I have now owned a Himalayan for three years and driven over 12,000 km on backroads in eastern Ontario, Canada.
I previously have owned various Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and Harley bikes of various sizes for 43 other years.
I would like to only offer my two cents on the topic of reliability and functionality.
The Himalayan has served me very well, only suffering a bad fuse once which the dealer replaced under warranty. Nothing else has broken or died.
The seating position is great and I upgraded to the RE touring seat after the first year which never puts my butt to sleep even after 3 hours. I also installed an iridium plug which immediately stopped the cold start stalling issues. Other than these items, nothing else has been necessary.
The bike performs very well and it's 24 bhp powers it up to 120kph at 6K rpm without issue. I don't ride freeways as I hate trucks anyway and don't need them to get anywhere I'm going. Gravel roads are no issue, the suspension never has been any trouble and the front brake which took a month to get used to is just fine. After three years the finishing on the paint and chrome looks brand-new and there is no rust. I have put on a replacement rear Continental 60/40 tire but the front still looks new.
All that to say, if you only want to spend $6200 Cdn on a brand-new functional motorcycle that brings a smile to your face every time you ride it, buy a Himalayan. If on the other hand, you think you need at least 6 modes of traction control, water cooling and at least 140 bhp so you can exceed the speed limit in less than a quarter mile, then there are dozens of bikes you can spend more than $12,000 Cdn at every dealer. When you can find one of the latter used it will still be more than a brand-new Himalayan with a 2-year unlimited mileage warranty. My personal brand of risk management says the Himalayan was an excellent purchase.