I bought the Himalayan new, in March 2020 for I wanted a reliable all rounder that I would ultimately become my only bike. I had the first service done at North Cornwall Motorcycles after the initial 300 mile run in period (carried our very carefully) and stamped in owners manual. Read more
We are still in the middle of the Coronavirus lockdown and my thoughts are turning to my future motorcycling.
The Himmie is a good bike, and it is new. My other bike, my BMW R65LS is also a good bike, but is not new. It is now thirty six years old. I have had it for twenty seven years. Do I need two bikes? Read more
The side stand on the Himalayan is bloody awful and Royal Enfield should be ashamed of it. This is even more true as the bike is not the easiest bike to put on the centre stand.
As standard, on a flat surface, on the side stand, the Himalyan leans in about 5 degrees. It’s really not enough. The usual remedy is to shorten the stand by around 1cm which increases the lean angle to around 10 degrees. Read more
I tried my Givi topbox on the rack. It ends up too far forward for a comfortable ride for the pillion passenger and it looks far too high and, to be honest, a bit ridiculous.
I won’t be doing long trips for a while so I do not need a vast amount of space. Just something for a few extra tools, waterproof leggings (I only wear then when I need to), a flask, some sandwiches, camera, and odds and ends. Read more
I decided to use the same type of USB unit I used on my other bikes.
The price had gone up!
The last ones cost me £3.20 for two, this one cost me £2, postage paid.
Damn the expense.
I wanted to fit it into the headlight, but there was not an easy way to get a USB lead into the headlight shell without drilling a big hole. In the end I simply picked up the power from the parking light, which is on all the time the ignition is on. Read more
I needed a solution to the weak rear rack so I can mount a topbox with confidence. Having somewhere to store tools, a flask, or even two some sandwhiches while wandering around is just so handy.
The rack is not really designed for much load and it tends to break, Read more
On the 5th of March I drove the Bullet on it’s last ride with me to North Cornwall Motorcycles. I started second kick, didn’t miss a beat, and performed faultlessly all the way to the dealers – about 30 miles. Much of the trip was in fine rain. I could not wait as I had arranged my insurance to flip from the Bullet to the Himalayan at 2pm. I arrived at NCM at 1:55pm so I was legal till the end. I was really sorry to see it go. Read more
Many years ago I had heated grips on my BMW. They were very cosy. At the time money was very tight and commercial grips were out of the question. I put a 22Watt torpedo bulb inside each side of the handlebars, connected them to a switch wired through the ignition and Bob’s your uncle. It worked fine.
I’ve changed the handlebars on the bike now and have installed Oxford heated grips. They work well but the connecting cable are bulky, and get in the way. The controller has the same issues.
I’m not changing them, but I’d like something a bit neater on the Himalayan so I think I’ll go back to the original style. Read more
I had looked at a Himalayan before and decided it was more of an off road bike and not really my style. But then I started to read posts on various websites and blogs that were generally full of praise for it.
I looked more closely and decided it wasn’t too outrageous. I decided to go for a closer look (I had never seen one on the road) and possibly a test ride. Read more
Year 2004 Capacity 500cc Mileage 7500 miles Gears 5 – gear lever on the left Start Electric or Kickstart Location North Cornwall U.K. My Bullet is for sale due to needing the space in the garage. It has performed with no issues since I bought it from the previous … Read more