales figures speak for themselves. That should tell you two things; More people are embracing outdoors and the Himalayan is their choice of touring bike.

So if you are in the market to buy a capable touring machine, don’t want to spend a whole lot of money and don’t mind cruising at 100kmph all day long, the Royal Enfield Himalayan is the only bike you will need!

Hope this review was helpful and happy riding!!