My youngest son and his significant other recently completed a 15,000 mile trip round Europe, both riding Himmys. Thirty-five countries in four and bit months. They did their own servicing and tyre changes on both bikes as they went along. The only thing that broke was a pannier frame which was quickly welded up by a friendly local mechanic. I ridden his Himmy, totally impressed, your comments are spot-on. I will probably buy one myself. The 450 water-cooled updated Himmy is coming offering a lot more power. I'll give it go, but I like the simplicity of the 411, so it's a waiting game. Great review, keep going. Love and peace.
Thanks buddy. That sounds like one hell of a trip. I saw the Itchy Boots video on the new Himalayan and it does look good. What turned me off was the tech creep. I can’t help but think that the 411 Himalayan has more endearing qualities because it’s so basic. I have a bike with all the tech, I really don’t want another. I appreciate though that if it’s going to be your only bike then the tech makes more sense. I’ll be interested to hear what you choose 👍
Cheers Adam. Yeah, it’s easy to think that a fast bike is the answer to everything with bikes isn’t it? It wasn’t until I started riding my Himmy that I realised most of the power of my GS is actually going to waste. I can’t use it on the road other than for brief accelerations and overtakes, but even if I could, I don’t really have the skills necessary to use it. I doubt many of us has 🤷🏼♂️👍
New subscriber here... I've got a 2023 Himmie. Love it. I've put more miles on it in 6 months than I did on my street triple 765! Looking forward to your adventures!
Looking forward to your borders trip 👍. We have all the best roads up here, forest type roads you've got the Kielder forest drive if you head out Northumberland way. Then the road from Canonbie to Newcastleton and Newcastleton to Hawick is well worth a ride (stopping off at the phonebox in Rowanburn to buy cakes).
Really enjoy your videos Jack, came across them whilst looking for reviews of the 411 Himmy. Like you I ride a R1250GS, absolutely wonderful machine and a keeper for sure, but I am strangely drawn to also getting a Himalayan! Now that the new one is out the 411 is available brand new at a very low price, and I am very tempted!
I absolutely love mine. The thing I like about it is how basic it is, but having said that, it’s such an engaging and enjoyable ride. The new Himalayan looks great but I think it’s lost some of its charm. They’ve made it too technical for a dumbass like me to do the work on. I do more or less everything on mine. Brakes, oil and filters, valve clearances, sorting out issues like when the speedo stopped working. As long as you know they’re not brilliant, that’s what makes them so brilliant. Right? And as you said, at a bargain price too now the new one is out.
Love that bike, Jack. As a fan of Itchy Boots from the beginning, I came to respect the Himalayan and it's simplicity a lot. You've got a great buy there. Pleased you will be up on it next year. 👍
"Smiles per mile " is the term, not fully run in till its done 3000 miles just take it easy and it will grow on you. At least it's not a Break My Wallet, you're made a decent choice.
They don't burn oil either. Do an oil and filter change at 300, 800 and again at 1200 miles then go out to 3000 for the next. Make sure you run 15W50 as they will burn a 10Wxx Think of it as a series 2 landy, big old simple long stroke engine that takes an age to run in. Keep it below 5,000 rpm until its got 1800 miles on it and it will run forever. Stick a voltmeter on it and keep an eye on it when riding , the carb models had a tendency to cook the alternator and no, you can't fit the injected one, its a different physical size.
I wouldn't fit a standard Himalayan screen in place of your taller power bronze as the standard screen causes a lot of buffet and noise. I am 5ft 10" so if your a similar height you'll probably experience the same as me. I have a Suzuki Vstrom 1000 and the Himalayan and 70% of the time I ride the Himalayan. Brought it new and now over 17K (miles) on the clock. As for using oil.....Mine doesn't use a drop. They only use oil when ridden hard! It's an under square engine so piston speeds will be slightly higher hence the lower red line, I try not to rev mine above 5K, ridden that way and with regular oil and filter changes ( @3K miles) the engine should last a very long time. I can change the oil and filter (spark plug/ air filter) and do a valve check in less than 1 hour with basic tools at home. Cost just the parts By comparison my Vstrom needs a major 15K service, a bit more complicated to do and the local dealership said budget for £600 bill....!
I fitted the shorter Powerbronze screen and to be honest, I much prefer it. I really dislike having to look through a screen. After 1,000 miles I agree with you that they don’t appear to use much oil at all. I can’t remember where I read that they did use a lot. Really great news to hear about the simplicity of servicing the bike, especially compared to my GS. Although, I’d say it sounds more expensive to service a Vstrom than it does a gs, by a considerable amount too.
