2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term 8 — The Royal Enfield Himalayan is a tall boy in the Indian market and it does have its own perks

Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term Review

The Royal Enfield Himalayan still stays true to be one of the most comfortable motorcycles for two-up riding

This is for the first time the Royal Enfield Himalayan has been a part of our long term fleet. After lots and lots of minute changes, the Himalayan in its 2021 avatar has been the most impressive while our long term Himalayan is in the Mirage Silver shade and it is one of the most affordable colour options too. What I really like the most about this colour are the contrasting dark brown leather seats that come as standard.

2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term 23 — Dark brown leather seats do stand out on the Royal Enfield Himalayan

The first major difference on the new Himalayan is the tripper meter and it works so well. However, the placement of it seems to be an afterthought while the connecting wire is also exposed. But we experienced the same on the Meteor and it works flawlessly on the Himalayan too. It does require the RE app and one has to change the phone battery settings for continuous connectivity. But it still does not consume too much battery unless being used for over 4 hours.

2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term 22 — The new visor is much more stable while the tripper meter does help for last-mile directions

The second noticeable change is the tuning of the engine. The heart of the matter is now a lot different. One would not notice the difference with just a quick ride but we have already completed over 1200 km and we have a BS4 Himalayan owner in our team too. The 411cc motor now has a meatier mid-range while the low-end torque has been compromised a little. Technically the powerband has been shifted higher on the rev band making it much more suitable for touring duties.

2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term 35 — Meatier mid-range helps for lifting a wheel easily now

Excellent ride quality and the torquey engine suited for highway duties makes it a perfect long-distance touring motorcycle

However, due to this, the fueling is changed and since less liquid goes into the engine at lower RPMs it does heat up a bit much in traffic conditions. The oil cooler does try to do its job well but then again it requires external air as there’s no fan to it. Hence the engine does live up to the expectations while riding on open roads while it feels a bit out of place in heavy traffic situations. The mileage on the other hand has become consistent. Be it heavy traffic or open roads, we have got between 31 – 34 km/l which is a good number.

2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term 30 — Roads or no-roads the Himalayan is just fun!

The third change which is actually useful is the luggage plate on the new grab rail design. It has a mentioned load-carrying capacity of just 7 kgs but it can take in well over it. There is however an issue that we had faced, the edge of the plate does bother a little to the pillion as it hurts sometimes. I noticed this when I was riding pillion from Mumbai to Pune and as I start searching to rest my lower back onto the grabrail area, the plate hurts. Good thing is, it can be removed if not in use and you would have a pillion more often.

2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term 21 — The link-type monoshock has understood its assignment really well

The suspension setup is excellent and the chassis is now one can definitely trust as it won’t split in half. The sturdiness is there and the overall setup is made for two-up riding. If the road required a decent amount of suspension travel is works well while there are times on open straight roads while riding solo, the rear suspension has a bit of a jarring effect. The stock setting is a little hard as it gives a lot of feedback to the riding if he or she isn’t over 80 kgs. As I ride mostly solo, the best way to tackle that is adjusting the rear monoshock to one level softer and it becomes marvellous. If the road requires a decent amount of suspension travel is works well.

2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term 39 — Jumping around and splashing water is just another home for the Himalayan

The Himalayan has been around for over half a decade now with a break in between for almost a year and since then the update has been worth it. The motorcycle looks almost the same as its first iteration but then a different motorcycle from Royal Enfield did stick around. After the BS6 update, almost 6 of my friends bought it. While after the 2021 update with the Tripper meter there are about 5 more bikes that have come in the group. The purpose that the Himalayan is made for is to go the distance with or without any roads and it does it well.

2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan Long Term 19 — Braking feedback isn’t the strongest but improves with better feedback upon time

The Himalayan is suited for almost all kinds of riders but the heavy ones like it a lot. Even for a tall pillion, the rear footpeg isn’t too close, it is damn comfortable and doesn’t feel cramped at all. There was a time when the Himalayan used to start from Rs. 1.85 lakhs on-road Mumbai while the current generation starts from almost 2.6 lakhs on-road. The price hike is quite a bit but it seems justified with the way the Himalayan has improved. Right now as I complete this article I am heading on a road trip, just because everyone has been stepping out and I am having a fear of missing out!