MotorScribes Magazine - June 2016
MotorScribes Magazine - June 2016
MotorScribes Magazine - June 2016
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Form folowsFunction<br />
InmanywaystheRoyalEnfield Himalayanisaparadoxbutinagood way.Itrepresentsaltheriding inthe<br />
Himalayasoverthepastdecadesandyetitisawholenew directionforthemanufacturer.Thisisamotorcyclethat<br />
looksnothinglikeanythingfrom REthathascomebeforeit–theThunderbirdincluded.Everybitofmetaland<br />
plasticontheHimalayanexistswithaspecificfunctioninmind–ifitdoesn’thaveone,youwon’tfinditonthebike.<br />
Atthispoint,althosewholoveage-oldBritishbikesandthinkthateveryRoyalEnfieldeverwilbejustthatcan<br />
stopreadingfurther–theHimalayan’snew directionisnotforyou.<br />
Fastmotorcyclesneedtobeaerodynamicandthat’swhytheSuzukiHayabusaandtheKawasakiZX-14Rarethe<br />
waytheyare.TheHimalayanneededtoberugged,asexploratoryasamountaingoatandyethavethecapability<br />
tocaryloadsandloadsofluggage.Itneededtotakeafalwithouttoomuchdamage.Itneededtohavethe<br />
capabilitytoalow riderstogetrightbackonthemotorcycleafteraspilandbeabletorideitfar.Itneededtobe<br />
shortenoughfortheaverageIndianheightandyettalenoughtohavegreatgroundclearance.Thedesignbrief<br />
wasfulofparadoxesbutitwashandledwithfinesse.<br />
Theresultantmotorcyclewasspiedmanymonthsagoandthenrenderedbyartistsoverandover.Theresultswere<br />
alitleconfusingandsomedidn’tlikethewayitlooked–meincluded.LikeIsaid–weweren’tpreparedforthe<br />
Himalayan.Onelookatthemotorcycleinthefleshandyourealisehow capablethismachineisgoingtobe.The<br />
practicalityofitalisoverwhelming–thiscouldonlybeaproductfrom acompanythathasaleadershipwhich<br />
understandsmotorcyclesnotbyreadingaboutthem inbooksandmagazinesbutbyactualygoingoutthereand<br />
ridingthem intheconditionsthey’remeantfor.RoyalEnfield’sdesignteam needstogopartylikeneverbefore<br />
becausethemotorcyclethey’vegivenusistrulyextraordinary.<br />
Mostregularpeoplestayawayfrom adventuretourers(despitethem beingextremelypracticalindailyriding<br />
conditions)mainlybecausethey’retoobigandbulky–intimidatingeven.WhatifI’m tooshortandmyfeetdon’t<br />
reachwhentheyneedto?WhatifIdropit?Thenthere’stheenginecapacityaswel–mostofthesebikeshaveno<br />
lessthan800ccwhichcouldbeawholelotofpowerforsomeonewhowantstostartofwiththebusinessof<br />
adventuretouringbutdoesn’twanttobewheel-spinningalthetime.Yep,someofthesemachinescomewith<br />
tractioncontroltoavoidjustthatbutthenthepricetaggoesnorthandtheridergoesnowhere.Thereexisteda<br />
specificneedforamiddle-weighttourerthatcouldansweralthesequestionsandyetbelightonthepocket.It<br />
neededtolooktheparttooandtheHimalayandoesthatextremelywel.<br />
ThisRoyalEnfieldiscomfortingtolookat–itinvitesyoutohoponandhaveago.Onceyou’reon,itamazesyou<br />
withhow litleefortittakestogetusedtowherealthecontrolsareandhow easyitistoride.TheHimalayanisa<br />
visualandergonomicsuccessaswel–therehasbeennoothermotorcycleIhaveeverriddenthatdidn’tgiveme<br />
evenahintofbutpainalthewhilethatIwasridingit.Itletsyoustanduponthefootpegsasnaturalyasstanding<br />
upfrom achairwithoutfeelinglikeyou’resobentforwardthatyou’lgetthrownofoverthehandlebarsthe<br />
momentyouhitabump.Thefueltankislargeenoughtotakeyoutofaroutplacesandifthatisn’tenoughyou<br />
couldatachauxiliarycansonthefrontframe.Ofcourseyou’vegottheprovisionforhardcasepanniersoneither<br />
sideontherearaswelasanadditionalrackbehind thepilionseat.ThewayIseeit,mostpeoplewhoget<br />
themselvesaHimalayanshouldgotheextradistanceandgettheluggageatachmentstoo–it’lbewelworthit.<br />
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