Congratulations. Mine is a 2019 model with all the extras you have and I got mine with just under 10k miles on it.. It's great for riding in the winter. It's very confidence inspiring in the wet. The guy is probably watching this video now & wondering where his £150 is 😆
What a great, cheery video Jack, on a bike that has no pretentions. I love the Himalyan, and look forward to your adventures on it. And what a mega soundtrack, it sounds alive!! Thank you
Great review Jack. Lad I ride with has one & loves it, we're doing the Western Isles next year. I'm also toying with the idea of one myself for pottering around the peaks and a few green lanes for similar reasons to yourself.
Great to see your enjoying it Jack, new you would love it , there such an underrated bike , and it's surprising how good they are on the rougher stuff, bike comes alive. Get out in Derbyshire with the himilayan offroad group you will absolutely love it highly recommended, Michael Spencer is your man on the himilayan scram page😃
Hi Jeff, Great bike, I’m wondering if the previous owner got around to doing the valve adjustments on the engine? Sounds a little rough. Sounds like you like the little bike. Wish you the best with Himalayan. Have a great day.
The valve clearances were done on its first service but I’m planning on doing a service including valves sometime before Christmas as I’m going to have spare time after surgery next month. I’ll try and do a video on that 👍
Hey, I'm still riding my 2018 himy 👍 great bike i love it, out of all the bikes I've owned in 20 years my himy is the best for me! The coming 450 will be my next bike.... Just not yet!
Hey buddy new subscriber I have a question as a newly passed DAS rider (ridden smaller bikes for a few years all weathers ) looking for a bike to commute with I would like to know about your opinion of its presence on the road particularly fast roads and motorways although I don’t plan on using it mainly on these kinds of roads (I live in the countryside) it will be part of my commute for probably 15 miles motorway riding . Now I will preface that question with this I have watched many many videos on the himi motorway riding but as yet all people have talked about is the speed and while that is important (max 80 so I’m told) it’s not the be all and end all I think that presence is just as important on the motorways and fast A roads and as someone who rides physically bigger bikes your opinion would be unbiased. can you do a video on this perhaps ? It would be really useful for someone in my position looking to possibly get a himi
Hi, and thanks for subscribing. I haven’t been on any motorways as yet, there aren’t any on my commute, but the bike does have a certain presence on the roads I’ve been on. Not as much as the GS but I’ll be honest, some people just don’t see that coming either. As you know, much of staying safe on the roads falls to us as riders to try to anticipate the ridiculous lack of good decision making made by motorists. Defensive riding, dominating the lane you are in to prevent inpatient overtaking by those who think they can bully you because you’re smaller and more vulnerable. I would recommend getting some led auxiliary lights fitted as this (I think) definitely makes an impact and I have noticed a much reduced number of people attempting to pull out on me from side roads. I will definitely do more videos on the Himmy and (hopefully) remember to include a piece on road presence. Hope this helps and thanks again for the subscribe 👍
@@motomogul Thankyou buddy I really appreciate it I fully understand your statement of defensive riding and driver presence after riding smaller bikes for sometime and talking with many drivers and onlookers they all pretty much agree that they class my previous rides in the same category as a moped and as such the view is that they must overtake etc at any available opportunity because they feel subconsciously that that’s just what you do regardless of the fact that I’m doing the speed limit I will be interested to see what your conclusions on this are in the future many thabks for your reply I appreciate it see you on the forums 👍P.S my questions ultimately stem from people generally accepting a big bike going slowly as ok but a small bike going slowly as an annoyance I wonder how the public see the Himmi ? Take care
Great video, i love my Himalayan. Are you sure its a Carb version? They did make carb versions but I wasn't sure that they were UK bikes. Mine is a 19 plate and has the choke but its fuel injected. Great bike though.
Hitchcock's sell a carb conversion kit. It's a simple bolt on mod, and it's reversible. So while it's unusual, it isn't a major mod - therefore I believe him when he says it's got a carb on it. Note that he didn't say it was the carb model, just that it had a carb.
@@DD-co1zn yes you could be right although I doubt some seventy old who only did 900 miles would have done that. I think most people when they see the choke they automatically think it's got a carb. With today's fuels and the more they increase ethanol I think I'd stick with injection but if he's got the original parts he can change back. Be interesting to find out.
