At the time of writing (and bike purchase) the record for the number of Everest ascents by a non-Sherpa is 17, held by a British chap named Kenton Cool. Given this connection with the Himalayans it seemed a fitting tribute that my Himalayan be named Kenton.

Kenton was purchased from motorbikes4all in July 2024. I was looking to replace my aging Triumph Sprint ST 1050 that I had owned for 10 years. This bike itself was 19 years old and having been used for commuting all year round was showing signs of its age. It was a bit tatty and needed some work doing to it.

I also have a Kawasaki H2 SX SE, named Wasabi in the garage so my sports touring and high speed needs were sorted. I wanted something different and had been considering anything other than a sport tourer or a cruiser. My wife has a Kawasaki Z650 and when I ride that it’s great fun and feels super light and nippy compared with my bikes. I just didn’t know what. I started looking at Triumph Scramblers and Tigers but the prices were much higher than I wanted to pay. Maybe a Versys 650. Definitely not a GS, although I am probably in peak GS rider territory. I just dislike the whole image associated with the bikes.

For whatever reason I happened upon the Royal Enfield website, possibly after watching a Freddie Dobbs video where he was on a Scram411 in the Lithuanian forests. I used their website to configure a couple of models and ended up with three I liked the look of – Scram 411, Shot Gun 650 and Continental 650. However not knowing much about them I needed to see if they were physically big enough for me.

By chance there was a dealership not too far away in Malvern so I went and had a look the next day.

Motorbikes4all are no longer a Royal Enfield dealership but they do have some new unregistered bikes in stock. I first sat on an Interceptor 650 and was surprised at how big it was – perfect. Unfortunately this one was a bit too ‘chromed’ for my liking – it would forever need polishing which is not ideal for a commuter bike. They had some black ones without the chrome but next them was a Himalayan 411. I sat on that was straight away loved the feel of it. A brand new unregistered bike on the road with a year’s tax, delivered to my home was £4099! That was less than he deposit I put down for Wasabi. They had a handful in stock – a pine green one, a glacier blue one that I was sat on, a dune brown one and three sleet black ones.

When I mentioned the only thing stopping me from buying there and then was the lack of space until I get rid of the Sprint, we agreed a £900 trade-in for it and they would collect at the same time as delivering the Himalayan. Perfect. I opted for sleet black and slapped a £200 deposit down.

Delivery and initial rides

Kenton was delivered on a Saturday morning. I spent a couple of hours fitting some accessories I had picked up from Hitchcocks the previous day as well as liberally coating the bike with ACF-50, using a paintbrush to spread it on. Eventually I was done and took him out for a spin and to fill up with fuel. 11.5 litres later and with a full tank I took to the country lanes and despite the need to stick to below 39mph for the initial 300 miles I had the most fun I’ve had riding in a long time. I put 25 miles on, took a few photos and enjoyed every single moment.

Since I hadn’t test ridden a Himalayan previously I had no idea what to expect and I have to say I was impressed with the ride. It was all very smooth and although I found myself in too high a gear a couple of timesce I’d got used to the gearing and speed the throttle response was fine and it felt like I was moving quicker than I was. The suspension was incredibly soft but never ground out and the ride felt pretty cushioned. I have since put an action camera near the front wheel and you can see the forks working continually. The riding position is sit up and beg and very different to what I was used to. Kenton felt very balanced though and even on the standard CEAT tyres it all felt great and I never worried about taking any of the sharp bends or travelling over loose gravel.

One thing that struck me was the gearing, particularly in first. It felt like I could remain in control whilst being almost stationary. The front brake was nothing to write home about but I had seen various YouTube videos mentioning this so was prepared.

The only two negatives were the ride height- I could do with the seat being a bit higher and I notice that the screen seems to create a lot of noise if I ride with my visor up. In the scheme of things these are manageable though. Also that crash helmet, an Arai Debut V is noisy anyway. I’ve also noticed if I’m riding for 40 minutes or more I feel a bit sore from the seat, probably due to the lack of cushioning.

The following day me and my wife rode on the back roads to Worcester to visit her dad and we rode back via the National Trust place at Croome Court where we enjoyed a couple of coffees and a pasty each. Again Kenton didn’t miss a beat and seemed perfectly adequate on those minor roads.

I started commuting on Kenton and was initially a bit concerned about the top speed. I normally go down the M5 for a couple of junctions but that wouldn’t be an option. Instead I found a route that avoided any faster roads where possible. `I ended up crossing the M5 five times on the way and it took me 56 minutes compared with the normal time of 25, but it was great fun on the narrow roads and not much traffic either.

The next time I fill up I had ridden 206 miles on the first tank which equated to 93.1 mpg, which I was very happy with!

Bikers’ Nite – Lower Lode

This evening I went to the BikersNite meet at Lower Lode since it was pretty much on the way home. Mark on his 1250 GS came with me and we took the now familiar back roads towards Tewkesbury. The only time I noticed a lack of power and this is likely to do with the bike still being run in was also the NSL sections after Mythe Bridge. Once off the main road and along the narrow lanes to the pub though, Kenton was excellent. We arrived in good time and managed to park up in a pretty accessible place.

