I'm happy with my Himalayan as it is. Perfect for all the gravel roads and tracks I ride in Spain. My dilemma is "Is it going to benefit me on the rides I do?" and to be honest, I don't know. I don't ride on motorways or A roads if I can help it, but as Spain has so many other routes to use, is it for me? Probably not, but I could be missing out. Oh, the fear of missing out is strong on this one!
@@nathanthepostman Thanks. The bike is almost perfect for me (never had a bike that has been) so I look forward to seeing how other get on with their cammed bikes. Hopefully it works well on an otherwise standard bike. And as it ups the power, shouldn't you declare it as a modification? Are insurers going to be happy with it?
@@jerzywoking1699 how will they know? its engine internal, heaven forbid you ever have an accident and need to claim , they will not put your bike on a dyno to check its factory spec, so say nothing :) ride safe and have fun :D
yeah, the bike is fine for 95% of riding. I avoid highways too. Besides, highways are never adventurous. They’re boring. Skipping all the cool and interesting townships and places that are all about travelling, discovering and adventures.
Nice to see someone call out the cheap exhaust. I have long suspected that many of the cheap and nasty options are just noisy and make the bike run worse
When I purchased my Classic 500 years ago it came with some nasty eBay special muffler that was so loud it gave me a headache. I have a long incline up here near me in the mountains. It’s 2km of increasing grade and I would have to gear down the C5 to 3rd gear to make it to the top. I found an OEM exhaust which not only made the bike comfortable to the ears. It actually brought back the midrange torque and I could get up the same hill without gearing down at all. Most of those exhausts are just nasty cans of wasted money. Offering a placebo of noise and perception of speed and power.
I always wonder if such a mod is so successful, why haven't Royal Enfield developed a camshaft with a similiar profile for the standard production model. They must know about it, and surely they'd be happy with 4 BHP extra. Hi from the chap in Lynton. See you next time you're in Porlock!
@@jarrodwilson7702 Other manufacturers use water cooling for a more constant temp and thus can use tighter clearances and higher compression ratio and yet have lower emissions. The Himalayan relies on air/oil cooling for simplicity/reliability/repairability/affordability - better for 3rd World owners.
Told ya it was worth testing and better than the powertronic for sure...wrt to should you get one and your lame response of 'if one comes along'.. 😂...you have a RUclips channel, you can afford it! Lol. Thanks for the update Nathan. Cool!
Interesting concept that you actually get paid to have a RUclips channel. What the comment simply means is if I decide to buy one, which at the minute, I won't be.
The Delkevic pipe is a far better exhaust I feel-looks better-performs well without being too noisy but certainly sounds throaty under load. You haven't removed the front header pipe to get rid of the other cat. This bike has had a hard life, as you can tell by the condition of the header pipe! You need to get the fuel mapping done properly once the cam has gone in. Does the bike pull 6,500 rpm? Will it pull over 70 mph? Will it still chug through a river at low rpm with this cam? I think to get the most benefit you need to replace the entire exhaust system-put the cam in-get the fuel mapping tuned at the end to get the most from the bike. Then see how it performs.
Hey Nathan ,just bought a stolen recovered himalayan. Parts to fix just arrived from Hitchcocks. Yay only 1 week to NZ. What jacket do you have as I need to get one. And yours looks great. Cheers
Interesting video :) 4hp is actually more than some 1920s bikes had hp wise an some of those would do 70 o.o totally digressing its mad when you look at how light some of the older bikes are 110kg etc an then the weight of some of the 60s bikes. It's a shame they can't lob some weight of the Himmy be interesting to see how much it would need to loose to get similar gains. Great video as always an thanks for the honest conclusion to Nathan.
To mitigate the weight i removed the tank/jerrycan frames and put the headlight directly on the fork...when I have some money to spare I'll go with exhaust (the stock one is real heavy)
Notice the hesitation at low throttle when he to the bike for a test. This is my main beef with the bike as making a slow turn with precision is dicey. I find I have to keep the rpms a little higher than I am accustomed with my experience to prevent a laugh in drop. I heard the word I wanted…”hiccup”.
