now if you've been wanting to get adventurous properly down-and-dirty
adventurous then on our first ride Hero XPulse 200 proof that it would be
the right companion for you it's liked capable and affordable but
now it's spending time with us to convince us that it's desirable and a
better all-rounder as well listen you can't talk about all-rounder without
considering this their Royal Enfield Himalayan and a sinner it may sound I think
this will do everything that can and some more yeah
80 thousand rupees more EX room right that's exactly why we've got some
questions to answer yeah the first question I'd like
answered is why do you still have your helmet on
no no no first question is which one is better off the road
listen you have to admit that for offroading the Himalayan does pack some
great hardware sure it has the same ground clearance as the XPulse it's got
longer tower suspension and both ends and then it's got a motor that has
provided you the capacity and almost twice the torque and as you all know if you
want to climb out of the dirt somewhere you need that extra torque sure the
himalayan does make a strong keys for itself but going over extremely uneven
terrain like we did the x-files felt more at ease the himalayan well it ended
up scraping its belly and the reason was yeah mr. Rick would you like to complete
the physics lesson here and also talk about weight because the difference
between these two is some 40 kilograms and yes this might have less torque it
might not have that much suspension travel but then it's lighter and that's
why it feels like it's gliding over all the stuff I'm sure you'll agree
yeah I agree that it is a little more difficult to manage because of the
weight but then the ergonomics man like the XPulse it's built like a bloody
dirtbike you got that view time the posture with your bum out it's too
aggressive the Himalayan that way so comfortable in
standing on the pegs and the foot pegs are lower which means equal to get your
feet down in a hurry if you are fighting or giving back on the pegs is just so
much easier okay fine I'll give you that that the Himalayan has a nicer stand up
posture but when it comes to foot pegs sorry boss not gonna happen because this
is more focused it's clear because it's higher up and when we were riding
off-road I never once bang the pegs or my boots on rocks that were lying around
which is something that definitely did happen on the Himalaya we really
we really thrashed these two bikes around on rocky climbs through slick mud slush and rain
lots and lots of it and the weight of the Himalayan was something that PD felt
we even swapped bikes around and that made things plenty clear
clearly you have to works so much more to just keep it on the line and if their front end wipes it's a lot
of work to just keep it on track and that's not all the gearing it stalls so
you have to work that engine hard as well I mean you can't just leave it in
the second or third like I could do on the X pulse and just slip the clutch of
it and pull it out on the Himalayan you really gotta bang it through all of that
right fine in the more tricky of all stuff the X pulse is clearly easier but
if you had to blast down a dry and then only fast dirt trail the Himalayan just
flies and it's not just that aside from all of that listen if you're talking
about safety off the road the himalayan is someone else because now it offers
dual channel abs as standard which you don't have on the x-files
and of course the in business are actually better on the himalayan yeah
that's fine but you can switch off the abs for the rear wheel on the himalayan
so riding off-road this gives you more flexibility and the feeling for the rear
brake on the X pulse is just so much better on the Himalayan you have no option
but to rely on the ABS to get you stoped right so if I have to sum this
off between the two the motorcycle that's more deserving of the Himalayan
tag it's the XPulse fine fine fine the
XPulse might be a little better climbing the Himalayas but what about
getting to the Himalayan and that does make a question which of these is better
for the long haul
you know all the things you said that make Himalayan not so great of the road
actually make it fantastic for highway use know that bigger displacement always
greater on the highway and that tall gearing doesn't work in the dirt but
it's cruising is just so much more easily on the highway and that's hardly
a surprise considering that the human can do over 100 kmph in just third gear
it's doing just 5000 rpm at 100 kph that thing's doing 7000 in fact over
sound how that is just screaming away yeah but don't please don't make the
transgression of calling that smooth thank you because that big single you
can feel the pulse from that on the tank on the footpaths you can't escape it by
royal enfield standards no doubt infield singles yeah right so by Royal Enfield
single standards that is definitely very smooth but it could do better for sure
yeah I mean but at least there's no fuzz on the handlebar like because the
experts is basically reading so hard got a short bearing on the highway so I'll
just keep buzzing and over long distances is going to give you a bounce
tingling I'll admit it you really wish the Xbox
had a sixth gear just so it could feel , but the Himalayan isn't as calm as you
might think either
you know what gets me buzzing is that windscreen like seriously
yeah it's always knocking your head around yeah it depends on your height
what it does to you because for me on my offer admit it just makes the peak
flutter like crazy and you're like yeah and look at the screen on the X pulse
it's so much smaller but it manages to do a better job of keeping clean air
around you I'll agree put somehow when I am on the bike I tend to push a lot of
wind right into my helmets mouth which is good field yeah but that's when I
leave my lips chapped can we please get a stick of Vaseline for this man not for
that reason
out on the highway the Himalaya does have something else really working in
its favor
generally the Himalayan just is so much more comfortable
