2021 Himalayan Maintenance/Upgrades

[Roy Gavin]

The shock damping adjusters seem to make the same percentage difference to the previous setting for each click
So half way in clicks is probably going to give you less than half the damping.
My YSS came as stock with 18 mm preload, felt better with 14 mm, might try your 10mm.
Font with preload adjuster as low as possible is still too hard.
But load at the back makes a big difference, so if you are setting up for a trip set everything fully loaded.
Michelin tires are always near the top of comparative tests, and in Oz always seem to be in stock. Even Adventures in 120 rears.
2020 Adventure Tire Shootout Results | 25 Top Performing ADV / Dual Sport Tires | ChapMoto.com

 

[Rednaxs60]

Have reviewed the literature that came with the YSS suspension. It is supposed to be set up for the PO who informed me he weighs in at 240 pounds. He got the suspension upgrade from Hitchcock's. I'm at 230 pounds with gear so the front fork springs and rear shock should be good to go.

Regarding the air space in the fork tubes. The service manual mentions 455 ml of fork oil per leg. In the absence of install instructions, will use this.

The 1 cm preload for the rear shock may need adjustment to get the sag numbers I'm looking for. Reviewed this thread, going to try for a 50 to 55 mm sag front rear. This number would give me an approximately 30% suspension reduction. Can live with this at the start.

I noticed the rebound adjuster on the rear shock is not as crisp as the ones on the Hagon shocks - Gold Wing or the M2 shocks - Spyder. To be expected, not on the same level. Ken, the owner of the local dealership has the YSS suspension upgrade on his Himalayan. For the price point, pretty good.

Still trying to decipher the YSS rear shock spring rate of 56/85/260. Know the 260 is the spring length. Looked at the shock ID at 2.25 inch - relates to the 56 mm, so the 85 has to be the n/mm that equates to approxiamtely 485 lb/in. Have been looking at Eibach coil over springs. Eibach has 9" long springs of various spring rates that could be substituted - nice to know, hopefully not to be used.

Should have the suspension changed out before next weekend.

Looked at the article on tires, impressive. Food for thought. Continental TKC70s for the trip to Tuktoyaktuk?

 

[Flicka]

Going to have the local dealer install the new tires. I will take off the bike and take with me when I go to coffee next Wednesday. Asked about balancing and using CounterAct Beads, similar to Dyna Beads in the tubes. He isn't sold on using in tubes, tubeless tires - definitely. He will balance with external weights.

Will use these tires unitl late May/early June next year then change to a new set for the Tuktoyaktuk trip. Been hearing good things about the Continental TKC70 tires, nice tread pattern as well.

YSS suspension showed up today. Hope to get the front done next week. Won't take long to tear into the rear to get the rear shock off/on. Going to look at the sag numbers before I put everything back together, especially in the rear.

Have measured the rear shock spring for ID and length. The YSS spring numbers make no sense to me. The YSS shock spring is a 56/85/260 - the 260 is the length. There spring ID is 2 1/4 inch. Factory preload setting is at 1 cm. Instructions indicate that the preload has been set as per the riders profile.

The rebound damping setting has 31 clicks of adjustment, I've set it mid way.

The front fork emulator setting will be set at 2 1/4 turns and I will be using 20 weight oil. The instructions mention to use the air gap as per instructions on the YSS web site. Haven't found these instructions yet. Probably us the air gap as specified in the service manual.

YSS Mono Shock for Himalayan :
MZ456-405TRL-13

YSS MZ456 springs 56 (456)



EXAMPLE: Monoshock springs for MZ456 shocks MS-56-85-260-RD:

MS = MonoSpring
56 = inner diameter in mm
85 = spring rate, linear 85N/mm
260 = uncompressed length in mm
RD = Gloss Red



405TRL
Total length (between the middle of the mounting points) of the uncompressed Mono Shock in mm = 405

13 = Royal Enfield

 

[Rednaxs60]

Thank you. Thought I had it correct.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Going to get some fork oil today and start dismantling the Himalayan for suspension upgrade.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Picked up fork oil - 15 weight. We discussed this aspect. Thinking 20 weight in the front forks will be a bit firm - slower rebound damping, 15 weight will enable quicker rebound damping. The oil weight is used for rebound damping, the emulators do the compression damping.

Have the oil/filter for the next oil change.

Started to dismantle the bike, took on the rear shock first. Thought the room to work on my '85 Gold Wing was tight and crowded, Got nothing on the Himalayan regarding the rear shock upgrade.

Got the OEM shock off, and the new YSS installed. Interesting that the OEM shock is a Gabriel shock. Recognized the name becasue Gabriel shocks were quite common back some years. A poor man's rear shock upgrade could be a shock spring upgrade using the OEM shock. Take the OEM shock spring off, measure and replace with say a 450 lb/in (linear rating) shock spring. Something to ponder.