Yes I see what you mean by the video - it does look to drop revs quickly ,- but I don't tend to have problems at slow speed on them and tend to find it's one of their best strengths that you can ride them slowly without stalling
You were saying something about overheating in the U.S. versus use of the PowerTronic piggyback ECU mod when you were interrupted. What were you going to say?
Put a booster plug on my 660 tenere and straight away much smoother and more tractable. Even better with a freer exhaust. Plug plus pipe 350 notes and it transforms it. And wright liss too. Plus moves the weight lower down. Those plugs are fantastic especially with a more open pipe. Open air filter next step. Great mod. Seeing is believing. Happy travels
Is it possible to install the front indicators of Highness on Scram 411 and conty 650? And I mean proper installation so the amber light turns on with ignition as in stock CB350.
It's impossible to say without stripping each part off one at a time and assessing the difference. I would say the spark plug will make barely any difference, the exhaust in my opinion makes the bike perform worse if anything, so I'd say the 'gains' are from a combination of the booster plug and the cam, and having tried a Powertronic I'd say most of the gains on this bike did come from the cam. But I'd love to try the cam on a stock bike to say for certain.
I was thinking about that cam , but I have no idea how it would work on the euro 5 engine , though I didn't feel I was I desperate need of it on my north Cape trip 14 days ago from Denmark, I just put her in 4th gear and gave it some throttle up the hils ( with full loaded bike I was amazed that it didt it so well)
I'm assuming it would fit the Euro 5 bike no problem as the engine is fundamentally the same, just the emission stuff that's been updated. Sounds like you had a great trip north!
@@nathanthepostman oh yes , that was a really great trip , 6000km without problems , I went on the TET a bit , and alot of gravel roads , slept in tent almost all time , met some really nice people, and the Himalayan stod proudly among the big bimmer on the North Cape , so is 25hp enough, yes it's plenty to have fun 😁
5 mph increase is inline with a 20% power increase. The power required to overcome air resistance increases with the cube of velocity, so if the previous top speed was 70mph, you'd expect 20% more power to give a top speed of around 74.4mph.
just buy a givi tank bag with the tank filler locking ring..i have a 20 ltr one on mine and its perfect, one lever click its off, straight push on to lock in and the mofo wont go any where lol :D plus if you buy another bike you only need the bike specific tank filler locking ring and the tank bag will fit all :)
Thanks for the update, it sounds like it's worthwhile. As you said though it would be good to compare with a standard engine and get before and after results
It shouldn’t but it would be very worthwhile and encouraged to check valve clearances since you’re already there and it’s an additional 10 minutes of measuring and adjusting if necessary at most.
It always amazes me how people think they know better than the O E M' s engineers, whether it be a BMW car riding half an inch off the ground or farting around with camshafts. If you want to travel faster, buy a faster bike. Piddling about will reduce reliability and increase stresses on the engine. I will certainly be keeping mine stock until warranty has expired and probably for good .
The issue is that the OEM manufacturers have to compromise with emission regulations in particular countries, and for an air cooled engine like this, that means a significant impact on power output. So, yes it is relatively easy to improve these 'constricted' engines with some well-designed, after market upgrades.
Thanks for your honest first impressions. Do you think you would lose any of the low end "tractor factor" for offroad purposes? I have to ride at least an hour to get to any off pavement riding, so making that easier would be great, but I'm not sure if I would want the trade off to be poorer offroad performance.
That's a great question and I don't really have an answer as I didn't ride it off road. It didn't seem to be peaky or lose any low down chug on the road riding I did, so I suspect it hasn't been adversely affected for off road use. But I'd definitely like an extended ride on one before saying with any confidence.
