Himmy 411, what it like ?

[stever1]

A pal is thinking of getting a 23 model himmy as a second bike. What’s it like ?
More especially, what are the mods that you do straight away to sort it , like replacing relays etc.
Any recommendations re hard luggage , it’s already got RE’s soft luggage on it but he prefers hard cases.
Tell me all about it, warts and all.

 

[EVskiy]

@Wapping will soon be along to tell you all you (your mate) need to know.

 

[Posh Pete]

First, he should try sitting on one. If he's a longshanks he may not fit comfortably between the raised rear pillion section abd the tank. That was the only real gripe I had with mine.

Otherwise, braking can be indifferent but then again the bike itself does not encourage tear arseing around.

If he's happy pootling on A and B roads at 45 - 60 and wants to do a bit of green laning, it's ideal.

 

[Wapping]

Here goes.

1. As always, go and ride one. I had a day on the Himalayan and the next day on a Scram. The Scram I didn’t like, the Himalayan I did.

2. It’s 25 bhp wringing wet. But, within its limitations it’s fine, not least as it will sit all day at a real 65 mph on the D roads of France.

3. Things to do. For these, I took a lot of guidance from a forum member whose wife is riding one in South America. If after months away, they have narrowed what is worth changing and what is not, it’s good enough for me.

A. Sintered pads. Cheap

B. Swap the realays out for something decent from Bosch or similar. Cheap

C. Fit an iridium spark plug. Cheap

D. Fit a free flowing air filter and adaptor plate. Cheap

E. Fit an adjustable side stand. Cheap

That’s about it on the ‘must do’ front. It will still though only be 25 bhp.

As to other bits….

Luggage. Mine came with the luggage frames and the Enfield spam tins. Good enough but I now prefer lobbing the Magadan soft luggage from Adventure Spec on or using just a simple bag strapped on the rear.

A higher mount for a sat nav or phone, available from EBay / India.

Oxford heated grips.

The alternator will power heated clothing and grips

Tutoro chain oiler

Cat less header pipe and end can. Leave the baffle in or you’ll look and sound like an arse.

Cool Cover or similar for the seat, for all those Adventure (with a capital A) miles he’ll be clocking up.

It is still 25 bhp…….

 

[stever1]

First, he should try sitting on one. If he's a longshanks he may not fit comfortably between the raised rear pillion section abd the tank. That was the only real gripe I had with mine.

Otherwise, braking can be indifferent but then again the bike itself does not encourage tear arseing around.

If he's happy pootling on A and B roads at 45 - 60 and wants to do a bit of green laning, it's ideal.

@Pete.
May I ask how tall you are ?
It is a second bike, for pootling about on.

 

[stever1]

Here goes.

1. As always, go and ride one. I had a day on the Himalayan and the next day on a Scram. The Scram I didn’t like, the Himalayan I did.

2. It’s 25 bhp wringing wet. But, within its limitations it’s fine, not least as it will sit all day at a real 65 mph on the D roads of France.

3. Things to do. For these, I took a lot of guidance from a forum member whose wife is riding one in South America. If after months away, they have narrowed what is worth changing and what is not, it’s good enough for me.

A. Sintered pads. Cheap

B. Swap the realays out for something decent from Bosch or similar. Cheap

C. Fit an iridium spark plug. Cheap

D. Fit a free flowing air filter and adaptor plate. Cheap

E. Fit an adjustable side stand. Cheap

That’s about it on the ‘must do’ front. It will still though only be 25 bhp.

As to other bits….

Luggage. Mine came with the luggage frames and the Enfield spam tins. Good enough but I now prefer lobbing the Magadan soft luggage from Adventure Spec on or using just a simple bag strapped on the rear.

A higher mount for a sat nav or phone, available from EBay / India.

Oxford heated grips.

The alternator will power heated clothing and grips

Tutoro chain oiler

Cat less header pipe and end can. Leave the baffle in or you’ll look and sound like an arse.

Cool Cover or similar for the seat, for all those Adventure (with a capital A) miles he’ll be clocking up.

It is still 25 bhp…….

@Wapping
25bhp will do, it’s a second bike for bumbling around on when it’s wet, or they’ve been throwing salt on the roads ( he’s in west coast of Scotlandshire BTW)
It doesn’t sound like it’s a lot to sort out to improve it.
It’s already got RE Soft panniers. He’ll have to see if the rails fit his Givi stuff.
As for the bhp, 25 is enough. I did 2500 miles in Europe on a 350 scooter which had 26bhp. Plenty, just ride slower

 

[Wapping]

May I ask how tall you are ?
It is a second bike, for pootling about on.

