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Laid it down... on a test ride

rmattrpdx

Total noob
Location
Portland, OR
Alrighty - I'm going to do this... Forum intro, crash story, and Himalayan love-fest. All in one. And I don't even own one. (I know it's in the site name, but sorry, not yet).

So... Been really interested in a Himma for a while. Finally headed down to the local dealer and went for a spin. Took about 2 minutes to figure out that I was going to have one... I rode for about 20 minutes, including lots of low speed messing around. I've got a couple of XT225's, and I'd like a bike that I feel like can be a natural extension of myself. Something that is easy to ride, and just goes where I point it. The Himma was the most user friendly bike I've ever jumped on, and I was having a blast. I've never felt so confident on a bike so quickly. The smooth power delivery is amazing - and exactly what you want when things get difficult on the trail. I rode a bunch, including a freeway jaunt, and brought it back to the dealer. I was absolutely hooked.

After that - I had scheduled to test a WR250R and a XR650L at a another close-by dealer. I wanted to test a full range of rides that might fit into my BDR-centered perspective. The WR was everything I don't want in a bike. I was prepared to like it, and was surprised at my level of disappointment. On paper it looks GREAT. Off-the-bottom throttle response was terrible. The herky-jerky-ist bike I've ridden. The throttle is not what regulates low speed riding on a WR, it's all clutch. No thank you. Once the thing is on the tach, it makes fantastic power for a 250, and the suspension was nice. It's a fine bike, but the opposite of what my riding style desires (I also ride an XT500, so roll-off-the-bottom torque is my jam). The XR was more my speed. Lots of fun. Wants. To. Wheelie. Enjoyed the ride, but the high-in-the-sky seat height, and top-heavier CG made it so much less enjoyable than the RE. Power was real nice, but not the sweet turbine-like torque of the Himma. The writing was on the wall at that point.

So... the RE dealer was still down the block, and my test ride was still sitting out front... I wanted to do a little back-to-back with the dual purpose rigs to seal the deal. I popped in, and the sales folks waved me on. I jumped on the Himma for another quick spin and was immediately smitten, again. I headed to a parking lot to do some low speed maneuvering. I couldn't believe that a 420+lb bike could feel so stable at trials speeds. I was doing some full-lock figure 8's and feeling SO confident on a bike that I had so little time on. Too confident, it turns out... Not sure what I did, exactly, but it was dumb. At a crawl, I sort of just dropped it on it's right side. Yep. Dropped. On a test ride. A brand new bike. What's the first rule of a test ride? Don't crash. Duh.

It was a slo-mo sort of thing, but it was one of those WTF moments. After catching my breath from the crazy adrenaline rush, I picked the bike up and got it on its sidestand - frantically looking it over... 2 things became obvious: You could barely tell anything happened, and I think I pulled the shit out of a hamstring trying to lay it down softly. Yeah it's not an XT225. The RE had a teeny little scrape on the handlebar end weight, a little scuff on the front brake lever, and a wee scuff on the muffler shield. Scuffs should easily steel wool away, and the scrape is probably even fixed with a sharpie. WAY less than I expected. Definitely dodged a bullet. Even though I planned on riding a bit, I figured that was enough excitement. (and the deal was sealed anyway - I wanted one)

I took it back to the dealer, showed them the damage (could have probably just snuck away, but that's not how I roll), and they were totally cool about it. It would have been cooler with them if I were buying it that day... but they were awesome. I plan on going back when I'm ready to pull the trigger.

So after 2 weeks, my hamstring is healing (yep - I tore it pretty good. Sucks to be old), and I'm planning a trip with my pair of 225's. When the trip is over, one goes on CL, and when it sells I'll own a Himalayan (Snow). Haven't been this excited about a bike in a long time. There is nothing like it out there, and it embodies everything I want in a moto.

Sorry for the long story, but wanted to share. I'll surely lurk around here a bunch, and will pipe in when it's official.
 