@@leenvisser4649 I am the 'Mike' in the video. The bike is far more tractable than standard, I have done a fair bit of off-road, and the low-down torque is enhanced. I have used the bike with standard gearing and with a 16 tooth gearbox sprocket, and while standard is good, for me, the 16t sprocket is a further improvement. As one extra tooth drops revs by 500rpm, and the cam moves the power and torque 1000rpm down the rev-range, on paper it should be better and the seat of pants feel is that it is.
brill info vid :) really wanting a TEC cam as only £166.66 and gets them to 30hp and maybe up the front cog one tooth ...but bike is only 3 months old...suppose i could fit one and say nothing to dealer and still have warranty, they wont notice lol :)
I find it hard to believe that the camshaft mod brings this bike to 30 hp. I've seen the dyno graphs, but 30 hp at the wheel is similar to a stock DR650 or 310 GS, and those bike are faster than any modified Himalayan that I've ever seen or heard about.
In the TEC Bike Parts video on their Performance Camshaft, it's said that it was given more *overlap, lift, and duration* - the classic things before emissions became important.
@@daveinwla6360 thanks for the reply! I had to research a bit on the terms, but now I think I get it. Fascinating stuff about timing and all... and I see why overlap is minimized for emission reasons. From my understanding this mod should increase fuel consumption since it is pissing out unburnt fuel mixture to purge the exhaust gases.
@@gcm4312 The fuel efficiency can sometimes actually be increased with such mods. With a cooler running engine, you can "lug" the engine uphill (i.e. impose a high load at low rpm) and not get detonation while benefiting from the greater efficiency of low rpm. Low emissions come at a high cost. Have you noticed that bike models are given greater engine displacement when emission regulations tighten?
@@davidwaddington9414 because I've had a million other things to do and gaining a bit of top end performance on the Himalayan just hasn't been a priority. I guess its probably my conclusion, I'd probably just leave the Himalayan as it is and just ride it
I'm not entirely sure I'd agree Jeff. I rode my Himalayan coast to coast across the USA in 2018 and yes high up in the Rockies it did get a bit breathless but it still coped fine on the interstate and perfect for the back roads. There's nothing much wrong with the frame either these days, just the early Indian bikes that were a bit weak. Might be worth you trying one
Mike knows his stuff, thats obvious. I am going to get the cam first and then find a himalayan to fit it to!
Ive got a himalayan you're more than welcome to fit it to 👍
16T front sprocket and this cam is all this bike needs. Best bang for buck by far!
I'm happy with my Himalayan as it is. Perfect for all the gravel roads and tracks I ride in Spain. My dilemma is "Is it going to benefit me on the rides I do?" and to be honest, I don't know. I don't ride on motorways or A roads if I can help it, but as Spain has so many other routes to use, is it for me? Probably not, but I could be missing out. Oh, the fear of missing out is strong on this one!
I'd leave it as it is then Jerzy. I don't think you'd be missing out on anything too much at all.
@@nathanthepostman Thanks. The bike is almost perfect for me (never had a bike that has been) so I look forward to seeing how other get on with their cammed bikes. Hopefully it works well on an otherwise standard bike.
And as it ups the power, shouldn't you declare it as a modification? Are insurers going to be happy with it?
@@jerzywoking1699 how will they know? its engine internal, heaven forbid you ever have an accident and need to claim , they will not put your bike on a dyno to check its factory spec, so say nothing :) ride safe and have fun :D
Where in Spain do you live? I'm in Oviedo and am looking at a himalayan at the moment!
yeah, the bike is fine for 95% of riding. I avoid highways too. Besides, highways are never adventurous. They’re boring. Skipping all the cool and interesting townships and places that are all about travelling, discovering and adventures.
Nice to see someone call out the cheap exhaust. I have long suspected that many of the cheap and nasty options are just noisy and make the bike run worse
When I purchased my Classic 500 years ago it came with some nasty eBay special muffler that was so loud it gave me a headache. I have a long incline up here near me in the mountains. It’s 2km of increasing grade and I would have to gear down the C5 to 3rd gear to make it to the top.
