I like its rugged nature and fuel efficiency, however, I still have puncture anxiety.
BHPian Shobhitsaxena recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Sharing this update after my extensive daily riding. So my motorcycling is 3-4 times a week, to work and back, 75 kms total. This means a monthly run of around 1,000 kms.
Daily riding experience
Most of my riding is on a 35 km stretch of the Delhi Jaipur highway. The state of the highway has been below average over the past year, some much-needed flyover constructions, serious delays in the projects and sub-optimal backup traffic planning.
Most of the time, I feel lucky to be on a Himalayan. Don’t know the scale, but I have been forced into serious off-roading situations, muds to rocks to water evasion, all within a supposed highway. Every time I am in such a situation, I know that the motorcycle has much more to offer than what I am able to do with it. The torque and large front wheel are a boon.
The general highway manners are stable and I am happy with all aspects of the machine and experience.
Service experience and repairs
All services are done at RE and a few times I have gone for an oil change at 5k (company recommend is at 10k).
There was one puncture in the rear and was fixed promptly by the RSA in the office parking. Overall, I really admire the CEATs. I did a tyre change at 23k and the rear was worn out, though I have to say, even then, the grip was there.
Long solo rides – two short ones
- Joined a few colleagues on a weekend ride to Jaipur, via Alwar. Rest were in cars and my solo experience was super enjoyable. I did my own pace and for two days, had no worries in the world. Did the mistake of taking the bike up on Amber Palace, the traffic was blocked and I had to do the most cumbersome u turn of my life (managed a 180-degree turn mostly by pushing the front suspension)
- Again a 300 km solo when family was away for a day. Went towards Meerut, with no destination in mind, albeit to find a place to have some chole kulche riverside and turn back when done. Upper Ganga Canal road makes for a scenic route but the level of danger on this single-lane route is more than high. I saw local drivers DUI more than once in 2 hours.
Falls
Sharing this as I had an inkling to do a survey on the forum for how many falls motorcyclists have per 5k kms. Let me share mine and if others want to share, could make for interesting experiential learning. Below are my three falls, over a span of 23k kms:
- When parked (1): In office parking, thinking about five things which happened at work, traffic, etc, had a bright idea of resetting the trip meter which is hard to press. A second later, we are down. Injuries none.
- Slow-speed ones (1): This could have been serious. Again, was navigating an under-construction patch on the sideway, with multiple lanes of motorcycles where no vehicle should be travelling. Got a nudge by the backside of a mighty Haryana Roadways bus on the silencer. In a second I fell on another motorcyclist. Got up with help. Minor bruises on the leg and a bigger mental scare.
- Medium speed one (1): The ones familiar with this route will know what a pain the construction of a flyover on Bilaspur has caused in 2024 with no end in sight. I was doing around 40 on the sideway of the service lane and wanted to get on the main service lane. With no street lights, poor sideways throw of stock headlight and my own poor judgement, did not guess that there was more than a few inches of altitude to the service lane and crashed at speed. Few bruises to the motorcycle and my wrist and again lessons learnt.
- Special mention: Rear got stuck (1): Once again due to this man-made broken patch on Bilaspur, one fine day, I had the bright idea of navigating the opposite lane service road. Long story short, I had to work my way around in choked opposite traffic for a good 10 KMs. Rear got stuck in a rock and a few mins later, I realised asking for help was the only way out. A random goom samaritan came to the rescue. Suggestion to all – ask for help and you will be surprised at how willing people generally are
Continue to love:
- Ability to cruise all day at 80 KMPH
- No fuss maintenance and overall rugged nature
- Multi-dimensional nature of the motorcycle – highway cruiser and on-demand off-road capabilities
- Mileage in the range of 30-32
Still not used to:
- Puncture anxiety is still there. Being a solo rider, I cannot go into unknown territory with Himalayan
- Poor headlight: This is a major consideration when forced to ride post-sunset. I have considered auxiliary lights, but with my general tendency is to keep all core things stock so this is on the back burner
What’s next:
Nothing is expected to change in my daily riding pattern. I do have a strong desire to upgrade to a more nimble motorcycle but in no rush to part ways with the Himalayan. Waiting for some genuine interest in my Team BHP listing with patience.
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