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Himalayan Review at 19,000 miles

madbiker

Well travelled
Location
United Kingdom
I bought the bike 18 months old with 2,500 miles on the clock. It is a 2018 UK BS4 spec bike.

I change the oil every 3,000 and the oil filter every 6,000. I tend to use 20W50 oil as I can never find the recommended 15W50.

Air filter has been cleaned with a high pressure air hose once, at 16,000 miles and is slightly dirty.

I replaced the OEM Pirelli MT60 tyres with Mitas E07's at 10,000 miles. The MT60 rear was bald in the middle (no tread left) at that mileage. The E07 rear has done 9,000 miles so far and there is still a lot of tread left, although it is squaring off now.

I changed the brake fluid at 10,000 miles (2 years old) and this made a big difference to the braking. much better.

I also replaced the standard seat with a RE Touring version, it is very hard, almost as bad as sitting on the very soft original.

I replaced the spark plug with an iridium one, NGK CR8EIX, at about 12,000 miles and I have noticed a slight increase in power, the bike can now sustain long gradients without dropping down a gear. I do not know if this is due to the spark plug replacement or just the engine getting better as the mileage increases. I ride it hard, 6000 rpm, when needed but genrally I like to sit somewhere between 4000 to 5000 rpm during normal riding.

At, 16,000 I eventually gave up with the OEM drive chain. Despite having an automatic chain oiler fitted, water had gotten inside the o-ring seals causing corrosion, which in turn was causing tight spots etc. Not wanting a catastrophic chain failure, I replaced the 520 with a DID 525. I put the replacement chain on to the original 520 sprockets as I could not get 525 width replacements. Seems fine.

At about 12, 000 miles the bike developed a small oil weep from the rocker cover, new gasket paste solved that issue. Apart from that no other mechanical issues. The compass is all over the place. I tried re calibrating it but it did not work. Worse than useless.

The bike has been ridden on all types of roads and surfaces. Motorways, fast A class roads, back roads, off road on rocky dirt tracks, very poorly maintained roads with lots of repair patches, potholes, lumps, bumps, fully laden at all times and no problems for the suspension.

Overall, the bike has performed better than I thought it might.

Value for money? Absolutely no question.

Economical? Again, absolutely no question.

Robust? Absolutely.

Reliable? Absolutely (never failed to start and never broken down)

Powerful? No

Comfortable? Sometimes

Overall it does what it says on the label.

Goes anywhere cheaply and reliably as long as you do not want to go there quicker than at 70mph (110 kph)
 
Last edited:

Wintrup

Well travelled
Location
Cumbria UK
Good summary. It's encouraging to see people like you doing these big tours on the Himalayan. I haven't sorted the seat out yet. It needs some firmer, wider foam and a non-porous cover. In winter, after the moisture gets in the foam is like a block of ice. Chain is crap, but I'm determined to get another year out of it. MT60 wore way to fast and is pointless for those who mainly ride tarmac.
 

madbiker

Well travelled
Location
United Kingdom
How many miles has the bike done so far?
[/QUOTE]
Just turned 19,000 on the clock. It had 2,500 on it when I bought it so i have done 16,500 in a year. That includes it being off road November 2019 - February 2020 in Poland and March 2020 - June 2020 locked down in Spain.
 

madbiker

Well travelled
Location
United Kingdom
Good summary. It's encouraging to see people like you doing these big tours on the Himalayan. I haven't sorted the seat out yet. It needs some firmer, wider foam and a non-porous cover. In winter, after the moisture gets in the foam is like a block of ice. Chain is crap, but I'm determined to get another year out of it. MT60 wore way to fast and is pointless for those who mainly ride tarmac.
Hi Wintrup. Be careful of the chain, like you, it was my intention to try to use it till it was stretched to the limit but then I noticed rust coloured water oozing out of some of the links. Once the water gets inside the rollers it rusts and seizes up. It go so bad with mine that the split link actually stretched because of the different tension in parts of the chain caused by seized links. I tried to free it off a couple of times but once the water had penetrated the rollers (where obviously there was very little grease) it's time was limited. In the end I decided that at £50 a new DID X ring was a a safer bet than a snapped chain and all the possible grief that comes with that..
 