I found an OEM exhaust which not only made the bike comfortable to the ears. It actually brought back the midrange torque and I could get up the same hill without gearing down at all.
Most of those exhausts are just nasty cans of wasted money. Offering a placebo of noise and perception of speed and power.
Be a sight quicker if you lost the spare tyre round ya waist mate hahaha
can't hear what they guy is saying.
I always wonder if such a mod is so successful, why haven't Royal Enfield developed a camshaft with a similiar profile for the standard production model. They must know about it, and surely they'd be happy with 4 BHP extra. Hi from the chap in Lynton. See you next time you're in Porlock!
Emissions is the reason RE don't fit one from standard.
With the 20% Camshaft fitted it wouldn't pass Euro4 or now the even stricter Euro5 Emmissions
Emissions obviously .
I'd blame emissions but then again most other manufacturers make around double the hp with the same cc and pass emissions.
@@jarrodwilson7702 Other manufacturers use water cooling for a more constant temp and thus can use tighter clearances
and higher compression ratio and yet have lower emissions.
The Himalayan relies on air/oil cooling for simplicity/reliability/repairability/affordability - better for 3rd World owners.
Told ya it was worth testing and better than the powertronic for sure...wrt to should you get one and your lame response of 'if one comes along'.. 😂...you have a RUclips channel, you can afford it! Lol. Thanks for the update Nathan. Cool!
Interesting concept that you actually get paid to have a RUclips channel. What the comment simply means is if I decide to buy one, which at the minute, I won't be.
I just got a 2022 Himmie. Is the camshaft and booster plug still a good mod? Thx
The Delkevic pipe is a far better exhaust I feel-looks better-performs well without being too noisy but certainly sounds throaty under load. You haven't removed the front header pipe to get rid of the other cat. This bike has had a hard life, as you can tell by the condition of the header pipe! You need to get the fuel mapping done properly once the cam has gone in. Does the bike pull 6,500 rpm? Will it pull over 70 mph? Will it still chug through a river at low rpm with this cam? I think to get the most benefit you need to replace the entire exhaust system-put the cam in-get the fuel mapping tuned at the end to get the most from the bike. Then see how it performs.
Hey Nathan ,just bought a stolen recovered himalayan. Parts to fix just arrived from Hitchcocks. Yay only 1 week to NZ. What jacket do you have as I need to get one. And yours looks great. Cheers
Interesting video :) 4hp is actually more than some 1920s bikes had hp wise an some of those would do 70 o.o totally digressing its mad when you look at how light some of the older bikes are 110kg etc an then the weight of some of the 60s bikes. It's a shame they can't lob some weight of the Himmy be interesting to see how much it would need to loose to get similar gains. Great video as always an thanks for the honest conclusion to Nathan.
Heavy weight is needed for highway riding - to resist wind buffeting. Plus it keeps the bike stable over potholed roads
To mitigate the weight i removed the tank/jerrycan frames and put the headlight directly on the fork...when I have some money to spare I'll go with exhaust (the stock one is real heavy)
Notice the hesitation at low throttle when he to the bike for a test. This is my main beef with the bike as making a slow turn with precision is dicey. I find I have to keep the rpms a little higher than I am accustomed with my experience to prevent a laugh in drop. I heard the word I wanted…”hiccup”.
Yes I see what you mean by the video - it does look to drop revs quickly ,- but I don't tend to have problems at slow speed on them and tend to find it's one of their best strengths that you can ride them slowly without stalling
As you say, TEC will sell thousands of these cams. They have a good video showing how to fit the cam.
You were saying something about overheating in the U.S. versus use of the PowerTronic piggyback ECU mod
when you were interrupted. What were you going to say?
I am testing Himalayan this week.. Looks like i am going to get one
Put a booster plug on my 660 tenere and straight away much smoother and more tractable.
Even better with a freer exhaust. Plug plus pipe 350 notes and it transforms it. And wright liss too. Plus moves the weight lower down.
