I honestly don't think you can, although I caution I haven't ridden the CF Moto. I could ride this around the world tomorrow, all set up ready to go for under $10K, WTF! Serious competition for the Honda CRF300 that we know needs a minimum of suspension work. What else is out there that comes near this price.....?
@@MotorcycleAdventureDirtbikeTV I feel like they are two sides of the same coin, RE being offroad oriented, and CFmoto being more touring/road oriented, exactly as you said. Tubeless wheels for me are a really good selling point tho, as I sometimes get punctures even 2x a day on solo riding through distant places (didn't invest in luck stats enough I guess). Nice video and observation, Cheers
@@MotorcycleAdventureDirtbikeTV yes, as much as I love my Himmy, this new model has pretty much everything I wanted in my current bike. It will be more suited to my style of riding here in South Island, New Zealand
I currently have a BMW 1200RT - bloody awesome touring bike. Not being a dirt bike rider - doing an intro ADV course tomorrow, I am beginning to look for a lightweight/mid adventure bike to get out on those dirt roads and tracks I currently have to stop at……. Looked at the BMW 310 and the Honda CRF 300 Rally and now you show us the Royal Enfield 450 which plugs all the compromises of the 2 previous bikes and within an amazing budget. I love the Australian reviews and MAD TV especially. I have viewed the reviews from other countries and they ride like they are in their lounge room, Perfect tarmac and flat smooth dirt roads and 2 track is a driveway. In good OLD OZ you guys ride them like you stole them on and off road. Off road being real off road gnarly tracks, mountains, rivers blah blah - give it to em …. ect - just love it. This 450 Royal Enfield ticks pretty much all of the boxes on my wish list - Looks like Royal Enfield have nailed it with this model hitting that perfect market segment.
Test rode one last week in the UK. Unbelievable bike, handling on road was great, flat footed at 5ft 10". Felt more than 40HP. RE have done a great job.
I was at an adventure bike rally in the US much of last week and through the weekend. I was excited to see that RE was going to be on site with demo bikes, but I was REALLY disappointed that they only had the 411 because of how excited I am to try this bike. Now, after this video, I'm looking forward to it even more! Thanks for the great content!
Great review Dave. I've owned 3 enfeilds and have ridden the old himmy . One thing I can say about the enfeild brand is that the gearbox is solid. You never find false neutrals. I'm hoping the test of time proves these engines to be solid and reliable. I'm on a Suzuki Dr page almost every week somone is dealing with a blown gearbox. I see itchy boots changed out a counter shaft at 40,000 k. On her Honda 300 I wouldn't be surprised if we see these enfeilds becoming the workhorse motorcycle of the wourld. The new himmy has a face only a mother could love IMO.
I bought brand new 411 last September and only kept it for 3 months before I sold it on. This new 450 looks like it has everything I wanted from the old one, more power, some tech, decent suspension. I still ride ride my old DR350 which I absolutely love, however I can actually see the 450 being my only do it all bike. Cannot wait to test ride one later on this month. Great video btw 👍🏻
Congrats to Himalayam engeneering team! They acoumplish one of the most sucessfull transition in the motorcycle industry history! Himalayam 401 is a great success and the new 452 honored its qualities and traditions and brought a brand new world to adventure bikers! Cheers!
Hello from France ! I tried it 2 days ago and decided to pre-order mine. Kamet White color with tubeless tires but I have to wait until June/July to get it... This give me time to sell my current bike by then. 😄
Finally find an upload of the RE on the dirt roads that im primarily riding now that im 63YO. Currently running a 2008 XT250 that even though ive moded the air/carb/exhaust its just not quite ballsy enough. Ive got an 83 XR650L but im all jacked up and cant kick it any more. I just kinda like the style and ethics behind this company. Great upload! thanks from Arkansas USA!
Kiwi here, I'm seriously considering getting one of these as my very first bike. I didn't even consider an ADV when I started my research, but in countries like Oz and NZ I feel like you're removing half the potential roads you can ride if you stick to bikes made for asphalt only. The CRF Rally was the first one that caught my attention, but the Himalayan wins by almost every metric on paper.
@@MotorcycleAdventureDirtbikeTV This is the result when a company puts faith in people that live the product instead of bean counters. Looks like he and his team deserve the success!
I'm on my 3rd RE. Had the original Himalayan but ultimately traded it for a 250 Rally as it was just that little bit too slow and the ground clearance was no good for rutted british green lanes. Got a 650 Shotgun which I'm currently in love with... this looks like a possible stable mate!
Good review, again. My take-away was that this model is better value-for-money than it has ever been. It sounds like a set of barkbusters and some better tyres will defo get a lot of newbies and/or more "relaxed" riders out on adventures. Can't be a bad thing!👍
You’ve sold me… This will be my next bike!! It has everything going for it as a rider who is getting the taste for adventure riding. Can’t wait to test ride one! And it’s bloody beautiful!!!!!