Wintrup

Well travelled
Location
Cumbria UK
Hi Wintrup. Be careful of the chain, like you, it was my intention to try to use it till it was stretched to the limit but then I noticed rust coloured water oozing out of some of the links. Once the water gets inside the rollers it rusts and seizes up. It go so bad with mine that the split link actually stretched because of the different tension in parts of the chain caused by seized links. I tried to free it off a couple of times but once the water had penetrated the rollers (where obviously there was very little grease) it's time was limited. In the end I decided that at £50 a new DID X ring was a a safer bet than a snapped chain and all the possible grief that comes with that..
Yeah, cheers. I greased the split link and there are a few stiffish links, but I'm keeping it well oiled and monitoring it. My thinking is if it's knackered it will slacken fast, so I'm checking the slack and it seems to be stable. If I was touring I'd probably just write it off and get a new chain, but I'm only riding locally, so I'll persevere.
 

grymsr

Well travelled
Location
Maine
I bought the bike 18 months old with 2,500 miles on the clock. It is a 2018 UK BS4 spec bike.

I change the oil every 3,000 and the oil filter every 6,000. I tend to use 20W50 oil as I can never find the recommended 15W50.

Air filter has been cleaned with a high pressure air hose once, at 16,000 miles and is slightly dirty.

I replaced the OEM Pirelli MT60 tyres with Mitas E07's at 10,000 miles. The MT60 rear was bald in the middle (no tread left) at that mileage. The E07 rear has done 9,000 miles so far and there is still a lot of tread left, although it is squaring off now.

I changed the brake fluid at 10,000 miles (2 years old) and this made a big difference to the braking. much better.

I also replaced the standard seat with a RE Touring version, it is very hard, almost as bad as sitting on the very soft original.

I replaced the spark plug with an iridium one, NGK CR8EIX, at about 12,000 miles and I have noticed a slight increase in power, the bike can now sustain long gradients without dropping down a gear. I do not know if this is due to the spark plug replacement or just the engine getting better as the mileage increases. I ride it hard, 6000 rpm, when needed but genrally I like to sit somewhere between 4000 to 5000 rpm during normal riding.

At, 16,000 I eventually gave up with the OEM drive chain. Despite having an automatic chain oiler fitted, water had gotten inside the o-ring seals causing corrosion, which in turn was causing tight spots etc. Not wanting a catastrophic chain failure, I replaced the 520 with a DID 525. I put the replacement chain on to the original 520 sprockets as I could not get 525 width replacements. Seems fine.

At about 12, 000 miles the bike developed a small oil weep from the rocker cover, new gasket paste solved that issue. Apart from that no other mechanical issues. The compass is all over the place. I tried re calibrating it but it did not work. Worse than useless.

The bike has been ridden on all types of roads and surfaces. Motorways, fast A class roads, back roads, off road on rocky dirt tracks, very poorly maintained roads with lots of repair patches, potholes, lumps, bumps, fully laden at all times and no problems for the suspension.

Overall, the bike has performed better than I thought it might.

Value for money? Absolutely no question.

Economical? Again, absolutely no question.

Robust? Absolutely.

Reliable? Absolutely (never failed to start and never broken down)

Powerful? No

Comfortable? Sometimes

Overall it does what it says on the label.

Goes anywhere cheaply and reliably as long as you do not want to go there quicker than at 70mph (110 kph)
You say you went to the E07's. I cannot find them in 120/90 17. Did you go with a different size?
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Mitas list a 120 in Oz , but those who have fitted 130s usually find that they prefer them over a 120 for general use.

But if most of your riding is on loose dirt a 120 will usually find a little more grip,
 

madbiker

Well travelled
Location
United Kingdom
You say you went to the E07's. I cannot find them in 120/90 17. Did you go with a different size?
Hi grymsr, I fitted a 120/90x17 om the rear. Got it in Spain without any issues. It's done 14, 000 miles since fitting and is now worn down to where it has a continuous rubber strip along the centre, this can make it a little slippy in the wet but in the dry it's fine. Outwith the aforesaid wear the trye still has a lot of tread depth left in it.
 

Curt Meinecke

Well travelled
Location
Kansas, USA
I bought the bike 18 months old with 2,500 miles on the clock. It is a 2018 UK BS4 spec bike.

I change the oil every 3,000 and the oil filter every 6,000. I tend to use 20W50 oil as I can never find the recommended 15W50.