Those plugs are fantastic especially with a more open pipe.
Open air filter next step.
Great mod. Seeing is believing.
Happy travels
Hi, what model booster plug did you get?
@@hespie1 booster plug. Just look this up, they are kodel specific. Plug and play. No splicing.
My 660 tenere ran like crap below 3000rpm.
I did the so called kev mod and it improved greatly.
@@rickz9495 works in a similar way I think and kids the ecu into adding more fuel. They run a lot better with these mods.
To me the only upgrades Im going to do is the TEC cam and a 16 tooth front sprocket. Most bang for the buck!
Is it possible to install the front indicators of Highness on Scram 411 and conty 650? And I mean proper installation so the amber light turns on with ignition as in stock CB350.
Hi Nathan, is it just that addiction or the combination of the exhaust and the power booster(?!?)) that gives the better experience??
It's impossible to say without stripping each part off one at a time and assessing the difference. I would say the spark plug will make barely any difference, the exhaust in my opinion makes the bike perform worse if anything, so I'd say the 'gains' are from a combination of the booster plug and the cam, and having tried a Powertronic I'd say most of the gains on this bike did come from the cam. But I'd love to try the cam on a stock bike to say for certain.
@@nathanthepostman thanks for the update!! Can’t wait to to see the 650 Himalayan!!!
@@generalt1090 I think you could be waiting a while on that one. Something's coming, but very unlikely to be a 650 Himalayan
@@nathanthepostman dammit!
I was thinking about that cam , but I have no idea how it would work on the euro 5 engine , though I didn't feel I was I desperate need of it on my north Cape trip 14 days ago from Denmark, I just put her in 4th gear and gave it some throttle up the hils ( with full loaded bike I was amazed that it didt it so well)
I'm assuming it would fit the Euro 5 bike no problem as the engine is fundamentally the same, just the emission stuff that's been updated. Sounds like you had a great trip north!
@@nathanthepostman oh yes , that was a really great trip , 6000km without problems , I went on the TET a bit , and alot of gravel roads , slept in tent almost all time , met some really nice people, and the Himalayan stod proudly among the big bimmer on the North Cape , so is 25hp enough, yes it's plenty to have fun 😁
If I remember correctly, in the TEC video he said it was E5 compatible.
Here: ruclips.net/video/GHoqvbAnvEo/видео.html
@@moistyfeet If you can have a look at the TEC video you will see the tests that were carried out and the dyno results
@@johntolley3610 yep I did see that video , 😊
5 mph increase is inline with a 20% power increase. The power required to overcome air resistance increases with the cube of velocity, so if the previous top speed was 70mph, you'd expect 20% more power to give a top speed of around 74.4mph.
Completely off topic, but I am looking for a magnetic tank bag and yours looks about right. Can you tell me what the make (and model) is? Thanks
just buy a givi tank bag with the tank filler locking ring..i have a 20 ltr one on mine and its perfect, one lever click its off, straight push on to lock in and the mofo wont go any where lol :D
plus if you buy another bike you only need the bike specific tank filler locking ring and the tank bag will fit all :)
It's Oxford 'First time luggage'
Thanks for the update, it sounds like it's worthwhile. As you said though it would be good to compare with a standard engine and get before and after results
Good overview at the end.
Awesome bud cheers 👍🏻
Should have put a mic on Mike! Sounds like he had a lot of useful stuff to say.
for a little thumper engine, 20% is a big boost.
Sounds great, will look into this mod for my Himalayan.
Just wonder if that changes the valve clearances for optimum results.
It shouldn’t but it would be very worthwhile and encouraged to check valve clearances since you’re already there and it’s an additional 10 minutes of measuring and adjusting if necessary at most.
George at TEC has a discussion on this on the TEC channel!
Was a 16T front sprocket installed also?
Sounds like good bang for the buck.
It always amazes me how people think they know better than the O E M' s engineers, whether it be a BMW car riding half an inch off the ground or farting around with camshafts.