NewEnglandHimalayan

Well travelled
Location
New England
Hope you get better soon. I did not even try one. I went to the dealer saw the bike and picked it up the following week. My test ride was actually my first ride on my way home. Got caught in a storm during my trip (over 100 miles) and thankfully did not drop it. Awesome bike for sure. I also have a XR650L and it is all you mentioned, sky high and powerful. A totally different beast 😁
 

rmattrpdx

Total noob
Location
Portland, OR
Thanks all. After two weeks, I'm feeling fairly good. Will be getting back to some cycling this evening. Thanks also for being cool about my embarrassing and dorky "crash"... Been riding off-and-on for 40+ years, and I guess anything can happen. Will get back with pics etc this fall when the deed is done. Planning the farkles right now.
 

sqeeezy

Well travelled
Location
Southern Spain
Thanks all. After two weeks, I'm feeling fairly good. Will be getting back to some cycling this evening. Thanks also for being cool about my embarrassing and dorky "crash"... Been riding off-and-on for 40+ years, and I guess anything can happen. Will get back with pics etc this fall when the deed is done. Planning the farkles right now.
Get well soon, you're only a dickhead if you think you're perfect: don't be embarrassed; I've dropped Basmati loads of times already, she likes a bit of the rough. If motorbikes weren't meant to fall over, they'd have kiddie-type stabilizer wheels on ;-) Happy Trails!
 

NewEnglandHimalayan

Well travelled
Location
New England
One time while heading to get gas, I came up to some heavy traffic jam. To get out of it, I turned into a parking lot to make a u turn. As I approached the sidewalk to get back on the road, I had to stop to let some of the traffic pass by. I had not realized that the pavement had a sink right where my left foot would land so I did not find the ground where I expected it to be. I ended up over-leaning the bike and struggling to keep it straight. At that time I told myself "oh well" and down on my back I went laughing at myself. A bit of a scratch on one of my bark busters was all that resulted. First time laying it on its side. I was surprised at how easy it was to pick it back up. I still laugh when I think about it. LOL
 

MrDralas

Well travelled
Location
Planet Earth
Hope you get better soon. I did not even try one. I went to the dealer saw the bike and picked it up the following week. My test ride was actually my first ride on my way home. Got caught in a storm during my trip (over 100 miles) and thankfully did not drop it. Awesome bike for sure. I also have a XR650L and it is all you mentioned, sky high and powerful. A totally different beast 😁
I also didn’t drive one, I went to the dealer checked it out and said “yup, I’ll be back tomorrow with the bank draft do what you need to, to get it ready”. Test ride was a very slow 40 ish mile ride home, 100 miles must have been a killer ride home.
 

MrDralas

Well travelled
Location
Planet Earth
Alrighty - I'm going to do this... Forum intro, crash story, and Himalayan love-fest. All in one. And I don't even own one. (I know it's in the site name, but sorry, not yet).

So... Been really interested in a Himma for a while. Finally headed down to the local dealer and went for a spin. Took about 2 minutes to figure out that I was going to have one... I rode for about 20 minutes, including lots of low speed messing around. I've got a couple of XT225's, and I'd like a bike that I feel like can be a natural extension of myself. Something that is easy to ride, and just goes where I point it. The Himma was the most user friendly bike I've ever jumped on, and I was having a blast. I've never felt so confident on a bike so quickly. The smooth power delivery is amazing - and exactly what you want when things get difficult on the trail. I rode a bunch, including a freeway jaunt, and brought it back to the dealer. I was absolutely hooked.

After that - I had scheduled to test a WR250R and a XR650L at a another close-by dealer. I wanted to test a full range of rides that might fit into my BDR-centered perspective. The WR was everything I don't want in a bike. I was prepared to like it, and was surprised at my level of disappointment. On paper it looks GREAT. Off-the-bottom throttle response was terrible. The herky-jerky-ist bike I've ridden. The throttle is not what regulates low speed riding on a WR, it's all clutch. No thank you. Once the thing is on the tach, it makes fantastic power for a 250, and the suspension was nice. It's a fine bike, but the opposite of what my riding style desires (I also ride an XT500, so roll-off-the-bottom torque is my jam). The XR was more my speed. Lots of fun. Wants. To. Wheelie. Enjoyed the ride, but the high-in-the-sky seat height, and top-heavier CG made it so much less enjoyable than the RE. Power was real nice, but not the sweet turbine-like torque of the Himma. The writing was on the wall at that point.