Will put the rear back together tomorrow then start on the front forks. Tires on Wednesday.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Got a good start this morning. Have the front YSS suspension installed and the forks back on. Set the air gap at 150 mm. Found some specs on the web after a search.

Air gap 150 mm
Fork oil 410 ml
Top of spring is the end that is stamped

Going to set the sag this morning as well - need a starting point. Looking forward to doing a road test.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Did the sag readings with the new suspension installed and compared to the old sag readings.

Read old/new:

Rear

L1 - 565 mm/557 mm
L2 - 470 mm/520 mm
L3 - 475 mm/490 mm

Front

L1 - 620 mm/618 mm
L2 - 555 mm/582 mm
L3 - 562 mm/573 mm

Rear sag is now only 2"/5.0 cm - setup from supplier. Rear suspension travel remaining is approximately 5".
Front sag is 1.6"/4.05 cm - no preload from the new fork caps. Front suspension travel remaining is approximately 6.3".

Readings come in under a 30% suspension travel reduction for weight.

Will be adjusting the rear shock rebound damping to suit. The front fork compression damping may need to be adjusted, but willl ride for a while to get a feel for the fork oil as well, used 15 weight fork oil - fork oil is used for rebound damping.

 

[Rednaxs60]

New tires installed, and took bike for a road test. The suspension is stiffer than OEM. Have adjusted the rear shock rebound damping so it's more "soft" - rebound is less quick. Have used 15 weight fork oil. Will ride for a bit, and if necessary, change out the fork oil to a 10 weight.

Initial tire impression is good. No road noise, and feels good. Can feel the tire tread pattern(s) on the road, but ever so slight. Should smooth out as the tire gets some Kms. Will be trying out the tires on the Diversion Dam road this weekend.

 

[Rednaxs60]

The YSS suspension upgrade is working well. Have some 500 Kms with it installed. The rear shock has been dialed in for rebound, preload setting from the supplier, Hitchcock, is spot on. The front suspension as I mentioned is firmer than I would like. Changing to a 10 weight oil when I do the forks next, probaly late fall so I can ride and test. The fork oil weight is generally used for rebound damping, but in this case, I would like quicker compression of the forks as well.

The emulators are installed with no additional spring tension, tension bolt has the emulator springs at the minimum spring tension setting. This allows max oil flow through the emulator on compression. In my mind the heavier the oil weight, the slower the oil will flow through the emulator. Will ponder this for a bit.

Using a lighter weight fork oil to quicken rebound damping also affects compression damping; however, since the emulator can be adjusted to suit, the lighter weight fork oil can be compensated for.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Work on the Himalayan has to be put on hold now as I am getting the Spyder ready for our cross Canada trip. Going to be on the road for almost two months.

 

[Bluestrom13]

He mentioned that he had seen a rear shock spring upgrade.
I'm thinking that this would be a good alternative for a rear shock upgrade. Read about this on another thread, and it has merit

Not sure if you refer to the one where I suggested Hyper Pro?
Anyway, again, I fitted one to my V-Strom and my wife could feel the improvement on our first outing.
No "wasted" coils either, "progressive or not".
Tailored for each make / model. 90euro now. EDITED - Added second picture.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Lots of choices out there, I have been using Eibach. Don't think it was your thread/post, shock spring was blue/purple (?). Good to read that the change was beneficial. Coil over shocks that you can take the preset collar off are the easiest to do. Slip the old spring off, slip on a new one, adjust the preload. The shocks with the collar that you cannot remove needs a coil spring compressor, bit more work to do a change.

Was thinking it would be a good project, but maybe next year. If I were to do it, I'd modify the air chamber to make shock removal easier.

It is something to consider if on a tight budget, do a lot of off road riding, and riding two up or loading the bike for trips. I would remove the spring, measure ID and length, then go shopping.

Viewed several videos that commented favourably on an RE Himalyan suspension upgrade, especially when compared to other maufacturer bikes.

 

[Rednaxs60]

Himalayan still operating and meeting my expectations. Fuel economy still great, considering the city/highway driving, but significantly more than my other two bikes, or Hyundai Tucson AWD.

Have been calibrating the TPS to get a consistenet idle on cold start, no stalling. Mentioned on my other thread: https://www.royalenfieldowners.com/index.php?threads/throttle-position-sensor-tps-calibration.2677/#post-23915 what I was and have done regarding this issue. Have to check the operating temp idle, and look at the sprk plug gap.

kayakerchris has installed the TEC cam and is very pleased with it. Discussed this with him yesterday, and he feels the performance he is finding more than justifies this upgrade. Fuel economy has increased. He installed a different front sprocket. Waiting for his report on this change.

Considering a regulator/rectifier (RR) change in the fall from a shunt RR to a series RR. Think I mentioned this.

