Stormtrooper, May the 4th be with you.
Alright, Stormtrooper, the Royal Enfield Himalayan is home. It has been home for a while now. 535kms to be exact. These are my initial impressions and modifications to it. More from a fricking practicality point of view. Daily use report. Do not expect to see lifestyle photos, like the kind where people go 5 feet off the main road to make it seem like they’ve been riding dirt all day. If you’re looking for that, leave. Now.
Given the delivery date, the colour and the height of the motorcycle, its naming was a no-brainer to the SWMBO. First stop was to pick up some cake at CakeWala. It was while carrying a cake on the bike you realise how spacious it is. Enough space to hold stuff without things sticking into your body.
The first day to the office, I realised that I need to get the Coocase onto this. For the time being the tank bag is doing the job as my office bag. The wife needs to carry her bag. And that ugly saree guard needs to leave too. Permanently.
The motorcycle is getting a little too warm in the stop and go traffic on the outer ring road. And the gear shifts are just as shitty as they were on the trial bike at the showroom. But, other than that the comfort on the motorcycle is so much more than the other two Royal Enfields in the garage. The suspension works in damping out the roads.
What is new?
New to me that is. Royal Enfield Himalayan is my first motorcycle to have a rear disk brake. (And, also my first motorcycle to not have a kickstart.) Yes, I’m a little antiquated that way. It has been good and not as dangerous in the rain too. Speaking of rain, its been raining buckets and the monsoon did make it quite a handful. Being a Royal Enfield rider, the first thing I get worried about it the electricals dying and leaving me stranded. Nothing like that has happened thankfully.
After a few days, I got a number for the motorcycle and it was time to get some plates. The mounting bracket for the motorcycle was the first thing I detached from the motorcycle. Good to see that RE has put some thought into the design of the smaller items too.
First Modification
The next thing was to try to get the Coocase onto the Royal Enfield Himalayan. The default back rack is quite tiny and does not serve my purpose. While it may work for a person riding solo, the top case eats into the pillion seating area without a mounting plate. There are two things that I can do to get this to work.
In the order in which I am going to try them:
- Get a new rear rack and mount it onto that. Pictured below
- Get a wider metal base plate onto which I can attach the base plate of the case.
The rack will be ready in a few days, and I will speak more about it later. And, also how it is working out for me.
Himalayan – First service
Finally, 500kms later, I got to the service centre near home. The one owned by the same HSR dealers from where I took delivery of the motorcycle. The setup of the garage is quite ok, and I expected a quicker turnaround given that I got there by 8 a.m Good I could get some work done from there.
They finally got around to my motorcycle, and there was some confusion. The service guys did not let me hang around near the bike, unfortunately. A few points docked from HSR Service, Challaghatta for that. So I am not sure what oil they put in, and I have to go with what they said. The spokes were tightened before handing it back to me.
The job card and what was done before I shelled out Rs.1,200 for a “Free Service”. The automotive industry’s warranty related con job.
StormTrooper Fans Association
It has been quite an eye catcher. Everywhere I park it, this is how people are. Stopping mid way and looking at it. The people interested in it are definitely a step away from your typical, Royal Enfield’s thump whores. You know the types, Thump illa maga, Thump venum da, Thump nahi hai BehnC etc. This one is silent in comparison with the others.
Royal Enfield Himalayan – StormTrooper Gallery
Hi I also want to bike ride so what I do for this ?
Well…
1. buy a bike and ride
2. rent it and ride.
Nice & useful write-up dude.
First mod I did was remove the saree guard. And found some bolts from my plastic bike (spare ones) to fix the chain guard back
Second I removed the wind shield, as the LED light from Speedo console was distracting my ride in the evenings.
Third, swapped the stock mirrors with Duke mirrors(Rs. 238*2). The rear view is much better. But yet to test them on high speed (just completed 1st service @ 450kms)
Thanks Prasad. I did the saree guard in the first few days too. Windshield I kept it. The windshield has two positions, maybe you could check if the LED reflection could be directed in another direction. Duke mirrors I have to try as yet. Just a little worried that it may be too short for me. Will try out by sitting on your bike next time.
Thanks Abhi, will check with windshield in the other position.
And sure, you can check with my bike. The mirrors grow wide, but not sure if it is really tall enough.
I read your blog, and it was very beneficial for me. I recently bought Himalayan boots, which are durable, high-performance footwear designed for rugged terrain and extreme conditions.