I have always hopped about the ergonomics of this motorcycle I think
the other vest goes on any made in India bike come to the Himalayas tall
handlebars you sit quite upright the slightly pull back foot pegs are
comfortable and the seed is soft enough that traveling far on the highway is
just second nature
yeah and you wouldn't go that much further than the X pulse because the
experts has better fuel efficiency right for Kip you yeah by for cable doesn't
make lambda fills because it has a bigger tank so if you're actually out
touring will be covering about the same distance maybe a little more on the
Himalayan really yeah Oh miscalculated that and and and let's face it in field
really pushes the himmelen hard as a tour so they've got so many exercise you
can walk into a showroom and get panty or get everything you want a fine so
let's call it one all right okay and on that note let's shift our focus to the
more practical side of things of these two motorcycles and there's lots to
cover on that front we'll start off with the city
now in the city that short gearing really works in the exporters favor
because you can even in third or fourth year and manage your entire commute
pretty much hassle free so that is a bit of a hassle on the himmelen because in
the city you're constantly in low gears like you have to be in person again all
the time and you're at 30 kph you have to be like at the most and second a
constant like you're working the gearbox on that if I may add salt to your wounds
I think the clutch is like there on the Xbox and the gearbox feels so much more
slick as well it's really positive that definitely works it's up in our bike
favor you know surprisingly even though your visor lighter hands is headed by a
significant margin it doesn't feel so heavy when you're actually moving around
the city this definitely managed to mask is
weight better in the city but of course the lightness quotient is in the expulse
is favor here also the fuel efficiency quotient this has got that significant
advantage nail down fat in the city so better commuter for sure
so coming to the question of which bike is better for towel and for short riders
you can see for yourself that Hamelin that seat height is nice and low which
is really awesome considering that it's got that man down to earth as well yeah
I have to agree 800 mm seat height is fantastic considering the ground
clearance but that is 823 mm so it's not particularly high and I think what helps
is that it's slim as well right also it's significantly lighter and that for
I mean if you are short it will make it feel that much more accessible but no
doubt for the shorter riders this is definitely going to be the easier bike
to get on true but even taller riders I am not entirely convinced that the
expulse is that much better because I have moderate at all but even I end up
sitting quite Nizza because of the tall foot pegs
so for writers of all Heights the Himalayan is the more comfortable option
okay so moving on now we've covered it for the tall and the short but what
about the pinions okay I'll have to admit even for billions the X pulses see
does feel a little small and narrow and you end up sitting almost on the grab
handles the Himalayans pillion seat is flatter roomier and a lot more
comfortable so if you'd like to take a friend along for a ride the himalayan is
the obvious choice
coming to the wow factor neither of these bikes will impress you
with their features list but the experts does pack an LED headlight and it's all
digital instrument console gets Bluetooth connectivity for your
smartphone once connected you can get call alerts and even use turn by turn
GPS navigation the humulin on the other hand doesn't get anything so fancy all
the gauges are analog but you do have a small digital screen for some basic
information and you also get a small digital compass neat and the king of the
hill is a great weather dude breakfast should be okay we don't have a clear
answer but having the Himalayan as a yardstick has brought about some
interesting results with the experts first and foremost it's very clearly
defined the Xbox as the go-to motorcycle for off-road a hundred percent agree I
think it picks the ball up wonderfully after the impulse it is the best offer
that's built in India handsome and as an impulse owner I am hugely taken up with
the experts and the second thing is it supposed to be better all-rounder than I
had expected to be honest right it does it does the offered very well it
does a city extremely well as men but then yeah I mean that's the one area
where the Himalayan really scores right that easy long-legged nature that it has
so if you want to travel even a little bit this feels more enjoyable at home on
the highway yeah I think that's that sense of being relaxed that adds to the
experience and that's where it starts scoring and the third thing for me was
the sense of value it's incredible that hero have managed to create that bike at
that price point no absolutely I completely agree that if you want a bike
if you don't want to go touring for example and want to buy that does
everything else for that price you can do better than the experts but but but I
will have this caveat here that if you are interested in even mildly in touring
you have to the Milan people much more expensive it
can still be that only one bike in a garage while the experts well I think
it's a second bite I completely agree with you I mean like I get it like
you'll be ending spending up more but that for me would be a fantastic second
bike in the garage I would love to have that but possibly not the only bike
right and that's when I look at it and I think that why didn't he don't make a
250cc out of it or give it a sixth gear I'm you know just sorted stuff it made
life so much easier and same I mean I feel heartbroken about like I'm 11 and
after making so many ancient bikes my kundiman is my turn and I just I don't
know I mean it's sad to think that we still gonna have to wait a bit longer
for that perfect motorcycle that can take on India everything that India has
to offer that one back to room the model if a bike like that even exists
you