@@OrangeManStan so you reckon it's 20 year olds buying the carb conversion kits ? Get real. It's a simple bolt on mod, plenty simple for anyone who can do basic maintenance - such as a 70 year old who has been riding for 50 odd years. Dunno why you'd prefer to doubt the desire & basic skills of a senior rider AND doubt that the motovlogger knows what he's talking about. At the end of the day, Hitchcock's are selling those kits to someone. And they didn't just make them in the first place for shits and giggles. Also, he never said it was a carb model *because* of the choke.
@@DD-co1zn I'm not doubting anyone's skills or knowledge I'm just curious to know if it really has a carb. What I do doubt is your ability to read someone's curiosity, I'd suggest you lay down and take a break before you do yourself a mischief.
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My youngest son and his significant other recently completed a 15,000 mile trip round Europe, both riding Himmys. Thirty-five countries in four and bit months. They did their own servicing and tyre changes on both bikes as they went along. The only thing that broke was a pannier frame which was quickly welded up by a friendly local mechanic. I ridden his Himmy, totally impressed, your comments are spot-on. I will probably buy one myself. The 450 water-cooled updated Himmy is coming offering a lot more power. I'll give it go, but I like the simplicity of the 411, so it's a waiting game. Great review, keep going. Love and peace.
Thanks buddy. That sounds like one hell of a trip. I saw the Itchy Boots video on the new Himalayan and it does look good. What turned me off was the tech creep. I can’t help but think that the 411 Himalayan has more endearing qualities because it’s so basic. I have a bike with all the tech, I really don’t want another. I appreciate though that if it’s going to be your only bike then the tech makes more sense. I’ll be interested to hear what you choose 👍
This video actually made me appreciate my Himalayan again. I was missing speed but now I appreciate what the himalayan does well. Thanks
Cheers Adam. Yeah, it’s easy to think that a fast bike is the answer to everything with bikes isn’t it? It wasn’t until I started riding my Himmy that I realised most of the power of my GS is actually going to waste. I can’t use it on the road other than for brief accelerations and overtakes, but even if I could, I don’t really have the skills necessary to use it. I doubt many of us has 🤷🏼♂️👍
New subscriber here... I've got a 2023 Himmie. Love it. I've put more miles on it in 6 months than I did on my street triple 765! Looking forward to your adventures!
Thanks buddy. They’re a very engaging bike aren’t they?
Loving the Himalayan Jack. That was a proper bargain.
Now your just like Itchy Boots but not quite as pretty. 😀👍
Probably got bigger tits though! 🤔😂👍
I also have a 2019 RE Himmi (B4), back to basics, engaging Fun !! So impressed bought RE Meteor, another GEM.
Welcome to the club Jack. Smiles per mile is the name of the game.
Cheers Mitch, loving it up to now 👍😍
Looking forward to your borders trip 👍. We have all the best roads up here, forest type roads you've got the Kielder forest drive if you head out Northumberland way. Then the road from Canonbie to Newcastleton and Newcastleton to Hawick is well worth a ride (stopping off at the phonebox in Rowanburn to buy cakes).
Thanks for the tips. I’m making notes 👍👍👍
You got my sub. Bought a 2023 Himmy, love it so far. As a first bike its been fine, although am not happy with my 2nd gear at slow speeds.
Is it a bit jerky on the throttle when attempting low speed manoeuvring?If so, mine is exactly the same. Thanks for the sub Maurice 👍
@@motomogul Yes sounds like mine.
Really enjoy your videos Jack, came across them whilst looking for reviews of the 411 Himmy. Like you I ride a R1250GS, absolutely wonderful machine and a keeper for sure, but I am strangely drawn to also getting a Himalayan! Now that the new one is out the 411 is available brand new at a very low price, and I am very tempted!
I absolutely love mine. The thing I like about it is how basic it is, but having said that, it’s such an engaging and enjoyable ride.
The new Himalayan looks great but I think it’s lost some of its charm. They’ve made it too technical for a dumbass like me to do the work on. I do more or less everything on mine. Brakes, oil and filters, valve clearances, sorting out issues like when the speedo stopped working.
As long as you know they’re not brilliant, that’s what makes them so brilliant. Right?
And as you said, at a bargain price too now the new one is out.