If you want to travel faster, buy a faster bike. Piddling about will reduce reliability and increase stresses on the engine. I will certainly be keeping mine stock until warranty has expired and probably for good
.
The issue is that the OEM manufacturers have to compromise with emission regulations in particular countries, and for an air cooled engine like this, that means a significant impact on power output. So, yes it is relatively easy to improve these 'constricted' engines with some well-designed, after market upgrades.
It'll be interesting to see the camshaft upgraded on a new 2021 Himalayan.
Thanks for your honest first impressions. Do you think you would lose any of the low end "tractor factor" for offroad purposes? I have to ride at least an hour to get to any off pavement riding, so making that easier would be great, but I'm not sure if I would want the trade off to be poorer offroad performance.
That's a great question and I don't really have an answer as I didn't ride it off road. It didn't seem to be peaky or lose any low down chug on the road riding I did, so I suspect it hasn't been adversely affected for off road use. But I'd definitely like an extended ride on one before saying with any confidence.
@@nathanthepostman thanks. Hopefully we get some more feedback as more kits get installed.
@@leenvisser4649 I am the 'Mike' in the video. The bike is far more tractable than standard, I have done a fair bit of off-road, and the low-down torque is enhanced. I have used the bike with standard gearing and with a 16 tooth gearbox sprocket, and while standard is good, for me, the 16t sprocket is a further improvement. As one extra tooth drops revs by 500rpm, and the cam moves the power and torque 1000rpm down the rev-range, on paper it should be better and the seat of pants feel is that it is.
brill info vid :)
really wanting a TEC cam as only £166.66 and gets them to 30hp and maybe up the front cog one tooth ...but bike is only 3 months old...suppose i could fit one and say nothing to dealer and still have warranty, they wont notice lol :)
I find it hard to believe that the camshaft mod brings this bike to 30 hp. I've seen the dyno graphs, but 30 hp at the wheel is similar to a stock DR650 or 310 GS, and those bike are faster than any modified Himalayan that I've ever seen or heard about.
Cant here what he said.
New 0-60 time?
what's the mechanical explanation here? changing the timming of the valves?
In the TEC Bike Parts video on their Performance Camshaft,
it's said that it was given more *overlap, lift, and duration* -
the classic things before emissions became important.
@@daveinwla6360 thanks for the reply! I had to research a bit on the terms, but now I think I get it. Fascinating stuff about timing and all... and I see why overlap is minimized for emission reasons. From my understanding this mod should increase fuel consumption since it is pissing out unburnt fuel mixture to purge the exhaust gases.
@@gcm4312 The fuel efficiency can sometimes actually be increased with such mods. With a cooler running engine, you can "lug" the engine uphill (i.e. impose a high load at low rpm) and not get detonation while benefiting from the greater efficiency of low rpm. Low emissions come at a high cost. Have you noticed that bike models are given greater engine displacement when emission regulations tighten?
what happened to you fitting yours about 7 months ago ??
Nothing, it's still on the garage shelf
@@nathanthepostman there are a few videos from India that shows you how to do it., so why did you buy it to shelve it ?
@@davidwaddington9414 because I've had a million other things to do and gaining a bit of top end performance on the Himalayan just hasn't been a priority. I guess its probably my conclusion, I'd probably just leave the Himalayan as it is and just ride it
I like the dry wall in the video, how old is it?
Not sure. I reckon maybe 60 or 70 years or so
In the words of james may STANDARD!!!!!
I love this bike, but for North America it’s frame is not strong enough and it’s just so under powered it’s not a safe to ride here. :(
I'm not entirely sure I'd agree Jeff. I rode my Himalayan coast to coast across the USA in 2018 and yes high up in the Rockies it did get a bit breathless but it still coped fine on the interstate and perfect for the back roads. There's nothing much wrong with the frame either these days, just the early Indian bikes that were a bit weak. Might be worth you trying one
that's bullshit. it performs just as expected for a thumper.