Project Himalayan - Suspension Upgrade
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- An update on the Euro 4 Himalayan that I've had for a few years and have fitted the Cooperb lift kit to. Cam installation to follow;
Installation video
• Project Himalayan - fi...
www.ebay.co.uk...
Link to installation to follow soon.
I like your no bullshit, honest reviews. I bought my boy the Himalayan, his first bike, based on your opinions, I've been following you since you jumped on Dorothy and went for it.
He loves it, we just did a week on the Alps, wild camping, father and son, Himalayan and bullet, happy days in snow and rain, wolf's in the camp , I kid you not !
I'm following this as he's heading off to Africa on it, you've got a lot to answer for !, and I think he could use a few upgrades, I've ridden it, not my bag , I love my bullet, old school,.old man !
Do you remember you sent him lots of information on your adventures when he was just a small boy, way back before you did Dorothy's garage ?, he had no licence but big dreams , You and I planted a seed.
Apparently, according to his mother, you and I are in the same dog house 😆
Thanks Nathan, I'll let you know how he gets on in Africa living his dream of coastal management and natural resources in a small fishing village, on a Himalayan !
He has just finished his bachelor and is off to Iceland for his master, then it's Africa.
He dreams bigger than me and I'm a big dreamer !
Looking forward to meeting you one day.
All the best
Love this!
nobody really cares about "your boy"
@@emanuele8226 You're actually a twat. If you've got nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. Evidently, Mandem909 appreciated the comment, and I did as well.
I hope your son's having an incredible time in Africa!
Always the same with you Nathan. Good, sound, reasonable common sense. A rare commodity with motorcycles! Thanks, Les
For me, and I would suspect many others, far better to go off the beaten track with this than the heavyweight stuff.
I'm not that extreme anyway.
But for those that are and their 250kg bikes are holding them back, surely this would be a good way to go.
I wonder if it's an ego thing?
Personally I see no shame in riding a smaller bike. Or old one. Or Chinese based one. We're all bikers, aren't we?
Safe,happy travels 👍
Yeah definitely. I know I wouldn't go down those kind of tracks solo on a 250 kilo bike. I feel pretty safe with something in this class
From what I gather, the heavies are mostly used as touring bikes, one guy I talked to on an experience day said that much, his own was an Africa twin but he had a 250cc dual sport for lane riding.
Another great real world appraisal of the bike and the benefits and possible drawbacks of fitting 'extras'. I had Cooperb fit my Cam well over 8,000 miles ago now iirc. I don't really off road on mine - more the greasy grass in the middle lanes of the Staffordshire moorlands Staffordshire Peak district and Derbyshire Peak district. I found the cam a good improvement for my kind of riding. Also the B and A roads it really does make a difference for overtakes and maintaining speed. Just cleaned mine and apart from some paint off the front forks I need to take them out over the winter to grease the head bearings and change the fork oil not essential but nice to do to keep it sorted. I'll paint them up then. Great great bike and Interesting to see you still have yours Nathan - you need to let us know what you kept from the change of direction re the speed shop ? Keep em coming !
I’m running a TEC cam and nothing more, yes a little more power but the main thing for me is not that it is more the smoother power curve it’s highly noticeable and so much more useable. I could only describe my acceleration as a wave sensation and surge sensation but now it is a fluid smooth curve. I can compare it to having more an engine remap than mechanical, I will be very interested in hearing how you get on there Nathan 👍🏽
Nice balanced view of upgrades as always, much appreciated. RUTS - basically i found that trying to ride out of the rut always ends badly. i stick with it all the way but use weight on the foot pegs to stay in the middle of the rut (shift body weight left and right also) dont try and steer with the bars, it comes naturally once you have face planted a few dozen times ;)
This is an interesting one, three of us have second hand Himalayan's. Brothers is Euro 5 totally standard. Mine is Euro 4 with the Lextec exhaust can and other friend has a Euro 4 with standard exhaust but supposedly the Tec Cam fitted. On a top gear 50mph roll on mine pulled away every time plus on a through the gears up hill it was the same. Brother and other bike were identical. Tec cam bike and mine we installed the DNA filter and there was no real world difference. I removed my Lextec can and went back to standard, we couldn't believe it but all three bikes were identical for all tests including top speed. As you can imagine we are wondering if the Tec cam is fitted but the seller gave the original cam with the purchase and seemed like an honest person. I suppose this brings me back to what Nathan is saying, you tend to be chasing shadows although the can made a reasonable gain which surprised us all 👍
Really interesting that. There's definitely money to be made in selling magic beans for the Himalayan. I remember bill Cairns doing a Dyno run on his lextec exhausted bike when they first came out and it'd actually lost power!
@@nathanthepostman agreed- my mods after 1 week of ownership - remove wind buffeter screen, cut 1 inch off the sidestand, take off all the exhaust tinware shields, reposition the spotlights (which were fixed to the fork bottom legs ??) convenient fixing holes now i have ditched the screen, total cost nil. loving the bike btw
@@nathanthepostman they are strange and quirky which gives them their character. Like you say Nathan take them as they are and they're great fun usable bikes.
