Royal Enfield Himalayan review, test ride

Rain, hail, snow, sub-zero temperatures with bone-jarring wind chill, off-road, on-road, clay-road, grass road, no-road, you name it, and the Himalayas threw it at us with a vengeance on the Royal Enfield Himalayan adventure bike ride, making the ride an adventure itself.

About 50 percent of the experienced hands on this ride had minor spills with their bike at some stage or another, leaving little doubt here was one heck of a tough test of man and machine.

Mountain goat

The Himalayan looks a Royal Enfield, retro, adventurous and thoroughly rugged. Like all Royal Enfields, this too is an easy bike to work on. To this end, the Himalayan can be push-started to life should the electric starter pack-up, and you can put on your headlight even with a dead battery.

Practicality goes hand-in-hand with the Himalayan. The front windscreen keeps riders sheltered from the elements, this being slightly adjustable for angle. The Himalayan instruments are neat, sitting upright to face the rider. You can see speed and engine-speed in analogue format, along with fuel-level and other required riding information, including ambient temperature, twin-trip gauges and average speed for each trip. There's even a compass!

The Himalayan does well to give you space to clip on fuel and water jerry cans, or even extra front-mounted panniers, all of which enhance its touring bike appeal. Control levers are buffed alloy, comfy to the touch and the bike comes with classic look mirrors that work well, good switchgear and palm grips.

Royal Enfield has thought of the Himalayan's off-road prowess, to have a long, slim 15-litre fuel-tank that provides adequate thigh grip, and allows easy standing on the bike footpegs, for improved control when scything through the rough stuff, which the Himalayan does with relaxed ease.

In terms of build quality, the Himalayan feels a notch up on older generation Royal Enfield bikes. Fit-finish and overall quality are adequate too on the adventurous new tour bike.