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.
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.