I am 6’ with a 31” inside leg.

 

[Posh Pete]

@Pete.
May I ask how tall you are ?
It is a second bike, for pootling about on.

6' and 33". Hence "longshanks".

 

[GlynnJ]

@Pete.
May I ask how tall you are ?
It is a second bike, for pootling about on.

Pete is 4' 11'. He just thinks he's tall

 

[stever1]

Well, a deal has been done. He’ll soon be the owner of a 73 plate himmy in sand colour. Complete with heated grips and RE panniers, mind you, he will sell the panniers when he works out how to fit his givi panniers.

 

[Wapping]

Having lost six months of last year, my 411 now has 2,000 miles on the clock and the engine is freed up nicely. It will cruise at a genuine 65 to 68 mph and, whilst it is no rocket ship, it will hold its own on a very busy M25.

Riding the bike is very much a state of mind. On most of my previous bikes, you could (on the empty D roads of Europe) just twist or snap the throttle open to watch the speed increase 100…. 120…. 130…. Upwards. In short, there really was no end to the available power and speed. With the 411 you just accept that it won’t go much above 75 mph, simply because it can’t. Against that, you get a bike (I’ll call it a mode of transport) which will sit there all day, cruising along. The odd car or two that you do come across you do have to think how you are going to overtake, as they too are probably cruising in the low 60’s. Just accept that you might well have to follow a car for a mile or so, before a safe overtaking opportunity presents itself. Sometimes the car turns off anyway and you return to being on your own with no effort at all. But, the limited power itself becomes part of the fun.

You have all day to do your journey, does it really matter that it maybe takes maybe 30 minutes longer to do it? Do I feel any less ‘alive’ as I roll into a lunch stop or hotel? The answers to each are, no. If I need to factor in the extra half hour, I’ll simply leave at 9AM instead of 09:30.

To sum it up, it’s the simplicity of the bike that I like. We live in a complex world but one where we can be spoon fed the answers. Within this spoon feeding, I’ll include the powerful motorbikes that fill every dealership. The bikes have become ‘too good’. It’s just nice to step away from the ‘must have’ modern and go back to the basics.

Anyway, a day on the D roads of north east France awaits me and the sun is just about shining.

 

[Wapping]

Hey ho, the sun went in. It rained and it was bloody cold. The bike didn’t miss a beat all day.

 

[Wapping]

Second picture down, was where I had stopped at a rural village’s bus stop shelter, to put my electric liner on.

One from bottom, I had stopped to eat a sandwich I had bought earlier in the day and to have a piss on the hedge.

 

[EVskiy]

One from bottom, I had stopped to eat a sandwich I had bought earlier in the day and to have a piss on the hedge.

Piss before or after consuming said sandwich

 

[Wapping]

Other than recording notes in my little black book, I have never been one for miles per gallon and all that malarkey, preferring instead to work to the pretty good rule of thumb of 10 miles range per litre of tank capacity. Just for a change, I thought I’d have a look at what the 411 returned over a day’s ride of 190 miles over the D roads of France. The answer is 78.5 mpg, which I make to be 17.25 miles per litre of tank capacity.

Royal Enfield quote a tank size of 15 litres, give or take, which translates to 258 miles. Knock of 10% for fun, gives 232 or 230 miles for cash.

 

[Arsey]

Other than recording notes in my little black book, I have never been one for miles per gallon and all that malarkey, preferring instead to work to the pretty good rule of thumb of 10 miles range per litre of tank capacity. Just for a change, I thought I’d have a look at what the 411 returned over a day’s ride of 190 miles over the D roads of France. The answer is 78.5 mpg, which I make to be 17.25 miles per litre of tank capacity.

Royal Enfield quote a tank size of 15 litres, give or take, which translates to 258 miles. Knock of 10% for fun, gives 232 or 230 miles for cash.

Mucking about for 90 minutes on new 450 I got 77.5 showing on the trip meter

 

[Wapping]

Homeward bound.

 

[Wapping]

Mucking about for 90 minutes on new 450 I got 77.5 showing on the trip meter

90 minutes is 100 laps of the island.