So... the RE dealer was still down the block, and my test ride was still sitting out front... I wanted to do a little back-to-back with the dual purpose rigs to seal the deal. I popped in, and the sales folks waved me on. I jumped on the Himma for another quick spin and was immediately smitten, again. I headed to a parking lot to do some low speed maneuvering. I couldn't believe that a 420+lb bike could feel so stable at trials speeds. I was doing some full-lock figure 8's and feeling SO confident on a bike that I had so little time on. Too confident, it turns out... Not sure what I did, exactly, but it was dumb. At a crawl, I sort of just dropped it on it's right side. Yep. Dropped. On a test ride. A brand new bike. What's the first rule of a test ride? Don't crash. Duh.

It was a slo-mo sort of thing, but it was one of those WTF moments. After catching my breath from the crazy adrenaline rush, I picked the bike up and got it on its sidestand - frantically looking it over... 2 things became obvious: You could barely tell anything happened, and I think I pulled the shit out of a hamstring trying to lay it down softly. Yeah it's not an XT225. The RE had a teeny little scrape on the handlebar end weight, a little scuff on the front brake lever, and a wee scuff on the muffler shield. Scuffs should easily steel wool away, and the scrape is probably even fixed with a sharpie. WAY less than I expected. Definitely dodged a bullet. Even though I planned on riding a bit, I figured that was enough excitement. (and the deal was sealed anyway - I wanted one)

I took it back to the dealer, showed them the damage (could have probably just snuck away, but that's not how I roll), and they were totally cool about it. It would have been cooler with them if I were buying it that day... but they were awesome. I plan on going back when I'm ready to pull the trigger.

So after 2 weeks, my hamstring is healing (yep - I tore it pretty good. Sucks to be old), and I'm planning a trip with my pair of 225's. When the trip is over, one goes on CL, and when it sells I'll own a Himalayan (Snow). Haven't been this excited about a bike in a long time. There is nothing like it out there, and it embodies everything I want in a moto.

Sorry for the long story, but wanted to share. I'll surely lurk around here a bunch, and will pipe in when it's official.

Glad to hear your healing up well, hopefully you get one soon. They are an excellent bike and will do everything you could ever want it to do except break land speed records.
 

NewEnglandHimalayan

Well travelled
Location
New England
I also didn’t drive one, I went to the dealer checked it out and said “yup, I’ll be back tomorrow with the bank draft do what you need to, to get it ready”. Test ride was a very slow 40 ish mile ride home, 100 miles must have been a killer ride home.
You are not kidding. I had to take back roads home which made the trip very slow and longer. I wanted to follow the break in recommendations so from that aspect it was all ok. Unfortunately, I got caught on a huge rain storm not even 1/4 of the way home. It got cold very quickly and with no end in sight, I had to continue to push on. Brand new bike, brand new tires, wet roads with a slick oil cover on them not to mention going through some roads under construction. It was an adventure for sure. I was very happy when I finally made it. The bike worked flawlessly through all that.
 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
You are not kidding. I had to take back roads home which made the trip very slow and longer. I wanted to follow the break in recommendations so from that aspect it was all ok. Unfortunately, I got caught on a huge rain storm not even 1/4 of the way home. It got cold very quickly and with no end in sight, I had to continue to push on. Brand new bike, brand new tires, wet roads with a slick oil cover on them not to mention going through some roads under construction. It was an adventure for sure. I was very happy when I finally made it. The bike worked flawlessly through all that.
"If it didn't suck at some point it wasn't an adventure"
;)
 

Morgan60

Well travelled
Location
USA
Hello rmattrpdx, did you get your new Himalayan yet? Your test ride was at my favorite dealer. I was the first RE (Royal Enfield) bike the dealership sold a RE to. Sentence then I’ve boughten four REs from them. You are correct they are very cool dealership to deal with.
 
Last edited:

kwj23452

Well travelled
Alrighty - I'm going to do this... Forum intro, crash story, and Himalayan love-fest. All in one. And I don't even own one. (I know it's in the site name, but sorry, not yet).

So... Been really interested in a Himma for a while. Finally headed down to the local dealer and went for a spin. Took about 2 minutes to figure out that I was going to have one... I rode for about 20 minutes, including lots of low speed messing around. I've got a couple of XT225's, and I'd like a bike that I feel like can be a natural extension of myself. Something that is easy to ride, and just goes where I point it. The Himma was the most user friendly bike I've ever jumped on, and I was having a blast. I've never felt so confident on a bike so quickly. The smooth power delivery is amazing - and exactly what you want when things get difficult on the trail. I rode a bunch, including a freeway jaunt, and brought it back to the dealer. I was absolutely hooked.