A ‘21 Himalayan was my first motorbike & I’m now on a ‘15 BMW 650GS Sertao. Always thought I’d naturally move to a bigger bike & go toward a T7 or ktm890 etc once I got off the restricted license but I’m giving some serious thought now to going back to the 450 Himalayan after the assessment you & Clubby have made…guess I’ll have to test ride one. Cheers Dave
@@thedougies8322 totally agree.And bulletproof for sure.But my is 24 years now,no ABS.After long rides I get numb hands.So I really interested to compare.Bmw 60nm power is still impressive.
Great to hear the chief designer talking about the bike he helped design… I love this bike and will definitely test ride one … and possibly buy one as my do it all steed .. great vid mate ! 👊 uk 🇬🇧
Now. I have watched all your vids on this bike. You and Cluby put out the best content. Im genuinely excited for this bike. The footage from the Vic high country, and your pic at Craigs Hut lol. Absolute gold. My only gripe... you didn't get Cam Donald on film. Im a big Irish road racing nut.
"I honestly don't think you can, although I caution I haven't ridden the CF Moto" A Great Comment Dave. Great review again. You had me sold. I need a 2nd bike to tag along with my T7. Went have a look and sat on both. WOW. The Enfield felt heavier than my T7. But looked solid. The CF Moto For $500 more. Out right winners with all named fruit on it, Pulse the extra cylinder. Lighter. A copy of my T7 only 450. Hope u get to do a Review of it. In Australia
A 1200 I have ridden and continually do is my 1200 XE scrambler now I might be the exceptions to the rule but the XE is always overlooked by all, now this is about the Himalayan 450 and not my XE so I really do not want to detract from it because the new Himalayan looks to be massive success and rightfully so in my opinion , great work guy’s. My money would have to go to Royal Enfield and NOT to MT450 in fact I went along and looked at the MT yesterday and a few areas scared me considerably enough to stop looking at it and I know without looking at the Royal this would not be the case.
Ok so you asked and I will respond, Points of concern 1) zero support from the aftermarket 2) zero confidence in factory replacement support 3) zero network supporting parts availability 4) Even the tyres on that thing are a point in question, simply put they are an obvious carbon copy of my Pirelli’s STR’s and so while some are poaching other’s ideas this is something I definitely do not want to support any one plagiarism . 5) just because it is cheap does not mean it is good . 6) thank you for allowing me to explain Kind regards Steve. Oh and it is so close in weight to my 1200 it is actually funny and it definitely does not have the balls of a 1200 and if you want to argue weight and it is a completely different bike then I have an XR400 that would kick its ass in the woods that’s been “hot rodded”
Wow! You proven and tested the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450CC is an awesome all in one motorcycle. Very comfortable using in off-roads terrains and as well Touring and City Driving. Me I owned Royal Enfield Classic 350CC Chrome Red. It is as well an awesome motorcycle that can use in off-roads and City driving for commuting. But I cannot use it for adventure like you did to the Himalayan 450 CC. I am looking forward to buy Himalayan 450 for my Adventure rides someday! Excellent review and Video shots! Thanks a lot!
Great Review Dave, I was looking at a used GS800 Adventure for my first bike back riding. Now I will have test ride on RE 450 Himalayan. Thanks for the great review .
That’s a good bike for me I just like plodding along l don’t ride like you do on your husky ,bang for buck it’s very good I would consider buying one I like the utilitarian design I hate all that crap plastic ,and it could sit on the freeway at 120 ks all day long and got power to go more ,they have done a brilliant job on the bike it’s got power now love it
It's good to see RE and CF Moto listening to what people want and building these bikes. Japan better wake up and remember what they did to the British motor cycle industry in the 60's.
It's Indian company now British killed RoyalEnfield later Indian company Eicer Motors bought it and turned it around by using good quality and designs. thanks to the one and only Siddhart lal CEO of RE. He is a great inspiration here in India who saved RE.
Have a look at the CR Moto test I recently did, I think there is nothing between them. What is missing in the equation is long term reliability and that will only come with time. There are some well known brands that have reliability issues that emerge after around 15,000 km. So let's wait and see.
Good review Dave. Always interesting to hang with the chief designer and learn where they are coming from with the bike. Now I wonder if the electrics will support heated grips. The horn will need to be raised up out of the mud and water zone behind the front tire. What about an enclosed drive chain? Most all the bikes I see on the road in India have this. I have a dealer about 150 km away. I'm going down as soon as they have one for demo. Thanks mates. Safe riding on the Pensioner's Club.