Love that bike, Jack. As a fan of Itchy Boots from the beginning, I came to respect the Himalayan and it's simplicity a lot. You've got a great buy there. Pleased you will be up on it next year. 👍
Thanks Dave. I’m definitely coming to see you 👍🏍️
"Smiles per mile " is the term, not fully run in till its done 3000 miles just take it easy and it will grow on you.
At least it's not a Break My Wallet, you're made a decent choice.
It doesn’t have to grow much more, I love it already. The GS is my guilty pleasure though 🙄😂
They don't burn oil either. Do an oil and filter change at 300, 800 and again at 1200 miles then go out to 3000 for the next. Make sure you run 15W50 as they will burn a 10Wxx
Think of it as a series 2 landy, big old simple long stroke engine that takes an age to run in. Keep it below 5,000 rpm until its got 1800 miles on it and it will run forever.
Stick a voltmeter on it and keep an eye on it when riding , the carb models had a tendency to cook the alternator and no, you can't fit the injected one, its a different physical size.
@@mattyb7736 Thanks for the advice Matt 👍
Just subscribed to your channel to monitor your progress with the Himalayan as I am thinking of getting one to keep my Interceptor company...
Thanks Barry. Do you think I might get a small commission from RE if you buy one? 🤔😂🏍️
I wouldn't fit a standard Himalayan screen in place of your taller power bronze as the standard screen causes a lot of buffet and noise. I am 5ft 10" so if your a similar height you'll probably experience the same as me.
I have a Suzuki Vstrom 1000 and the Himalayan and 70% of the time I ride the Himalayan. Brought it new and now over 17K (miles) on the clock.
As for using oil.....Mine doesn't use a drop. They only use oil when ridden hard!
It's an under square engine so piston speeds will be slightly higher hence the lower red line, I try not to rev mine above 5K, ridden that way and with regular oil and filter changes ( @3K miles) the engine should last a very long time.
I can change the oil and filter (spark plug/ air filter) and do a valve check in less than 1 hour with basic tools at home. Cost just the parts
By comparison my Vstrom needs a major 15K service, a bit more complicated to do and the local dealership said budget for £600 bill....!
I fitted the shorter Powerbronze screen and to be honest, I much prefer it. I really dislike having to look through a screen.
After 1,000 miles I agree with you that they don’t appear to use much oil at all. I can’t remember where I read that they did use a lot.
Really great news to hear about the simplicity of servicing the bike, especially compared to my GS. Although, I’d say it sounds more expensive to service a Vstrom than it does a gs, by a considerable amount too.
Congratulations. Mine is a 2019 model with all the extras you have and I got mine with just under 10k miles on it..
It's great for riding in the winter. It's very confidence inspiring in the wet.
The guy is probably watching this video now & wondering where his £150 is 😆
Cheers Adam, he can carry on wondering 😂 Already finding out how great this machine is. Loving it ❤️💪👍
What a great, cheery video Jack, on a bike that has no pretentions. I love the Himalyan, and look forward to your adventures on it. And what a mega soundtrack, it sounds alive!! Thank you
Thanks Dave. It really is a great little bike 😎👍👍👍
Great review Jack. Lad I ride with has one & loves it, we're doing the Western Isles next year. I'm also toying with the idea of one myself for pottering around the peaks and a few green lanes for similar reasons to yourself.
Cheap and easy to live with, why wouldn’t you? 🤔😉🏍️👍
Take it to the Picos. If an MT03 can take it, I'm sure it'll be a hoot.
True, but no! 🙄😂😂😂
Great to see your enjoying it Jack, new you would love it , there such an underrated bike , and it's surprising how good they are on the rougher stuff, bike comes alive. Get out in Derbyshire with the himilayan offroad group you will absolutely love it highly recommended, Michael Spencer is your man on the himilayan scram page😃
Thanks Jim. Yes you’re right I am loving it and they do come alive on the back lanes 👍👍👍
Hi Jeff,
Great bike, I’m wondering if the previous owner got around to doing the valve adjustments on the engine? Sounds a little rough. Sounds like you like the little bike. Wish you the best with Himalayan. Have a great day.
The valve clearances were done on its first service but I’m planning on doing a service including valves sometime before Christmas as I’m going to have spare time after surgery next month. I’ll try and do a video on that 👍
@@motomogul
Jeff, hope your surgery goes well and you are out riding soon.