After that - I had scheduled to test a WR250R and a XR650L at a another close-by dealer. I wanted to test a full range of rides that might fit into my BDR-centered perspective. The WR was everything I don't want in a bike. I was prepared to like it, and was surprised at my level of disappointment. On paper it looks GREAT. Off-the-bottom throttle response was terrible. The herky-jerky-ist bike I've ridden. The throttle is not what regulates low speed riding on a WR, it's all clutch. No thank you. Once the thing is on the tach, it makes fantastic power for a 250, and the suspension was nice. It's a fine bike, but the opposite of what my riding style desires (I also ride an XT500, so roll-off-the-bottom torque is my jam). The XR was more my speed. Lots of fun. Wants. To. Wheelie. Enjoyed the ride, but the high-in-the-sky seat height, and top-heavier CG made it so much less enjoyable than the RE. Power was real nice, but not the sweet turbine-like torque of the Himma. The writing was on the wall at that point.

So... the RE dealer was still down the block, and my test ride was still sitting out front... I wanted to do a little back-to-back with the dual purpose rigs to seal the deal. I popped in, and the sales folks waved me on. I jumped on the Himma for another quick spin and was immediately smitten, again. I headed to a parking lot to do some low speed maneuvering. I couldn't believe that a 420+lb bike could feel so stable at trials speeds. I was doing some full-lock figure 8's and feeling SO confident on a bike that I had so little time on. Too confident, it turns out... Not sure what I did, exactly, but it was dumb. At a crawl, I sort of just dropped it on it's right side. Yep. Dropped. On a test ride. A brand new bike. What's the first rule of a test ride? Don't crash. Duh.

It was a slo-mo sort of thing, but it was one of those WTF moments. After catching my breath from the crazy adrenaline rush, I picked the bike up and got it on its sidestand - frantically looking it over... 2 things became obvious: You could barely tell anything happened, and I think I pulled the shit out of a hamstring trying to lay it down softly. Yeah it's not an XT225. The RE had a teeny little scrape on the handlebar end weight, a little scuff on the front brake lever, and a wee scuff on the muffler shield. Scuffs should easily steel wool away, and the scrape is probably even fixed with a sharpie. WAY less than I expected. Definitely dodged a bullet. Even though I planned on riding a bit, I figured that was enough excitement. (and the deal was sealed anyway - I wanted one)

I took it back to the dealer, showed them the damage (could have probably just snuck away, but that's not how I roll), and they were totally cool about it. It would have been cooler with them if I were buying it that day... but they were awesome. I plan on going back when I'm ready to pull the trigger.

So after 2 weeks, my hamstring is healing (yep - I tore it pretty good. Sucks to be old), and I'm planning a trip with my pair of 225's. When the trip is over, one goes on CL, and when it sells I'll own a Himalayan (Snow). Haven't been this excited about a bike in a long time. There is nothing like it out there, and it embodies everything I want in a moto.

Sorry for the long story, but wanted to share. I'll surely lurk around here a bunch, and will pipe in when it's official.
Everybody's bent, banged, broke, or bruised something on themselves and/or their bikes at one time or another. Me? '82 Wing slid out in some shoulder gravel after a steaming hot pile developed in my skivvies whilst my brakes were going to mush descending the Blue Ridge Parkway. I finally pulled it off when I slowed enough near red line in first gear.
Could've been the trailer I was pulling full of camping gear, could've been my 150 lb ex behind me, and maybe the brakes should've been checked before the trip... but hey! I walked away with a hernia that makes you "feel like your babies will be born naked" from picking up that behemoth. Not to mention a nostalgic fondness for clean underwear... meh, coulda' been worse! Serious "no fun" was sliding through some good ol' Florida oyster shell asphalt on an '86 FJ600 down in Miami... NOOOO protective gear other than a brain bucket (which is why I'm still on this side of the dirt). So I ran around like a modern day mummy lookin' dumb ass for about two weeks whilst learning how to grow skin again.
Yep, we've certainly had our share of "oops" moments... Everybody ride safe and wear a hard hat!
 
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