I found later on Facebook that Kenton was even picked out by a photographer or two

Based on this photo someone commented “BIKE magazine has voted this the top used buy of 2024. Easy to see why judging by this review written by an owner”

https://bikemeet.net/royal-enfield-himalayan-rugged-simple-affordable-what-is-not-to-like/

How cool!

Kenton’s lack of power combined with running the engine in caused a bit of a headache on the way home from the meet. Normally I come along the A38 from Tewkesbury which means as I hit the hill just outside the town I’m on a bit of a run up. This time though I was turning left out of a T-junction immediately before the hill! Needless to say I didn’t break any speed records as I climbed slowly uphill…

Initial Service

The initial service due at 300 miles was completed on 22-JUL-24 with 341 miles on the clock. I had reached 292 miles with the ride to the garage accounting for a further 9 miles but on the day before the service was due I opened the garage door and decided there and then to use Kenton for getting to work, thus adding an extra 40 miles. On the ride into the office the tachometer reached 300 miles and from that point on I increased the running in limits to those specific in the manual for 300 to 1250 miles. Essentially my new top speed is 50 mph. Everything now works out at a limit of 4000 rpm compared with 3000 rpm when below 300 miles.

The service was done by motorbikes4all where I bought Kenton from and cost £175.

After collecting the bike I rode home via Tewkesbury to add some fuel and took a long ride back.

Finally run in!

I completed the 1250 mile running-in distance on the way to work on 09-SEP-24. My trip to north Wales definitely helped with that as I added about 400 faultless miles over the weekend. At last I don’t need to be watching the revs quite so closely. Having said that, I think 65 mph is probably the fastest I would like to ride – I’ve definitely been converted to a more sedate style of riding!

First Service

I reached the first service mileage of 4666 miles (or 7500 km) at the beginning of May. Luckily I had anticipated this and had booked Kenton in for his first real service at Frasers in Gloucester. Their fee was £190 + VAT but with all the consumables the total bill was £288. As expected, nothing needed any particular attention.

Accessories

As much as I love the little Himalayan there is definitely room for improvement with the addition of some bits and pieces. Whilst come provide some useful functionality or comfort others are more cosmetic. Either way I think Kenton is improved with their addition!

Accessory	Source	Cost	Notes
Rear master cylinder guard	CooperB motorcycles	£36.00	First thing I ordered once I’d put a deposit down on Kenton. The master cylinder seems weirdly exposed and given the fact I’ve got big feet and boots I didn’t want any damage occurring.
Front mudguard raising kit	Hitchcocks motorcycles	£12.90	Seems sensible to lift the mudguards away from the wheels so I got some risers that add 15 mm to the exiting gap.
Headlight grille	Hitchcocks motorcycles	£45.60	A useful thing to have and something that I think really enhances the look of the bike.
Barkbusters hand guard kit	Hitchcocks motorcycles	£135.97	I think these really enhance the look of the bike whilst providing some useful functionality. The near side guard was a bit gnarly to fit though as the connection to the handle bar needed to be almost exactly where Royal Enfield had plugged a cable tidy. Once the cable tidy was removed the connection fitted fine.
Quadlock phone mount and vibration damper	J&S Accessories		Not really an option given I use a Quadlock case
Oil cooler guard	Hitchcocks motorcycles	£49.99	I got this to protect the little radiator only to find once the bike turned up there was one on already. The standard once looks a bit naff though so I replaced it with this one.
Oil filler cap	Hitchcocks motorcycles	£34.99	Purely cosmetic and probably a waste of money!
Sump guard	Hitchcocks motorcycles	£131.40	Heavier duty than default. Fits perfectly.
Soft luggage rack	Hitchcocks motorcycles	£90	Allows use of soft Givi bags.
Tall seat	Hitchcocks motorcycles	£306	I’ve noticed since riding the Himalayan that I am getting a sore coccyx that I think is due to the lack of cushioning in the standard seat. I’ve ordered the tall seat a that will hopefully provide a bit more support as well as an improved ride height.
USB Adapter	Amazon.com	£5.59	Because of the Barkbusters I can’t easily connect a USB cable to the charger. I bought a 90˚ adaptor that makes it easier to connect.
Mirrors	Amazon.com	£40.99	Ordered some Suparee mirrors that are a knock-off of Double Take mirrors.
Tank Bag	J&S Accessories		Small Oxford M2R tankbag for essentials. Saves having to keep switching between Kenton and Wasabi.
Stand puck	J&S Accessories		Essential for side stand on soft surfaces.
GPS Mount	Hitchcocks	£54.90	For mounting rear facing camera rather than GPS unit (at the moment at least)
Front Mudguard Beak	Hitchcocks	£26.40	Will hopefully prevent the lower half od the headlight from becoming caked in mud and water being thrown up by the front wheel.
Front Brake switch kit	Hitchcocks	£12.48	Front brake light working intermittently and depends on large amount of pressure on lever.
Tyres	Chris Mullins	£275	Replaced the OEM CETA tyres with Mitas Enduro Trail 50/50s