[wildbill]

lately I've been reading lengthy reports on the Himalayan bike and overall the majority read pretty good - later on I think I will get one.

overall they can cruise at 60 mph pretty easy and that's the max speed limit my way in OZ. also it has very little to no vibration and I've read 60 plus reviews and owners experience -so it must be true

very comfortable riding position thrown in and it handles the dirt extremely well. I think overall it would be perfect for where I live as I am sick of travelling the same black top country roads. i have access to a huge about of dirt road /trails and private property from the old hunting days.

only drawback at the moment is the first arrivals to our shores are the carby models. I don't want to go back to the old days as I don't think they were really that good  but there is a solution coming up. I've read the euro4 spec bike have been released and its fuel injection plus ALB

that's the one I would go for. fuel injection I've never had a problem with and i'd like the anti lock brake idea. plus this rear drum lockup problem on the UCE c5's is a concern. a few weeks back the dealer actually told me he rode a 015 plated c5 and the rear locked up on him. lucky for him at low speed but he said it was a bit of a hairy situation...lol

reviews from happy new owners say its a better bike than the iron barrel models/c5's and thunderbirds. the big question is -why is it better?

is it just the motor alone or the new swing arm or a combo of both plus more. I think it will be interesting too when the opportunity arrives and they do a road test on the 017 C5 with the new swing arm.

so far I have not sourced one report on the new C5 swing arm mod for 017 but you would have thought cycle magazines would have hit on it immediately. do a quick road test on the bike and see if it made any difference at all. after all the original swing arm has been floating about there for 7 odd years.
these bikes are already for sale in the UK so the test bike writers up north could have had the first crack at a full blown review.

back to the Himalayan. so overall if they think the bike is that good there's only one way to find out......I guess I can try bike 10 as a trial or trail bike and hook up with the high country myself.

[Carlsberg Wordsworth]

look forward to the review wildbill.

and the colour you decide to paint it

[suitcasejefferson]

I doubt it will come to the U.S., but I couldn't justify it. My XT225 is lighter, faster, has much better suspension, a 4 gallon gas tank, and can be turned into a pack mule pretty easily. It has been dead reliable over the past 9 years and 35,000 miles, plus I have a parts bike with a 3,000 mile engine in it.

I bought the B5 for it's looks, sound, and vibration. The Himalayan has none of that. I had to convert my EFI to a carb because I hate EFI. The rear brake problem is real. I am riding without a rear brake now because mine locked up, and there is no way I'm taking a chance with that happening again. I seriously thought about calling the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and reporting it as a safety defect. As much as I love riding the bike, I will not be buying another RE. The quality is simply unacceptable.

[ROVERMAN]

I have been promised that the himalyan will be here soon. Ya hear me Steve!

[wildbill]

ive been thinking it over about my off road riding idea and I don't think I can take the risk on buying the Himalayan yet! I would hate to be caught out in the bush some-where and a break down.

therefore I think I will try out the new Honda crf 250 l in its upgraded "rally" form

these bikes are due in late march/early april.

the 250 platform puts out 24 bhp and is roughly 60 pound lighter than an enfield with very little to no buzz!

I think that is the bike for me ive posted 2 photos standard version and the rally.

for the bit extra in $$$ the rally comes standard with abs - sump guard - led lights - floating windscreen-bigger tank- hand guards -better tyres plus a bit more.

read heaps of reports and its very very rare to read anything bad.

[malky]

I've tried the Honda. It does everything "right" the amount of plastic on the Rally is a time consuming obstacle from a servicing point of view, and if you need to adjust the rear shock pre load, which I normally do, it's not easy. Ride is fine and the seat in position is perfect for me, but the whole show is too clinical and if it is used for its intended purpose, not that well thought out. All that plastic is going to look like sh!t after a few miles in the dirt. The tank range on the standard bike is a joke.

