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Test ride.... Happy man ๐Ÿ‘ (now new owner!!)

Ajr650

Well travelled
Location
N. Ireland
Finally got a test ride on a Himalayan. Took it for an hour or so, A roads, B roads (some of N. Irelands b roads are like farmers lanes!!), town and a little bit of dual carriageway. Loved every minute of it ๐Ÿ˜. I read and watched countless reviews so I thought I knew a wee bit of what to expect. It was a bit "quicker" than I imagined... 60/65 came up in reasonably good time. Handling was spot on (very greasy/wet roads round here yesterday) I found myself riding probably as quick as I do on my 650 V Strom. Screen did a pretty good job. Going to have a think about it over the weekend but its looking like I might be buying a Himalayan soon!!
 

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Bluestrom13

Well travelled
Location
--'Coventry'....
Welcome A-J.
I traded a 650 V-strom for a new Himalayan. Absolutely no regrets, even tho' the Strom was a really nice bike.
I see your ride was a demo bike, so assume low mileage?
Performance will only get better with more miles. But PATIENT running in is required.

Going to have a think about it over the weekend but its looking like I might be buying a Himalayan soon!!
Hope to welcome you into the fold.:)
 
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Ajr650

Well travelled
Location
N. Ireland
Yes there was only about 250 miles on it. That's good to know you also went from a v strom ๐Ÿ‘. That's another tick in "yes I'm going to change box"
 

Ajr650

Well travelled
Location
N. Ireland
So over the weekend I think I've talked myself into getting a Himalayan! I really did enjoy my test ride that much. Going go to the dealer and see what kind of deal there is to be had, and probably take another ride just to see if I still feel the same.
Wondered what the opinions are on euro 4 vs euro 5? The dealer has a few 4's (one with panniers) and a couple of 5's. Obviously I will be trying to get the best price on which ever one I decide on
 

Bluestrom13

Well travelled
Location
--'Coventry'....
Euro 4.
Price should be ยฃ4000 to ยฃ4500 max WITH panniers. But you're in Northern Ireland so not sure.
A quick look on ebay and bike trader will show you England's prices.
Good luck.
 

petespace1

Well travelled
Location
Aus
โ€ฆ..
Wondered what the opinions are on euro 4 vs euro 5? The dealer has a few 4's (one with panniers) and a couple of 5's. Obviously I will be trying to get the best price on which ever one I decide on
If I was buying a bike today Iโ€™d look at the price first and foremost.
If the Euro4 is a built Dec 2020 to early 2021 they already have the better brakes, improved brake lines ( deleted grommets), hazard lights, ABS off switch relocated temp gauge, and shorter side stand. Etc.

So the main diff with Euro6 ( compared to this later Euro 4) is restricted engine, different rear rack, tripper navigation, and modified front tank side racks from memory.
If these are important to you then get the Euro 6.
 

tom_d

Well travelled
Location
US
So over the weekend I think I've talked myself into getting a Himalayan! I really did enjoy my test ride that much. Going go to the dealer and see what kind of deal there is to be had, and probably take another ride just to see if I still feel the same.
Wondered what the opinions are on euro 4 vs euro 5? The dealer has a few 4's (one with panniers) and a couple of 5's. Obviously I will be trying to get the best price on which ever one I decide on
Two bonuses for the Euro5 version.
* I believe it comes with an extra year of warranty coverage, upped from 2 to 3 years.
* There has been a phantom drain issue on the Euro4 bikes since introduced, it appears to be related to the gear position sensor. For what ever reason, our western bikes need this to be a powered sensor which actively switches between resistor values, and the bikes in India, at least to begin with, just had a passive one. The powered versions on the Euro4 bikes were powered off of the rectifier which always has power, so this little powered component was always powered. Not much, but enough to drain the battery in about 6-8 weeks until the battery began to degrade.
The Euro5 bikes show that the power is now connected to a switched circuit in the electrical schematic for these new 2021 Euro5 and 2022 USA models. Another small but nice improvement/upgrade.
The new bikes do have ODB2 diagnostics, moving them closer to compliance with cars, but that should provide better data logging and diagnostics for us. These aren't race bikes and don't respond strongly to ECU tuning anyway, so the newer restrictions aren't that big of deal as their is so little to gain. :)
 

petespace1

Well travelled
Location
Aus
What did they change about the breaks?
The Oct 2020 onwards built models (sorry not December as I said before) apparently came with different brake calliper sets. May have been the anodised type. The rear one is said to have more bite and the front was slightly more responsive to pressure on the lever, per my mechanic. He said the rear ones also looked different. The only way to check if there is any visual difference, is for people to post pics ?
 

Ajr650

Well travelled
Location
N. Ireland
Well it's coming with a set of panniers so that's a start. Then maybe decent Hand guards, heated grips (maybe, I might invest in heated gloves ๐Ÿค”). And a supercharger kit ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚
 

Roy Gavin

Well travelled
Just finished my third winter with my Venture battery powered heated gloves, and couldn't be happier with them. With Barkbusters VPS guards!
I needed winter gloves anyway so extra cost was less than some heated grips.
For me the advantage was easy fitting, easy to transfer between bikes and heating elements all round the glove.
And also the ability to turn them on full before I get on the bike and warm up my arthritic old hands from the off, then turn them down to lower level when I get down off the mountain. At just about the point where you can start to tell if heated grips are working or not!
Well from where I live at 1800 ft, and that would probably count as a mountain in Ireland too!
 

Andy131

Well travelled
Location
Manchester UK
I would wait until you have run her in before fitting the supercharger - don't want to mess with the warranty :rolleyes:
Joking apart I was out for a few hours last weekend, and it didn't get above 8C, the rest of me was toasty but my arthritic hands were suffering despite the hand guards. I was reluctantly thinking about heated grips, and hadn't even thought about heated gloves, mmmmm :unsure:, it's the fingers that hurt and gloves do seem a better idea - thanks for that Roy.
 
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