Great roads
great little hoot that bike Jack , look forward to seeing more trips on the Himalayan, will the bike get a name 😉👍
Cheers Paul. Wait for the next video 😉👍
Hey, I'm still riding my 2018 himy 👍 great bike i love it, out of all the bikes I've owned in 20 years my himy is the best for me! The coming 450 will be my next bike.... Just not yet!
I can see why, they’re such an engaging bike ❤️👍🏍️
Looks great Jack, ideal for lanes etc, possibly better than lumping the tractor about in certain roads n conditions, 🏍👍👌
Absolutely! So much easier than the Panzer tractor 😂👍
Great video, I was thinking of one as a second bike , you should pick up a few new subscribers as well.
I can recommend as a second bike. A few more subscribers are always welcome too 👍👍👍
Hey buddy new subscriber I have a question as a newly passed DAS rider (ridden smaller bikes for a few years all weathers ) looking for a bike to commute with I would like to know about your opinion of its presence on the road particularly fast roads and motorways although I don’t plan on using it mainly on these kinds of roads (I live in the countryside) it will be part of my commute for probably 15 miles motorway riding . Now I will preface that question with this I have watched many many videos on the himi motorway riding but as yet all people have talked about is the speed and while that is important (max 80 so I’m told) it’s not the be all and end all I think that presence is just as important on the motorways and fast A roads and as someone who rides physically bigger bikes your opinion would be unbiased. can you do a video on this perhaps ? It would be really useful for someone in my position looking to possibly get a himi
Hi, and thanks for subscribing. I haven’t been on any motorways as yet, there aren’t any on my commute, but the bike does have a certain presence on the roads I’ve been on. Not as much as the GS but I’ll be honest, some people just don’t see that coming either.
As you know, much of staying safe on the roads falls to us as riders to try to anticipate the ridiculous lack of good decision making made by motorists. Defensive riding, dominating the lane you are in to prevent inpatient overtaking by those who think they can bully you because you’re smaller and more vulnerable.
I would recommend getting some led auxiliary lights fitted as this (I think) definitely makes an impact and I have noticed a much reduced number of people attempting to pull out on me from side roads.
I will definitely do more videos on the Himmy and (hopefully) remember to include a piece on road presence.
Hope this helps and thanks again for the subscribe 👍
@@motomogul Thankyou buddy I really appreciate it I fully understand your statement of defensive riding and driver presence after riding smaller bikes for sometime and talking with many drivers and onlookers they all pretty much agree that they class my previous rides in the same category as a moped and as such the view is that they must overtake etc at any available opportunity because they feel subconsciously that that’s just what you do regardless of the fact that I’m doing the speed limit I will be interested to see what your conclusions on this are in the future many thabks for your reply I appreciate it see you on the forums 👍P.S my questions ultimately stem from people generally accepting a big bike going slowly as ok but a small bike going slowly as an annoyance I wonder how the public see the Himmi ? Take care
Bargain, great bike for what you want it for👍
Great video, i love my Himalayan. Are you sure its a Carb version? They did make carb versions but I wasn't sure that they were UK bikes. Mine is a 19 plate and has the choke but its fuel injected. Great bike though.
Hitchcock's sell a carb conversion kit. It's a simple bolt on mod, and it's reversible. So while it's unusual, it isn't a major mod - therefore I believe him when he says it's got a carb on it. Note that he didn't say it was the carb model, just that it had a carb.
@@DD-co1zn yes you could be right although I doubt some seventy old who only did 900 miles would have done that. I think most people when they see the choke they automatically think it's got a carb. With today's fuels and the more they increase ethanol I think I'd stick with injection but if he's got the original parts he can change back. Be interesting to find out.
@@OrangeManStan so you reckon it's 20 year olds buying the carb conversion kits ? Get real. It's a simple bolt on mod, plenty simple for anyone who can do basic maintenance - such as a 70 year old who has been riding for 50 odd years.
Dunno why you'd prefer to doubt the desire & basic skills of a senior rider AND doubt that the motovlogger knows what he's talking about.
At the end of the day, Hitchcock's are selling those kits to someone. And they didn't just make them in the first place for shits and giggles.
Also, he never said it was a carb model *because* of the choke.
@@DD-co1zn I'm not doubting anyone's skills or knowledge I'm just curious to know if it really has a carb. What I do doubt is your ability to read someone's curiosity, I'd suggest you lay down and take a break before you do yourself a mischief.
@@OrangeManStan ... Doubt is exactly how you put it. You realise your comments don't just fade out of memory after they've been read ?