[wildbill]

I don't mind paying the extra $1000 or so for the rally version as i'd say I will very rarely go off road. but I do plan to ride it on the dirt roads.
if my plans were to go scrub bashing I could see the plastic getting a bit of wear and tear and might consider the standard model
only problem I see if I went standard i'd have to buy a sump guard and the tank is smaller so I would have to do an upgrade add them up and that's another easy $500 gone so I might as well go the full hog and take the lot
how long I have it for I guess is another story...LOL but I will give it a good go

[longstrokeclassic]

 'The tank range on the standard bike is a joke'
 Acerbis will soon solve this problem just like they have on all the earlier CRF models
They're just a bit limited when it comes to colour choice They'll undoubtedly produce a tank the bike should have come to start with.

[suitcasejefferson]

I'd go with something a bit bigger. Probably a KLR or DR. Both have the advantage of a carburetor, the KLR already has a huge tank and the DR has an aftermarket one available. The KLR is liquid cooled, which can be both good and bad. It is less likely to overheat, but there is more to go wrong. If the cooling system springs a leak, it is unrideable. Perhaps the biggest advantage of these bikes is the availability of aftermarket centerstands. And if you really want to go for a ride, Happy Trails will be glad to sell you a couple thousand $$$ in around the world touring gear. I would definitely own one of these bikes if the seats weren't so high. I have owned 2 first gen KLRs, and nothing ever broke. They don't make good highway bikes, because of the seats, and their a bit heavy for actual dirt bikes, but they are perfect dirt road bikes.

[wildbill]

the bikes coming in are in short supply and only one bike per dealer. the dealer today knocked $200 of the price to bring it down to $8000 plus $400 to spend in the store on any item. plus free delivery to my place when it arrives
so I thought that a pretty good deal when two other dealers offered me zero. so deposit placed and its a wait it out.
if the bike is as good as ive read I will probably go with a few options as well. prior to that I will try it out first and see how it runs.
the bigger tank on the rally lists about 190 miles here on a full tank. that would be a pretty big ride for me so I can't see that happening too often.

[wildbill]

both bikes arrived today and one required a bit of assembling. the pushbike I rode about 5 miles and it went pretty good considering I had to power it myself.

late in the day the dealer dropped off the Honda crf250 rally and I took it for a 20 mile run. first impression half the engine size of the enfield and about the same power

appearance wise it looked huge and very high off the ground! I will have to read up and see if it can be lowered a bit.

on the road its a good starter and will run at the 55 to 60 mph pretty easy. very little to no vibration at all. I like that side of it. dealer said no run in required -just keep it under 60 mph till first service and all would be fine

weight wise I think it is maybe 40 pound lighter than a C5 but because you sit so high up - it will take a bit of getting use too. suspension is pretty soft and on the same road I ran the C5 and got up off the seat this bike just soaked up the bumps perfectly.

here in OZ they all come with ABS as standard and switchable. I think that's a good safety feature for me.

I think what I really like most is that large easy to read digital speedometer. very handy to see how fast you are travelling along.

few photos

[ace.cafe]

Virtually all of the trail bikes are tall because they have motocross type suspension systems on them. Great if you are going for big air over the 20-foot whoop-de-doos like Travis Pastrana. Not so great if you are going to the store for a loaf of bread.

The first Bullet I bought was from a guy in NC who got a KLR after giving up on the Bullet. I took one look at that KLR and knew that I would never buy one. Might be okay for people with very long legs, but not for me.

Every motorcycle is some kind of compromise.  You get something here, and you give up something there. The Bullet has its warts, but it suits me.

I hope you enjoy your new bike Wild Bill. Maybe it will be what you want.

[heloego]

I give him another week.

Maybe. 

[wildbill]

thanks ace!

heloego

pressure already! will see how it pans out. either way enfield number 10 will be the triple disc brake job with ABS

I know there will eventually be a number 10 because that is the figure I said i'd go in the very early buying stages

[gashousegorilla]

   Good luck with it wildbill.   Have fun chasing those Bunny's  . Good choice on the Rally as well.

  Some helpful tips... 


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OofbKh6BIe0