For the better times to come:

I want to travel for about an year or two in South America. Thinking about buying a new bike and selling it afer the trip. In consideration are Honda XRE 300 and Royal Enfield Himalayan (20% cheaper in Colombia). I dont want to do real hard dirtbiking, but a bad gravel road or the Transamazonica should be in range. Waht would be your suggestion? Thanks in advance!

Do you want a bike that makes you look cool, or do you want a bike that's reliable?

Check out Itchy boots on you tube.

Cor Itchy Boots innocent:

Actually both those bikes are quite similar. Air cooled, 5-speed gearbox, 24,5 HP and 25 HP, 21/18 wheels, fuel capacity 13,5 l(XRE) and 15 l(Hima)
The Himalayan is a bit heavier as its weight is 196 kilos and then XRE dry weight is 146 and thus probably near 175 kilos wet.

I questioned different people about the XRE quality when I travelled in south America, especially when I was in Brasil where its made (its also assembled in Colombia and Mexico) and what was said about it was it had some quite stated weaknesses, the cylinderhead easily developed cracks and also the EFI system was said to be primitive and prone to failure. However the XRE has been in production for many years (since 2009) so those things might be fixed by now(?)

The lighter weight of the XRE would definetively be a noticeably advantage on rough roads. On the other hand the Himalayan seems to be a better travel bike and seems to be able to carry luggage and even a pillion with more ease than the XRE.
Actually a very close race it is. Im really not sure which one I would have chosen.....

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

I'm a sucker for Enfields, Vespas and all things with a fair bit of nostalgia.

I've had to restrain myself from pulling the trigger on the Himalayan for my girlfriend (size and price is good, and it looks so cool!). What's been holding me back is concerns related to the combination of reliability and sourcing parts.

Although it is very capable, there are better options in the same budget bracket, especially if you look for second hand Japanese bikes with low mileage. Ground clearance, shock travel, wheel size, power to weight ratio... In my experience, the longer you travel, the less you care about the nostalgia of the bike and the more you care about features that make the bike more or less suitable for the the job - namely taking you on a journey. That much said, riding a Vespa in places where it shouldn't be, has given me far more positive social experiences than when I have been riding a big adventure bike. Still, having been there and done that (and it was great, and I'm glad I did it), I think those days are over for me - I now much rather prefer having the most suitable bike my budget can allow for. Riding on an unsuitable bike (not that the Enfield is unsuitable, it is very capable), is very adventurous and opens up for a lot of interactions - but it is also a constant struggle, it is nerve wrecking and it restrict you in terms of what you can do without hating life or ending it.

What I am trying to say is that while the Enfield gets a passing grade, it's not at the top of its class in neither performance, reliability nor serviceability. Going for a Himalayan will likely not be a mistake, it just might not be the best choice you could have made. But, if it is the only adventure bike you have experience with, you probably won't feel as though you are missing much. And, if you have a particular fetish for the Himalayan - well, then it probably is the best option.

If you follow itchyboots, note some of her complaints related to the bike. Now that she has so much more experience, I would be surprised if she would get the same one again if she was to replace the one she has now - unless she was sponsored. I think one of her main reasons for choosing her first Himalayan in the first place was economics, availability where she was at, as well as familiarity with the bike having rented one before - with little prior experience with any other adventure bike, it was a safe choice.

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel

Don’t confuse modern Royal Enfields with ones of old.
The latest edition of the Himalayan is very popular in the UK and a very well built and reliable motorcycle. They are extremely easy to work on for a home or back street mechanic. There are plenty of dealerships in the UK and parts are just as easy to get as any of the Japanese makes.

Lots of people I know have bought Himalayans. Many of them view it as a baby GS - more so than the 310 - due to its low COG and huge amount of torque. These buyers are ageing and just don’t want a big adventure bike anymore.

The RE interceptor 650 and Continental GT were the biggest selling motorcycles in the UK in 2020 - that includes all sizes, even Honda 125s.

Yes there is a certain amount of nostalgia here - but not enough for these sale figures, the bikes have to be decent enough.

My friend has a WR250R and is an extremely experienced off road rider, his wife has a Himalayan - he told me that the Himalayan would do 90% of the off road riding that the WRR would do and he’s seriously thinking of switching, as you could ride the Himmy for 2 hours, do the trails and ride home again.

RE are a serious brand - when the Himmy had frame problems they bought out Harris frames who sorted it. They are opening dealerships all over the world, at a rate of knots - itchy boots found them in SA.

The new 411cc has fuel injection and switchable ABS, and a spoked 21" front wheel - which is nice. It also looks like it would be an easy bike to work on. It is still air cooled (which is ok as it is only one cylinder, but not great), the suspension travel is less than 20cm (not great, but ok), and the ground clearance before sag is just north of 20cm (not terrible, but not great). With 24hp and 200kg - the power to weight ration is weak.