When you listen to your customers and you examine what it will take to accomplish that goal, you have the start of a successful business venture. For some reason modern manufacturers do not listen to their consumers and only their stockholders. The bike riding community as a whole needs to voice their opinions by not buying inferior products. Just look at the RE factory and its employees. These people are motivated and if given enough time will take over a large section of the market.
Tyres, yes, I'll find out in a week or three. Just got notified by RE Au that My prepurchase "group" will start deliveries on the 10th. 🙂 Though I might stick with those tyres for the run-in period & a run down the coast to my Brother's Bush block in "Knorrit Forest", in the hills out the back of Taree and 8hr+ ride of as much dirt roads and fire trails as I can squeeze in without back tracking. A good opportunity to sort out my soft luggage and all that stuff. I'm so glad it's rideable out of the box. Bash plate, touring seat, rear luggage plate & visor can come later unless they're in stock now. 👍 PS: I happy you mentioned the low pegs as I have a 34/35" inseam while standing 178cm, so I won't feel cramped as I feel a bit on my KLX400e with a slightly lower soft seat.
great video: you really have to get your hands on a Rieju aventura legend 500 - amazing how little attention it gets, spruced up for this year, great engine (honda 500 twin), good KYB sussers, 1000km fuel range and much more - get in touch with them, i think it would make a lot of folk smile
Looking forward to the full 1-hour 13-days riding review. But based on this video I am curious for my test ride already. The previous one was fun to ride and good to look at. But this one I might actually buy.
Great to see it finally hitting Australian soil. I would love some more commuting footage, including how well it does lane splitting in stand still traffic. Thanks guys.
I am at a point where I truly am confused right now to thoroughly know which of 5he two (Himy or MT) to get because of a few factors. Maybe your next full review might do it for me. I'm inlove with the styling of retro modern bikes and am more inclined to a more dirt oriented moto. What's bothering me is the serviceability of the air filter where you have to remove the tank just to gain access to it. The old 411 was built like a tank other than some issues with the strength of the chassis so I am sure they made improvements with this new one. Hope to hear your thoughts soon.
I've ridden the Himalayan and was a bit heavy yet was nimble yet not as nible as my Beta 500 yet affording plenty fun as long as you kept it reved up Plenty good fun
Looks like a good bike for the price, a huge upgrade to the old himalayan model. Its really good to see that RE is a company that scraps the executives coming up with ideas like politicians and actually justs lists things that the riding community actually wants to see in a bike without the BS excuses: 6 speed, fuel injection, good suspension, fuel range, 21 inch front, offroad focus with on road 'do-ability' etc. Its a shame that the dry weight as per REs website is over 180kg still. The tank seems to be steel instead of plastic and the pillion foot pegs seem to be welded on. Considering the durability of plastic tanks on dirtbikes, it seems silly to make an offroad bike with a steel tank, and its pretty standard for passenger pegs to be removeable. There are surely a handful of areas on this bike that could be changed without too much extra cost to shed maybe 20kg of stock weight, and maybe allow for a further 5-10kg in aftermarket weight reduction (exhausts, batteries etc). I have a KTM640 enduro made in 2002 with a steel frame. It produces 55hp and 55NM of torque off the showroom floor and has a wet weight below 150kg off the showroom floor. That bike was designed well over 20 years ago but on paper it exceeds the basic specifications of this new 450 himalayan. The DRZ, the DR650 do pretty much the same. These old bikes lack modern technology like fuel injection, and they lack important luxuries like 6 speed gearboxes, yet, almost no company has designed a modern solution to these simple issues except for KTM, who have exceeded these simple requirements tremendously with the 690 platform, capable of producing 72hp below 150kg wetweight with standard servive intervals. Obviously you pay a lot for that 72hp. Why can no other company produce a sub 150kg, sub 160kg, (sub 170kg?) wet weight bike with modern tech, standard service intervals and 40+hp? There is a whole market of riders out there on DRZs, DR650s etc, waiting for a modern version that wont come. In my eyes, weight is the most important spec for any offroad bike. Thats why we have 2t bikes, because they are lighter and more powerful. Some people like to claim that you need the bike to be heavy to have good on road handling but thats just BS. My 120kg WR450 handles the twisties and highway speeds just fine except for the low ratio gearing. KTM500s and wr450s handle 150+kms an hour over the desert sands on the finke desert-track. Theres no benefit to a heavier bike. Why do we have this huge gap in the market between dirt bikes and adventure bikes? Why dont we have any REAL new dual sports any more? Are just just ancient history? if its not a single, its not a dual sport. If it doesnt have standard service intervals, then its a race bike, not a dual sport.
