Himalayan to adventure touring is like a long distance rider with touring jacket, touring pants, a large waist pouch, all weather gloves and touring boots. It stands there, stares at you with its round headlamps asking you to ride into the horizon beyond that mountain. It’s a much more likeable sight than that of the improvised bikes of which we have seen a multitude of. Unlike the Himalayan, their rider analogue would be wearing a loosely fitting elbow and knee guards, over this long-sleeved T-shirt, jeans and sports shoes – it worked for some, yes, but just wasn’t proper. It didn’t look
or feel right.
The 21-inch front wheel mounted on long travel suspension, along with the 17-inch rear wheel with a mono shock gives the bike a tall stance.
The bike is designed by Harris Performance – the same company which designed the Continental GT. It’s got tons of character with function dominating form, though we wish the finish was a bit better. We can do with less plastic (which might fall off) but we expected better finish – the welding marks on certain sections look shoddy. So while, the fit and finish of the bike might not be immaculate, it looks well built and feels like it will hold up well while tackling the rough terrains of the Himalayas. Exhaust on the right is not exactly pleasing to the eye but it is to the ears. The Himalayan, by design, is a purpose built bike for adventure touring and doesn’t even try to look dapper. It’s singular objective is to be a terrain taming tool, which is light, simple and rugged. It aims to mitigate the damage caused during those falls, and the simple mechanicals lend themselves for easy repair. And it’s only because of this unrelenting focus on its function that the Himalayan manages to have a mystical charm about it, even with its barebones structure. Kudos to RE for executing it with such focus, and not letting it get adulterated with populist elements.
