2018 Royal Enfield Himalayan

[SamM]

Two weeks ago, I picked up a brand new 2018 Royal Enfield Himalayan (Snow). This was a leftover bike purchased at Motorcycles of Dulles near Washington, DC. They treated me very well, as they discounted the RE $300 and gave me a $300 store credit. After about a 7 mile test ride, I was sold. This motorcycle has some really nice features which include, a fuel gauge, gear indicator, compass, clock, several trip meters, temp gauge and easy to read gauges.

I don’t really have a lot of planned changes for the Himalayan. So far the changes will include: a PowerTronic efi tuner, RE aluminum Himalayan handlebars, RE handlebar pad, RE European turn signals, a 16T front sprocket, new chain, RE engine guards, RE pannier racks and RE panniers. That sounds like a lot but not really for me. Most of the parts have arrived or are on the way. I have some new riding gear coming as well. RE gloves, RE Adventure boots and a new Nolan helmet. My $300 store credit was used for a super nice Klim jacket.

The pannier racks and rear euro turn signals went on Saturday morning. The engine guards will arrive tomorrow, so I’ll be busy with that soon. The front turn signals and handlebars will take some time. Those might be good tasks to start on Monday morning.

My oldest daughter and her family were visiting from Florida last week. Sunday was the earliest I could get away for the Himalayan’s maiden voyage. A riding buddy and I made a 20 mile loop Sunday afternoon. There were no surprises. The bike handles very well and is fast enough. Despite many reports on the internet, I do not find the Himalayan to be underpowered at all. The 16T sprocket and tuner should help wake it up a little. My plans do not include endless highway miles anyway. The Himalayan does vibrate a little more than I remembered from my test ride. I hope it smooths out with more miles.

As I reported in my Spade thread. I plan to sell the Spade. It was a great little bike but was not doing it for me. I will report here how the Himalayan works out and my modifications. Here are a few pictures.

SamM

[Pathfinders]

Why sell the spade? I regret selling all but one motorcycle.

[wheelbender6]

Keep the Spade for the grandkids to ride with you. You are going to have a lot of fun.

[wheelbender6]

I understand. You need to liquidate the Spade in order to get more speed parts and accessories for the Himalayan. It doesn't take long to spend a few grand on ADV gear.

[SamM]

Honestly, I only have room for one bike in my life. I’ll probably sell the Yamaha SR500 when I get it back together. Recently, I also sold a rifle. This allows me to replace the money that I used to buy the Himalayan. Just trying to get rid of stuff that I don’t plan to use. Since I have the RE now, I would never ride the Spade.

SamM

[pete]

There new trials replica's from there glory days

[Emerikol]

I can really close to picking up a Royal Enfield. I was at the dealership with money in hand, but backed out at the last minute. I was going to pick up a Classic 500 in Gunmetal Grey. After sitting on the bike for a while and looking it over really carefully, I found the riding position to be a little off (i.e., it would get really uncomfortable really quickly on long rides) and the welds where the frame joints are were terrible. Sloppy welds on a bike are one thing that I absolutely can't get over. I decided to buy a Royal Enfield tee shirt that day instead. Regardless, wish you the best with your new ride, and I look forward to seeing ride reports as you have time to write them up. The new bike is a beauty! -E

[wheelbender6]

The Trials Replicas look great, but performance will be modest with the Bullet thumper engine.

[SamM]

Some of my RE riding gear arrived yesterday along with the engine protectors. I’ll post pictures when those go on the Himalayan. I have decided to pronounce Himalayan the way they do in India. Also, a few days ago I named the bike. Normally that’s not something that I do but this name seemed appropriate given its color and country of origin. I have added stickers.

SamM

[SamM]

This is a great add photo.

[SamM]

Haven’t had much time to ride but I did manage to add a new Termignoni slip-on to the Himalayan stock header. The other mods have been a new D.I.D. chain, RE handguards, an air pump delete kit and a RE replacement 17T sprocket. My stock battery managed to die and was replaced with a Li-ion battery from AntiGravity.

Here’s a picture of the Termignoni slip-on.

SamM

[SamM]

A couple more modifications. Yesterday, I removed the original front brake master cylinder and replaced it with a new Brembo master cylinder. One of the criticisms of the Himalayan is lack of power of the front brake. The Himalayan uses brake calipers from BYBRE. They are the India subsidiary of Brembo. I also have a set of Brembo brake pads that fit the RE. A new hydraulic brake switch is on the way to finish the installation. This hopefully will increase the feel of the front brake.

After watching a YouTube video from Karmakaze, I decided to buy a set of GIVI engine protectors. I believe these bars are the best engine protection for the Himalayan on the market. These are super nice! I may add driving lights at some point.

SamM

[SamM]

I recently sold my Himalayan.

SamM

[Sport Rider]

Congrats. looking forward to hearing your reviews on it as you get more mileage racked up....

[Megadan]

I have always wanted to test ride a Himalayan. People that complain about them being "underpowered" just have unrealistic expectations. It's 25hp. They aren't meant for speed. They are adequately powered for commuter duty and some adventuring. I look forward to seeing your future mods.