Bike is pretty heavy though honestly you doesn't feel it, the pegs are actually on this semi rubber mounted system that is designed to bottom out when you stand on it so you get a solid footing. There is definitely some weight you can remove from the 450 but I can tell you from experience that as it sits it bounces pretty well when dropped. The right side mirror thread might be a weak point though and the mirrors in general are pretty blurry with vibration over 80-ish km, apparently the touring mirrors fix this (I can't vouch for that)
@@richardjreidiiLooks like you get a lot more for your money regarding the CF Moto, but I've not seen a CF Moto report that is as enthusiastic about it as this RE450 review. The reports from the CF Moto launch have complained about the front brakes, the rear brakes lacking feel, two things Dave considers good on this bike. They've complained about the forks, another thing Dave has said he really likes on this bike, and we've not had any feedback on road riding (buffeting etc..) on the 450MT. Also heard complaints about the throttle on the 450MT. Going to be really interesting to see these two go head to head.
On paper there's a clear winner between those two, that's for sure. Reliability is the #1 concern for these bikes I think. The old himy had a slew of issues any rider could be plagued with just depending on who was working in the factory that day and they never were ironed out. The one time CFmoto had an issue with its 800 ibex it was fixed for free within 3 months. I think that says everything you need to know.
It has alot of parts you can remove to make it lighter without removing any important thing . I have seen people reducing 20 kg weight just by removing useless accessories on the bike .
As an owner of a 300 rally and a Versys 650 , the one thing both bikes give is confidence , both in reliability and safety . Have ridden ten hour days on both bikes . Will this Indian made bike fall apart after a few weeks that is the question .
But it’s soulless. Intrigued as to what a “Full size adventure bike” is? Some 1300 cc monster you cant pick up? I rode all over Africa in the early 2000’s on an XT600. Is that a full size adventure bike?
@@petittrainguernsey3297 When I said full sized adventure bike I was thinking of bikes like the R1200GS or Super Tenere. The XT600 and other 650's like the KLR have even more spacious ergos so the Versys X 300 would have inferior to them in terms of riding position
@@petittrainguernsey3297 As for being soulless that what the new Himalayan seems like to me. It seems like the Himalayan sold it's soul to the devil abandoning the long stroke engine which is where the original derived it's character. The new one has 40hp, but so what? so does every other bike in the class. It's heavier then the old BS4 Himalayan. It's uses more fuel. It STILL has bad gear ratios. Even with a sixth gear they just crunch all the ratios closer together so you still have the same tight spread between 1st and top gear. The 450 is vibey at 100 km/h maybe more so than the old model. It has less low end power and won't pull from as low. Also it doesn't look as good. If you ask me it's 450 thats soulless, at least compared the old one. Although I have not ridden one yet
I'd love to see how this would go in the deep, soft sand we get in the southwest WA. That 180kg dry weight looks a bit concerning to me, but that could just be the kind of riding I want to do. This does look like a great all-rounder though, and that price will be pretty hard to beat
New 2024 KLR is a hunk of junk, likely a class action against it coming. Factory assembly issues with the bearings that require dealer work to fix and are a major safety concern.
@@domenik8339or a single line item on the PDI , which is already on the Honda/yamaha … if they aren’t sued over the doo, it certainly won’t happen over a check and torque…
Just pulled the trigger on a CB500X due to build quality, an extra cylinder, and the fact that there are Honda dealers in many country towns throughout Australia. I understand that the Himalayan (which I did consider, along with the CFMoto) will be more capable in the dirt, but my real-world riding situation sees me spending more time on the tar. Btw, the Honda doesn't need warranty or roadside assistance...
@CosmicSeeker69 man made machines don't have a soul and never will. My last bike was a Harley-Davidson, and its 'soul' was one of the reasons I got rid of it.
Dave I want this bike. But I definitely want the tubeliss setup. Do you know if they will offer the other colours with tubeliss soon? What price is it with the tubeliss? And for how long will they have the introductory pricing? Last question...What will the price go up to? I'll ask these questions to the dealer tomorrow too, but just thought I'd ask here (maybe they don't know??). I was sold on the CFMoto 450 MT but I go by the emotion and excitement in reviewers voices, not just what they say, and I'm now convinced the Himalayan is the better bike.
what was all the faffing about towards the end of the video about? did the bike struggle to get up a steep incline? or with a hill start? thanks! love the videos guys :)
@@MrTewaka2 I may wait until that’s an option. I was looking at the new himi 411 in brown camo they have at the dealer but think best to wait. Shoot me a message here when you’re going to pick it up… I’d love to come see it!
@@tangomikesierra I think for about 20 million more you get twice the bike. RE seem to have put in alot of r and d as this is their first whole world bike they've produced. What you ridind currently?
Is this a good bike to learn above average dirt bike skills on? I grew up in the dirt but after 30 odd years of only road bikes, I'm a bit timid. I was keen on a near new KLX250S (around $6k) to learn dirt again, but now I'm wondering if I just stretch to the full $9k now and get the second bike first. What do you think?