Air filter has been cleaned with a high pressure air hose once, at 16,000 miles and is slightly dirty.

I replaced the OEM Pirelli MT60 tyres with Mitas E07's at 10,000 miles. The MT60 rear was bald in the middle (no tread left) at that mileage. The E07 rear has done 9,000 miles so far and there is still a lot of tread left, although it is squaring off now.

I changed the brake fluid at 10,000 miles (2 years old) and this made a big difference to the braking. much better.

I also replaced the standard seat with a RE Touring version, it is very hard, almost as bad as sitting on the very soft original.

I replaced the spark plug with an iridium one, NGK CR8EIX, at about 12,000 miles and I have noticed a slight increase in power, the bike can now sustain long gradients without dropping down a gear. I do not know if this is due to the spark plug replacement or just the engine getting better as the mileage increases. I ride it hard, 6000 rpm, when needed but genrally I like to sit somewhere between 4000 to 5000 rpm during normal riding.

At, 16,000 I eventually gave up with the OEM drive chain. Despite having an automatic chain oiler fitted, water had gotten inside the o-ring seals causing corrosion, which in turn was causing tight spots etc. Not wanting a catastrophic chain failure, I replaced the 520 with a DID 525. I put the replacement chain on to the original 520 sprockets as I could not get 525 width replacements. Seems fine.

At about 12, 000 miles the bike developed a small oil weep from the rocker cover, new gasket paste solved that issue. Apart from that no other mechanical issues. The compass is all over the place. I tried re calibrating it but it did not work. Worse than useless.

The bike has been ridden on all types of roads and surfaces. Motorways, fast A class roads, back roads, off road on rocky dirt tracks, very poorly maintained roads with lots of repair patches, potholes, lumps, bumps, fully laden at all times and no problems for the suspension.

Overall, the bike has performed better than I thought it might.

Value for money? Absolutely no question.

Economical? Again, absolutely no question.

Robust? Absolutely.

Reliable? Absolutely (never failed to start and never broken down)

Powerful? No

Comfortable? Sometimes

Overall it does what it says on the label.

Goes anywhere cheaply and reliably as long as you do not want to go there quicker than at 70mph (110 kph)
Nice review.
 

Kiwiscoot

Well travelled
Great review, I only got 15 000 kms on the OEM chain. Turned out there was no grease on the link pins causing them to rust out.

Good to see you are up to 40 000 kms. Mine is at 25 000 kms with no issues. They sure are good value for their money.
 

Wintrup

Well travelled
Location
Cumbria UK
Hi Wintrup. Be careful of the chain, like you, it was my intention to try to use it till it was stretched to the limit but then I noticed rust coloured water oozing out of some of the links. Once the water gets inside the rollers it rusts and seizes up. It go so bad with mine that the split link actually stretched because of the different tension in parts of the chain caused by seized links. I tried to free it off a couple of times but once the water had penetrated the rollers (where obviously there was very little grease) it's time was limited. In the end I decided that at £50 a new DID X ring was a a safer bet than a snapped chain and all the possible grief that comes with that..
You were correct here, I was just being stingy and was loathe to dump a chain after only 7.5k miles usage. But the stiff links gave me variable slack and I knew it would fail the MOT, so was forced to fit a DID X ring. When I took the OEM chain off and inspected it I realised it had dangerously deteriorated, with many barely mobile links. The front sprocket was also ground down and hooked, so that had to be replaced. The rear sprocket was fine, very little wear. I think the front sprocket wear was due to to a build up of grime and grease that had collected in the casing, so that'll require frequent clean outs.
 

madbiker

Well travelled
Location
United Kingdom
Hi Wintrup.

Glad to hear that you managed to replace the chain before it snapped on you.

I don't beleive that you were being stingy, I think that like me, you expect under normal usage everything on the bike to last a reasonable amount of time without having to replace anything.

Apart from oil/filter changing and brake maintenance I have always adopted the "If it is not broke" mentality with my bikes and as a result I am of the opinion that the bike should function as intended for a good few years before non service parts should need attention.

Like you, I had a reasonable expectation that although it is in reality a service item, a final drive chain on a 24 bhp bike would last at least 50,000 miles and not be junk at a fraction of that mileage.
 
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