Cheers for the update Nathan. I’ve still got the itch for a Himalayan.
Good video, and your usual antics on the trail :-) After I got back from our Skye adventure my Himmy was just over 15K miles, so i dropped it into Cooperb, and as well as servicing it and putting a new rear tyre on (the rear K60 was knackered by the end of the trip) I also had them fit a hagon shock, custom built for my weight. I had always got on ok with the stock rear suspension, but the bottom of the shock was so badly corroded, that I was getting worried about it. I also have preload adjusters fitted to the front, rather than than the fork inserts, which has firmed up the front just a bit. Helps with on-road manners as well. Still ride my Himalayan more than my other bikes, but once Spring comes along I suspect I will start to use my new (to me) Interceptor too. And if we do another long tour, I'll probably take that 🙂
Nathan you’re ‘The Doctor’ you know these bikes and get under the skin
Enjoyed the commentary riding the climb and ruts educated and useful Thanks !
Nice video Nathan, I have chosen option two for my Himalayan, it is not a perfect bike but for what I want it is pretty good, I fitted a DNA filter and a booster plug to help low rpm running, that has given it a smoother idle, I carried out a 6000 mile service recently, as I had the front forks off to change the oil (both fork oil levels were low - from the factory) I fitted Hyperpro progressive springs ( about £100) and replenished with the correct level of Silkolene fork oil, this made the front end much better.
I made the very expensive mistake of trying to make an Interceptor something it wasn't, best to know the limitations of Royal Enfields and enjoy the good bits, I think that the Himalayan is a good all rounder. Thanks for the update, Tim
Really helpful video, being a Himalayan owner, and novice greenlaner, these videos are a great help.
Thanks Nathan.
Nathan talks so well, man in the street tech.
Re ooomph and low-mid range torque.
I would imagine the best engine mod would be Hitchcock's 460 big bore kit.
Add on that cam for a bit extra top end and it might just become a perfect real world (30 bhp?) motor.
TranceRider73 loves his Himalayan's YSS fork suspension upgrade to progressive dampers ("PDs") ,
and so did James "Slick" England on his Interceptor. But James went a step further and drilled out
the damper rods so that all damping was controlled by the PDs - and he LOVED the results even more!
(See "Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. Damper drill. My verdict"). Maybe worth a try on a Himalayan?
As usual, no egotistical BS, just the straight dope. More for the algo than consumption, your regulars know where you at.
I had Cooperb fit their suspension/lift kit. Bought for the ground clearance, but the hagon rear shock rides nicely… coped with way too much gear that I brought on the Garbage Run. 😂😂😂
Yeah I think for a couple of hours labour it's probably worth letting the dealer do it, unless you've obviously got the time and tools.
Absolutely brilliant video as always Nathan propper bit of kit the Himalayan :) got to love a Longstroke engine and it's characteristic, it reminds me a bit of the Nortons listening about the suspension as those have brilliant suspension that works well as an overall package with the chassis design. Keep up the awesome work 👏
Great video against, cheers.. Put me out of my misery and let me know when the cam video is coming, so I can decide weather to fit one or not whilst the weather is so shite. 👍
I would never trade off low-down torque for more go higher up.
I’m so torn between buying a Himalayan and a CRF300 Rally. My off roading will be mostly gravel roads and farm roads in the U.S. I love the look and character of the Himi 😎
I do have a video to upload comparing the two. For what you plan on doing with it I think either will do the job
@@nathanthepostman thank you! I look forward to the video!
the rally would be wasted on that terrain imho, the himmy is much more versatile, and customisable, (`old man ronin` is also good US channel on the himmy)
Been looking forward to this
Hello Nathan, I'm still dithering. I bet you are fed-up answering this question, but do you think it is worth waiting for the Himalayan 450 to come out or buy the present Himalayan? I think you said on one of your videos that the 450 might change the character of the bike. My international journeying so far has meant riding from home (York) or hiring once there (off to cross Australia soon on a hired bike). But, in the future I want to transport my own bike maybe to the Caucuses and then ride back. Himalayan or Honda 300 rally? Your video on this question was very helpful; Itchy Boots prefers the Honda now)
Best wishes, Peter
No worries Peter. I personally would never wait for a bike that's not been shown in production ready form at a bike show yet. Life's too short. It might not be out for another 12-18 months. That's a lot of riding time missed. Just buy the Himalayan and wait and see what happens. I personally think the Himalayan would be better for that trip than the CRF but mine and Itchy Boots thoughts are only opinions based on our own experiences. You just got to ask yourself what you want from the bike and what you're going to do with it and take a punt on which you think is going to do the job the best for you. But 100%, they'll both do that trip no problems.
Thank you as always Nathan!
Great video again mate. On one video from India I saw a guy riding down a steep track and he had flicked the kill switch off and controlled his descent with his engine off and using the clutch and gears. Have you ever seen or tried that method.
