Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term – Second Report

Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term Review

Bike Tested: Royal Enfield Himalayan
Kms Done: 4770 kms
Test Started at: 1680 kms
Test Concluded at: 6450 kms
Mileage: 29.42 km/l, 34.12 km/l (best), 24.72 km/l (worst)
Fuel Consumed:- 162.13-litres
Total Fuel Cost: Rs. 17,862/-
Fuel Cost Per Km: Rs. 3.74/-

Superb comfort and ride quality combined with a torquey and smooth petrol engine makes the Royal Enfield Himalayan a fantastic adventure tourer

In the first report, we were all about the city trips and local commutes with the new Royal Enfield Himalayan. But since it was time to enjoy the holidays I planned out multiple trips. The first one was out to Malshej for an overnight camp, while I was the only one with a Himalayan I mounted a lot of luggage even from the ones who were not able to carry. I had a tank bag of my own, but I actually plonked the sleeping bags on the jerry can holder area. While the new luggage rack and the rear seat did come in handy for holding the bags with the help of bungee cords.

Now silver or grey have been my favourite colours for automobiles as they always give a sense of metal and since everyone relates Royal Enfield motorcycles with metal, the mirage silver on our bike felt perfect. However, even after mounting so much luggage and continuously using my magnetic tank bag also taking off at times, there were no scratches on the motorcycle at all! The only con I would say was that I had always filled the tank bag to the brim and it would get too bulky to be placed with just the magnets. The extra mounting straps with the place to actually tie them always came in handy.

The last road trip I did over 1200 kms was in 2019 and since then I was too keen to ride again for long. The next mega trip was planned for over 1500 kms to Hampi from Mumbai and back. One of the main reasons to visit Hampi was riding on open highways and it turned out to be an amazing experience with the Himalayan. If you Google your directions, there are basically 3 routes that pop up for Hampi from Mumbai. We chose the longest but it was one of the known highways as it led directly to Hubballi city and then a split shifted us to a different highway. We started riding on a Friday evening and headed towards Sangli for a night stay as we didn’t want to push it for over 700 kms in a single day. We stayed the night at our friends place and got ready for the next leg which was about 500 kms.

New ECU tune has made the Himalayan a lot more comfortable to cruise continuously at 100 km/hr

The NH4 highway is smooth like butter and one can gulp miles like crazy, only thing to watch out for is the intersections which require good attention as the locals don’t really have highway sense and jump upfront. I had one such incident close to the Maharashtra border but the brakes on the Himalayan were really good. A truck switched lanes before an intersection and a man with a commuter motorcycle just though it was clear for him to take the intersection. Although the bite isn’t the strongest and the suspension dives a little more, the improvement over the year has helped boost a lot of braking confidence. As we completed a part of our stretch we had brunch at Nipani and headed forward. Astounded by the fact that in a full tank the Himalayan did about 400 km and I could fill up in Karnataka by paying ₹ 9 less for a litre for petrol.

As we entered Hubballi city, we got stuck with the internal roads and that’s when the Tripper meter came in handy for last minute directions. It brought us to the Hubballi-Bellary highway but we had a railway crossing in between and found a train passing by, this was the time I got the above picture clicked! By now we had completed about 330 kms and we had to go for another 200 kms only. To our surprise, the Hubballi-Bellary highway turned out to be the best decisions as we got a fairly empty 4-lane recently made national highway and we went flying! Continuous cruising at 100 km/hr the Himalayan didn’t break a sweat while my friend on the other motorcycle was getting a bit tired. We had a lot of headwind and during the halfway point we entered a windmill farm. There was a windmill very next to the highway with literally no vehicles around. Yes we went out strolling.

We reached Hampi early evening but instead of heading out and looking for a sunset point we stayed back at our hotel and rested. I was eager to go out but since the Himalayan had been comfortable till the end but my friend wasn’t. Next day morning we had to go explore Hampi and both of us started on the Himalayan. He left his bike parked and we rode all over Hampi on the Himalayan. To say the least, these were his words – The Himalayan is spacious and comfortable too, even for the pillion the seat is nice and climbing on or off isn’t really difficult. We started with the Virupaksha Temple in the heart of Hampi, met Lakshmi the elephant, then headed to see Kadalekaalu Ganesha, Saasivekaalu Ganesha, Hemkuta Hill and the Sri Krishna Temple.

Exploring, commuting or going off-the-road the Royal Enfield Himalayan proves to be a do-it-all motorcycle

Before lunch we saw the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, one the most iconic places in Hampi and right next to it sits the Badavilinga Temple. Then we headed to see the most famous Stone Charriot, the one behind the ₹ 50 note. It is at Vijaya Vitthala Gudi, about 4 kms away from the above mentioned places. If you are planning to visit Hampi do it on a motorcycle as it gets tedious getting around. Although, complete Hampi is just under a 10 km radius, its better and convenient on a motorcycle. The local food on the way is cheaper but as a lot of tourists come by and visit Hampi the rates are comparatively higher than normal.

We visited the whole of Hampi in just about a day’s time and it was a great experience. What made it even better was the ride was comfortable and I had no complaints at all. The Himalayan in its latest avatar has been the most sought after since there has been an update to the ECU for better mid-range and top-end. Although you do miss out on the addictive low-end grunt which the BS3-BS4 bikes had but it isn’t bothersome. While we stepped out of Hampi and I had 2 more free days, I decided to take a solo detour after reaching Belgavi. It had been a really long time I hadn’t visited Goa while literally everyone was in Goa. While my friend headed towards Pune, we split ways and I headed towards South Goa.

I reached Goa by 3 pm, called up a friend and crashed at his place. Went to catch a glimpse of the sunset but not from a beach. Ended my day with dinner at a lakeside restaurant and headed back. I was in Goa for another day, rested there and explored a few places on the Himalayan. Turns out it isn’t a common sight in Goa too and did get quite a few head turns. What I was most happy was I paid for fuel which was cheaper by almost ₹ 15 as compared to Maharashtra. South Goa is one of the best places to visit if you are looking for relaxation and that’s what I did. In this whole trip the fuel tank capacity of the Himalayan was the best as it offered extremely well riding range.

In this complete 3-months of our long term with the Royal Enfield Himalayan there was not a single time that I got a puncture. Although the tube-type tyres with such a tread pattern are prone to punctures, I had been lucky! The mileage expectations was high but since the updated motorcycle was revv-happy I used to extract the torque more often and hence it was a bit less. Lesser vibrations and a comfortable riding posture always made it worthwhile and the bike never backed down. It was only during hitting speeds over 110 km/hr and staying there was a bit difficult. While there were a few shortcomings, it is time for the Himalayan to head back to RE and I am definitely going to miss it a lot! It is a motorcycle that can do almost everything and shouldn’t worry of the upcoming forever competition.

What’s Cool

• Comfortable and suitable ergonomics
• Tripper meter is very useful for last mile connectivity
• Torquey engine with updated ECU is suited for day long riding
• Go anywhere and everywhere nature makes it a lot versatile

What’s Not So Cool

• High-speed stability over 110 km/hr isn’t the best
• Low-end grunt feels lot less when two-up riding with luggage
• The 411cc motor does translate a lot of heat in bumper to bumper traffic

Further Reading –

Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term – First Report

Himalayan vs Impulse vs Xpulse [Video]

Royal Enfield Himalayan Video Review [Hindi]