My list for upgrades without going overboard is:

Suspension - completed - YSS suspension front/rear
TEC cam
Series RR
Headlight
Front chain sprocket - possible
Chain oiler - have the Loobman on hand
Rear brake MC cover
GPS and other mounts
Accessory fuse block - switched with auto relay
Taller windshield - may install windshield extender

 

[Pavel ze Znojma]

Difference front spring original vs YSS

I would be interested in the differences between the front original spring and the YSS spring. The original spring has a length of 490 mm, wire diameter 5 mm, the pitch of the spring thread now I do not know.
Do you know these values for YSS?
I wonder if the YSS spring is linear or progressive?

 

[Rednaxs60]

The YSS fork springs are straight rate, not progressive. Don't know the length. Attached is pic of the YSS front/rear suspension:

This is the box info:

 

[RotorWrench]

Just

The YSS suspension upgrade is working well. Have some 500 Kms with it installed. The rear shock has been dialed in for rebound, preload setting from the supplier, Hitchcock, is spot on. The front suspension as I mentioned is firmer than I would like. Changing to a 10 weight oil when I do the forks next, probaly late fall so I can ride and test. The fork oil weight is generally used for rebound damping, but in this case, I would like quicker compression of the forks as well.

The emulators are installed with no additional spring tension, tension bolt has the emulator springs at the minimum spring tension setting. This allows max oil flow through the emulator on compression. In my mind the heavier the oil weight, the slower the oil will flow through the emulator. Will ponder this for a bit.

Using a lighter weight fork oil to quicken rebound damping also affects compression damping; however, since the emulator can be adjusted to suit, the lighter weight fork oil can be compensated for.

Just for a heads up, that I learned the hard way, fork oil labeled weights and associated viscosity are usually not in line unfortunately. You can have three brands of 10W fork oil with three very different viscosities, with viscosity being what you actually should be concerned with for suspension performance.

Call any suspension shop and they'll quickly lecture you on the inconsistencies of fork oil weight and viscosity.

Reference of fork oil in weight got carried over from motor oils and we got use to it. It would be more useful to us if fork and shock oil was referenced solely on viscosity. Then regardless of brand there would at least be a standard you could depend on. Right now the odds of Castrol 10w, Maxima 10w and Motorex 10w fork oils all being the same viscosity are definitely unlikely.

That being said, when changing fork oil for suspension tuning, you're better off staying with the same brand during your experimenting to insure consistent results, otherwise you could be taking two steps forward and one back as the saying goes. FWIW

 

[amonteirox]

Still toying with the idea to install a set of Andreani fork cartridges P/N 105/RE2E. These are for a 2019 Himalayan, but the front forks should be the same. Gets around the take apart to adjust scenario. Mentioned I used the Andreani cartidge on my-ex V-Strom. Worked well. The company mentions it will change the springs to meet the rider weight, otherwise it will be a standard spring rate for a rider weight of 70-80 Kg.

Going to give some off road driding a go with the Himalayan. Gold Wings and CanAm Spyders do not make for a fun off road experience. Will be putting feelers out to the fellows I have coffee with at the local dealer on Wednesday coming. The owner and his wife, and a few of the older guys hit the trails on a regular basis, be good to have a support group for the first few times out.

Minor maintenance buying to be done. Oil and filters.

Have been looking at the parts and pieces of the Himalayan, and what would be the best way to keep the bike relatively clean. ACF50 has been used as a protectant, but it is a fluid film and can collect crap/dirt/crud and such. Went through this process of determining what would be a good alternative when I rebuilt the Gold Wing engine - had the parts and pieces vapour blasted, and painted the bike. Found a CERAKOTE product MC5100 - no affiliation, that was good for all types of aluminum finishes including after vapour blasting. Have used this product on painted surfaces, plastics as well. It is an air cure product, can be sprayed/brushed on and once dry, nothing sticks to it. If you have to tape off an area that has this CERAKOTE product applied, you need to rough up the surface for the tape to stick. Must protect any surface, threads and such that you do not want the CERAKOTE to be applied to. It has been over a year since I used this product as a protectant, and it cleans up with a damp rag. For the Himalayan, I will apply this product as a protectant and for ease of cleaning as I go forward. Good maintenance project when the weather is not the best.

Did anyone pull the trigger on the Andreani cartridges or Ohlins rear sock?

 

[Rednaxs60]

I wqas considering the Andreani fork cartridges and a rear shock upgrade, but found a YSS suspension kit and installed it. Pleased with the results.

 

[khardung]

My job for the last two days was refitting a 477 big bore kit after a blown head gasket. Took the opportunity to change the cast piston for a forged one after reports of a few problems with substandard cast ones from a supplier. Can't say I had such issues. but did it for peace of mind as I had to do the strip down anyway for the head gasket. Love the BB kit and the Hitchcocks carb conversion.