I would personally say that that approach is a good recovery technique, if you're riding out of a bad situation or the trail is so steep that the brakes aren't holding it. Engine off, in gear, clutch out does give great retardation, it's how I get the bikes out on the van on the slippy ramp. But in typical riding conditions I would probably stick with a soft rear brake input, low gear and some front brake. I do sometimes have customers who get a bit ifreaked out by downhil descents and I will sometimes suggest turning the engine off and just coming down on the brakes as that makes one less thing to think about. I think the best thing for any riders to have as many tools and techniques as possible and apply the one that suits the conditions most. So definitely useful to know of the engine off, clutch out technique
Better to wait for the Himalayan 450 to come out!
More decent straight up stuff! I find the same with throttle on my 250rally, as it's got such a soft roll on it seems easier sometimes to let the engine pick it up instead of more revs through the clutch. Good to hear common sense about it, ta! Although having ridden a Himalayan it's better at chugging you through, the honda wants to rev more, maybe a sprocket change would help...
Yeah I found on the 250 rally I had up the same lane as on that video I did have to work the clutch a bit. The 300 has better gearing for slow speed climbing and I did have a smaller sprocket to go on the 250 before I sold which I think would have helped, but yeah, such an easy bike to ride that 250!
@@nathanthepostman Yeah after experimenting on trail with f650 twin the 250 was what i needed! Several have mentioned the smaller sprocket, not sure my riding is there yet & wonder if it would affect road use too much, quite a few miles to cover from west mids to Shropshire & Welsh lanes... one for consideration at some point
Hi Nathan I have recently bought a 2020 Himalayan and my son has a 2022 Himalayan we like them because they are very confidence inspiring off-road. Could you please do a video or comment on your highest mileage Himalayan how many miles on each of your Himalayans and what has gone wrong with them reliability etc and what models you have had. I used to have a DR650 which I regret selling and one thing I liked about it was it had a carby and I felt I could fix it on the side of the road if I needed to apart from the relays are there any other issues with the fuel injection you need to worry about. I live in Perth Australia and would like to do some long trips on it.
Thanks Peter
Great informative video thanks
Still got my 2019 Himalayan, been looking at klr or triumphs but probably hang onto the RE mainly cause it's a shame to resale & what people feel their worth vs the actual worth and potential
I hate ruts ,,if atall possible I will ride down the center,, Nathan ,,I have allround YSS ,,I really did not like the stock set up.. but really I did not know what I was doing and ended up with some super stiff fronts ,its being about 10 months and I,v kindof got use to them,,maybe next year I,ll get the garage to look at them,,,the backs ok.. I have the tec cam and have come to like it,,Now I fancy getting the big bore kit,,,yeah I know REs coming out with a 40hp but that does not interest me... How about doing a decat vid??? oh yeah you arae right about swopping that rear shock what a faff..... bet when you got home you enjoyed a nice cup of tea(or summit stronger)
Hi Nathan, you said that if you arent a hefty person or don't need the ground clearance for rocks, than its better to just play with the preload instead. I was wondering if this upgraded suspension would allow you to travel fairly easy trails at higher speeds without bottoming out?
Is it the TEC cam or Hitchcocks one? I believe they’re different.
Its the Tec cam one
tec cams are STILL unavailable last i looked,
Great Job with the suspension! I’m looking to buy this bike and one of the upgrades I’m looking for is the suspension. I couldn’t get the name of the kit you use to lift the bike. Can you share it again?
Nice video Nathan I am looking to get a new rear tyre what do you recommend. I use bike mostly down the Cornish lanes in all weathers plus few green lanes. With the odd long trip cheers bud.
What bike is that on Pete? The GS?
@@nathanthepostman sorry Himalayan 2019
It has continental more of an off road tyre that came with bike. I would like perhaps not such an aggressive rear
Good stuff, tnx
What batt would you fit.
Went to go to work this morning didn't start with the cold?
Ffs.
Great Video Nathan, thanks. Views on Mitas E07 Dakar tyres?
They're alright. Good in that they last a long time, decent grip on the road, alright on dryer trails, but difficult to get on and off and not that grippy in mud. So good if you want to do a lot of miles on road and easy dirt, not so good if you want them for UK trails, and certainly not if you get a puncture!
@@nathanthepostman Cheers. I'm in Tasmania so somewhat similar trails.
I own the himalayan for allmost three years and did a lot of offroad The TET in multiple countries...
Could you do this climb with full luggage aswell because thats when you have to feel a big difference right?
Did you find that the Hagan shock made the rear a bit more plush? I have a 23 SCRAM and the stock Suspension is like a fucking brick
Footpeg rubbers on or off Nathan? 🤔
Oh yeah most definitely off
Suspension on the Himalayan is just absolutely awful. Its hard to believe that a new bike can be delivered with such garbage. It barely handles bumps on paved roads. I've got a moped from 1988 with way superior suspension. Extremely disappointing.