For the last few months Breeann Poland at Royal Enfield let me ride around on their yet to be released in the US Himalayan, A 400cc dual sport. After 35k miles on my Buell XB12, I'll admit that I forgot what riding a simple bike feels like. When you jump on the Buell, it's a motorcycle that can get you in a lot of trouble in a hurry, while the Himalayan invokes a completely different riding experience. From dirt roads, single track, the snow and even a 60 mile roundtrip commute out to Delafield, this little thumper took all my abuse. I even crashed it a few times just to be sure it was the real deal.
Some awful ad agency decided on the tagline "Return to Pure" and while I would have gone a different direction - these motorcycles deliver a fun and easy riding experience.
This thing has opened a whole new dimension of riding to me and after 1500 miles I feel like I've just begun to scratch the surface with it. She might not be fast, but if you're looking for a capable motorcycle that's fun and stands out of the crowd, there's not much I'd pick over this.
If they let me hold onto it for this season here are a few small things I'd address:
- Bars - I bent the f*ck out of the handle bars on the dual-sport ride I attended, so upgrading those would be smart.
- Exhaust - It's a 400cc single that could use some more bark, because let's be honest, I like to be rowdy. Plus a little extra grunt wouldn't hurt.
- Panniers - I like Starbucks. And nothing looks better outside of Starbucks than an ADV bike with muddy cases and a hi-viz helmet.
- Lights - while the stocks light fit the bill, after swapping HIDs in my Buell I can honestly say I'll never run stock bulbs ever again.
Here are a handful of images from my experience with the Himalayan. It just landed into dealerships here in the US. At $4500 it's hard to beat the fun you can have with this thing.
