Rant about how much I hate the new Himalayan
I went and test drove (past tense?) the new Himalayan, and I am so sad that they took away the instruments. What am I supposed to do if I can't get signal and need to navigate? It's not always sunny and I can't always know the specific trail I need to follow, what am I supposed to do? I am extra disappointed that they made a phone app for navigation, because of course my phone won't last that long when the navigation is turned on, and so it's good they added a charging port because it's just my battery anyway, it's not like I was using it or anything. And that this whole instrument cluster-multi-button mid-ride fingering simulator they have your left hand doing is just despicable.
Credit where it's due, vibrations are pretty low. Guess that's perfect because the seat is that perfect level of annoying, where if I stand up once I will always sit on the space between rider and pillion seat. And this whole canted-forwards sitting posture that I most definitely didn't have on the old Himalayan, I unreservedly hate it. The old Himalayan made me feel like I was riding a horse. The new one is how I'd imagine riding a mutant-hybrid cross between a sportbike and a mule.
And if you're going to move the footpegs closer in like a sportbike, could you at least give me decent mirrors that don't wobble? I like my meteor 350, I like how it sits, and I definitely am not going to sacrifice my posture for this sub-par a motorcycle.
Obligatory complaints about the weight and handling but at this point my heart isn't in this anymore. I think the scram is good, but it's overpriced for its features (or lack thereof). I feel bad thinking that the Royal Enfield I knew and loved is slowly getting more marketed and commercialized. What was the point of a review video, handing the bike to Itchy Boots, and all the other PR overhype, if the bike was gonna end up like this?
Sherpa engine, sherpa engine. It's good for low end torque, did well on the low end, but why in the world was ride by wire necessary? I don't feel like it's even doing anything. I know the ideal ride by wire is supposed to be a literal nothing, and if you're able to feel it working then it's not working right. But it feels more like an air layer, and it's thin enough to make me feel like some delay is there in my inputs.
I am mostly sure I am not the target buyer, because if I were, I'm certainly not buying it. Maybe I'm biased. But this bike, after this much hype, should not have disappointed this many people. I have seen exactly zero new himalayans in my area, and I can't even buy an old Himalayan because they're all out of stock. I'm checking other bikes, and the speed and scrambler 400 from Triumph have better power control, same-ish posture but better standing up posture, bar end mirrors THAT DON'T WOBBLE, and a nice instrument cluster that doesn't keep a reserve in the fuel tank. Because there is nothing more annoying than not knowing my mileage, and not being able to calculate my mileage, because the fuel reserve resets every time I get off the bike.
I'm too disappointed to think. I need coffee. I'm sorry.
Edit: I am not entirely anti-electronics, or anti-improvements. I just believe we aren't getting enough in the tradeoff when removing the things RE is known for, in this new range of bikes.
I want ABS. I don't want to switch it by pressing six different buttons while driving, and I don't want to have to stop driving to switch it.
I want ride by wire. But this Himalayan ride by wire is just going to give the same throttle response on all gears, instead of doing what the speed 400 does (it makes it a bit harder to reach high revs on gear 1-2, so you're less likely to accidentally accelerate if you panic-grab the front brake. Just a 45 degree of rotation and it revs properly on lower gears.)
I want navigation. But not at the cost of having a fully electric display. I already have a phone to navigate, I don't need to see my phone reflected in my speedometer. And sure, you can charge a phone on the bike, but either you need an extra long cable so the charger can reach your phone, or you need to mount your phone, in which case you're already capable of using navigation on your phone!
I want a fuel meter display, and a reserve would be nice, but the way RE has implemented it is absolutely horrible. I'd rather have no reserve and accurately know how much fuel I'm spending.
I want to be able to reset indicators by pressing the middle switch. But RE bikes consistently screw up the mechanism and it dies off quickly.
I want low vibrations. But never as a selling point! Low vibrations and rider comfort should be a given, at this price point.