It might be far more reliable and capable than RE's of the past - but it still isn't a Honda. Honda and Yamaha put together has close to half the global motorcycle sales, with Honda at approx 23%. Royal Enfield is tiny in comparison, and more than 90% of their sales are in India - and their sales have been declining massively for some time now - we are talking a 30% drop or so! It might be popular with its roots in England - but the rest of the world? I have yet to see a single one in real life. Now, add to that that the Himalayan concept has only been around for four or five years I believe, and the first couple were plagued by law suits due to reliability and quality issues. They might have got their act together in terms of quality, but the dealer network isn't exactly extensive. If you need a part or a mechanic that knows this bike - chances are that you will have your work cut out for you.

When I have travelled across Africa with a Vespa, I brought a ton of spare parts, and a HUGE tool kit - and I mean an a lot of weight and volume. If I had not brought spare steering bearings, shocks, complete clutches, pistons, CDI, specialty tools, and more - it would have been a very very slow and cumbersome trip. Now, a Himalayan is far more suitable running the old Dakar pistes and such than a Vespa - but it is still not close to a Japanese dual sport in terms of suitability for long distance travel outside India and England.

I think it is important that one does not put expectations very high for a brand that since just about forever has had a poor reputation in terms of keeping up with the competition in matters of performance and reliability. The legacy of the Himalayan is that of an infant. Even if itchy boots had few problems with her latest Himalyan, it does not give it a proven track record. I am therefore very careful about advicing something for a trip like this that has not thoroughly proven itself - unless it is about other matters such as just loving the brand/model and to the extent that the other attributes don't matter that much - but fanatics usually don't need to be preached their own gospel to.

I think that the Himalayan only has two great attributes going for it. The first being that it is frickin cool as hell, the other is that it is a bike that does not cost much new. As for the rest, I think it does just ok. I think you could get a ton more bike if you bought a second hand Japanese bike with low mileage and possibly a bit of extra gear.

NB! My stats and figures might be way off - I'm going by my memory. But they are not so far off that the point is still not made.

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel

Wheelie - what you forget here is that TS is asking for a bike that he wants to buy and use in south America. Second hand japanese made bikes are rare in south America, very rare! I travelled through south America on a Yamaha Tenere 660 and parts for that were very difficult to source (except from Brasil where they also were assembled at that time)

Locally produced japanese brands in south America are plentiful of course, but then again they are not neccesarily on the same level of quality and reliability as japanese (or Thailand) made japanese brand bikes.

When it comes to Royal Enfield something tells me you dont know a whole lot about them. As Flipflop mentiones - RE kind of restarted their production a few years back and have english engineers and italian designers to construct and design their bikes. I read somewhere that it is the same italian designer that stood behind the Ducati Multistrada that also designed the Himalayan.

And even in 2017-2018 when I travelled through south America I saw several Royal Enfield dealers and bikes. Both in Chile, Equador and Colombia had RE dealers at that time, and now I belive they have expanded a lot. Royal Enfield is also setting up a factory for assembling of bikes in Argentina nowadays so I cant imagine getting parts for a RE will be that difficult in south America.
Also as mentioned from somebody else earlier in this thread - have a look at Itchy Boots travels on Youtube. She had very few issues with her Himalayans.

And if you yet havent seen a Royal Enfield live, maybe you should check out the Royal Enfield dealer in Oslo where you live....

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts.

Im not good in checking out motorbikes, repairing .. So I think its best to go for a new bike.

I will do a bigger hop on a motorway from time to time. Are these bikes capable for 120 km/h cruising speed. Or do i have to go for a (hopefully slightly) more expensive one?

He-he, where in south America except R5 in Chile do you plan to cruise at 120 km/h?

Neither the XRE or the Himalayan will cruise at 120 km/h without pinning the max out of every gear and you bending forward 90 degrees and have to see the dentist for refilling of the caries cavities in your teeth after a ride...

The sweet cruising spot on those bikes are around 90-95 km/h. Good fuel milage, not too much vibration in footpegs and handlebars and not wearing the engines out prematurely.

Yes both can do 120 km/h for a short stint, but it would not be adviseable to cruise at that speed for a longer period of time.

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Im not a fast rider. more of a scenic one ,
I tested a Himalaya and its a "nice " bike , but even for me i couldnt live with the lack of power .

An opinion was asked specifically on the Himalayan. See Snakeboy’s post above.
I suggested looking at itchy boots’ you tube channel of travelling through SA on a Himalayan - very reliable and she found plenty of dealerships.

I know nothing of the XRE so I didn’t comment on this bike. My wife, however, rode a Himalayan in the Himalayas in the monsoon. It proved to be a very robust bike that was easy to ride and coped very well with extreme conditions and altitude. For me it’s a known quantity.

We did a tour of Colombia for which we rented Kawasaki Versys 300s - they had more than enough power for us. Whilst on the trip we saw a few Royal Enfield Himalayans.

Here is a review of the Himalayan: https://adventure-motorcycling.com/2...eld-himalayan/

think you will find that she went to a cb 500 x after that and ...................