Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 Review | A New Benchmark for Small ADV Bikes ?

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 - at $5,799 US - is affordable, beginner friendly, offers great performance on and off road, has a low seat height, a smooth engine, great electronics, great suspension, and is my favorite motorcycle of 2024, and the best small adventure bike I've ever ridden. How does it compare to bikes like the CFMOTO 450MT, Ibex 450, KLR650, DR650, KTM 390 Adventure, BMW G310GS, Honda CRF300L Rally, Honda CB500X or NX500, and others? #motorcycle #advbike #royalenfieldhimalayan #adv @royalenfield

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00:00 Intro
01:35 Specs
06:48 First Ride
08:27 The Company
10:05 Accessories
11:41 Performance
13:22 Key Features
18:07 Drop Test
19:14 Off Road
20:45 Maintenance
24:09 Off Road 2
28:30 Off Road ABS
29:03 Comparisons
32:22 Muddy Adventure
36:03 Sport Ride
37:50 Dorks Opinion
39:05 Final Thoughts ---
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[BigRockMoto]

MSRP for the Himalayan 450 in the USA starts at just $5, 799 for the Kaza Brown (a crazy value), and add a few hundred dollars for the other colors. I genuinely feel this is my favorite bike of 2024. Would you buy a Royal Enfield Himalayan? Why or why not?

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[Hari-nhpr]

“This is the bike that lets you forget about the bike and just enjoy adventure riding” you sold me a Himalayan, my good sir

[erictavares]

We want inexpensive, capable bikes. Not complicated. (We have to put in $2k-$3k to make most of these bikes true ADVs anyway) Sounds like RE got the message. Thanks for the review Ian!

[BasecampNorth]

Coming from years on GS and KTM, I have now ridden the new Himalayan for 3 months. It’s an absolute joy and a great motorcycle.

[nwpia]

" My advice, learn how to do the maintenance yourself ". I love that!

[theutgardianchannel]

The himalayan is cheaper by at least $2000 usd here in colombia cause Royal Enfield actually cares about us and build an assembly line here, cutting costs. It's a no brainer here.

[elRugiu]

I'm an absolute noob about motorcycling, and I'm a really happy owner of a himalayan 450. It's my very first bike, and I've done with it 2000km in approximately a month. In my opinion it feels easy on every terrain, it's stable, forgiving and transimts a nice reassuring sensation, yet it's playful and I felt quite confident going on some easy off-road sections during my trips...I'm now on a vacation in Sardinia with the Himmy, and had to go through sand with stock tires multiple times: I have to admit it's not been the simplest task for me, but I still managed to not fall over...more than twice. 🤣
Speaking of that, picking up the bike is definetely easy (I only had slight issues whith the bike fully loaded with luggage and the passenger bars not easily accessible).
My only complaints until now are all about connectivity and engine maps switching: the connectivity with my android phone is crap, the app crashes whenever I try to mirror the navigation on the TFT... I'm in contact with RE's support service, we'll see if they manage to fix this bug.
The second issue is that sometimes I found not possible to change "dinamically" the engine map or ABS setting for the same map, but instead I had to fully restart the motorcycle. I think this is a software issue that maybe will be fixed with new releases of the firmware..it's a little bit annoying when happens, but it is a minor detail in my opinion, cause 99% of the time I stick to the performance with full ABS, that is the default setting that sets automatically when starting the motorcycle.
I bought it based on aestetics, reviews that depicted it as an easy entry level motorcycle with potential to do long trips and some off-road, and (very important) the fuel consuption. I've done like 30 km/l average since i've bought it, less than my 125cc scooter.
Overall, I totally agree with your review (but I can't relate for the comparison part not having any experience with other motorcycles at all), and I'm super happy with it. 😁

[TerraMagnus]

Our friends in India have become trend setters. Helping remind the rest of us what motorcycles are about.

[SuryaPratapSingh-hs]

I purchased this bike after your review…..your reviews are so detailed and on point….this bike is simply amazing overall

[RustyShackleford-iv]

Ive bought two Enfields in as many years and now it looks like I need a third.

[osimnod]

Both Itchy Boots and Adam Riemann - opposite ends of the hard riding spectrum - have ridden this in higher elevations in India and they sing its praises, too. Sure seems like a capable, approachable, affordable ADV rig.

[jslagle]

I impulsively put down a deposit on a first batch preorder at the last min. I was gambling on it being a replacement for my now retired high mileage 99 BMW F650 classic. After your review I am confident I made a smart choice. I respect your opinion and support your channel by watching every video at least twice. Thanks again for all your do

[johnfribbish]

I had the good fortune of riding a tour in the Himalayan’s this summer and used the new RE Himalayan for 1500 kms. Loved it. I have BMW g310 gs and a Harley PanAmerica at home. The new Himalayan definitely has me thinking of replacing my gs. And if anyone wants to do a trip in the Himalayans, I can say the tour company I went with, Motorbike Expeditions were fantastic and very reasonably priced.

[theowerle]

I got a 22 KTM 1290 Adv R, that thing is expensive and a monster for a BDR or offroad yourself, you can easily break a leg if that falls on top of you. So im on the market for a smaller bike, i got a kawa xlr300 and that thing was a toy, horrible in the road, sold it two weeks after. I believe this type of middle weight bike is what WE adv big bike riders need. Great review as usual and Im glad that there is someone out there that dont enjoy the 300rally as well and talk about it without fear. Thx

[billsmotrilla]

You do the most thorough and relevant ADV bikes than anyone else on the Tube. Thank you for what you do and for another awesome review.

[drsgopi]

rode the new Himalayan 450 in the Himalayan ranges, Leh, to Khardungla pass and around in June 2024...such an awesome bike for those terrains and beyond.. almost perfect, a bit more torque would have been nicer...hands down the best in the class.. the brake light delete is not an issue, the turn signals function as brake lights very well and looks unique..the headlights are good.. minor vibrations at higher revs... brings back the joy to motorcycling..

[XNR]

best motorcycle reviewer - youtuber, i wanted this bike because of its single cylinder low maintance costs and realibility reputation of RE but didnt have an authorized service in my area, Ian's nerdy laughs is the cherry on top, they assuring you the bike is good and fun

[DF-sqmw]

Fantastic ride impression review Ian!

Your OCD level of detail sets the standard for bike reviews, in my view.

Love the fact that you include ‘Dork’s’ thoughts as well …love the snippets of Moto journalist comradeship!

I also appreciate the sincere reality that doesn’t edit out the occasional drop …which reveals confident humility.

It was cool that you ‘circled back’ commenting about certain aspects for the BEST off-road ride quality, and noted the lighter CRF 300 …integrity wasn’t overwhelmed by new release enthusiasm.

The additional effort you put into just a preliminary review …is evidenced by the comparison chart you created.

The rare caveat expressed and on-screen text edits, again …show the exceptional comprehensiveness of your work.

Excellent coverage! You and Rob Dabney of ‘Adv Pulse’ are my favorite Moto-journalists whom lead the pack.

[JeffHunter-pm]

I have a 2022 CRF 300L Rally, and just purchased a 2025 Himalayan 450. It's such a great bike and scratches the itches that the Honda cannot scratch (highway riding, winding roads). I could get rid of the Honda since the Himalayan is so good off road, but I love it too much. I love them both equally! If you're thinking about a Himalayan 450, GET IT.

[ndrew]

Bet everyone that bought one last year is thrilled 😅