I think the other advantage of a £4k bike is that you can abandon it if required. If you have a nasty off in Turkey and end up with a broken ankle, then limping away from £4000 is far easier to swallow than having to arrange shipping and repairs for £20k of GS
I'm doing my A2 in the coming weeks and the Himalayan 411is top of my list. Im long in the tooth (ish), not interested in going fast but i do want a pack mule that will get me places. I'm also looking forward to learning about servicing a bike and it looks like the 411 is just the right amount of analogue to do exactly that.
I thought common-sense was in short supply, but every time you post a video, Nathan, there’s another dose of the stuff. I think the 411 would be the best choice for me, but I prefer the looks of the Voge. It would make me smile every time I opened the garage door. Enjoy yourself mate, Les
I have a himalayan, the torque of this engine is amazing, on the road is so steady motorbike, not a fast bike but a stable and a motorbike with great presence on the road
I have Himmy euro4 and did days training at Croft racing circuit in n of England. Racing circuit!!! ( not a track day. A training day with advanced instructors). Whilst it lost out on straights, gosh I was really impress by general handling and getting round corners - at serious leans without worry. Amazing experience !! Keen to try the vote.
You have to be complemented for your down to earth, no nonsense and honest reviews Nathan. Very refreshing and appreciated in this age of media “falseness”. Well done mate 😎
As a road less travelled adventure rider the Himmy for me. 4k brand new thats some cheap adventures, add in the satisfaction of spannering it yourself and why look elsewhere. The Voge looks like a trail bike but missing then extras to make it an adventure bike - rack, front pannier racks centre stand and screw and locknut tappets. The shims put me off the 452. Should say the Himmy now has longer service intervals .... but oil and filters are so cheap why not extend the engine life with some new lube before the intervals especially if its been ridden hard in the warm ( if we ever get that ) Keep em coming looking forward to visiting in April !!
Had a himalayan until last year, not without its faults but loved riding it, especially with the high lift cam and decat exhaust etc.... sorted out the lack of power, and it revved much quicker and had 20% more power.... I swapped to a 350 classic reborn.... nicer engine, but less power.... I would definitely buy a himmy again if i was looking for that kind of bike...
The thing about riding a Himalayan is you have to factor in extra time for the amount of people who genuinely want to talk to you about the bike. I’ve not experienced it to this level with any of the other bikes I’ve owned 😂
I took a short test ride on the Himalayan, I have the GT650 and Hunter 350 in addition to Honda Rally 300 ($2500 to fix the bubblegum suspension, let it breath battery, racks/crash bars...). The idea of the Himalayan made sense to me. I was so very disappointed with the engine, the character, the way it developed power, the not (at least to me) mechanical noises it made. If it had the Hunter's 350, it would have been awesome. So crazy idea, Himalayan 350. As always thx for another good vid from sunny Indonesia.
Just took delivery of a new Himalayan. Should make a nice 2nd bike to my TriumphTrophySE. Haven't been out on it yet, other around Penrith, as have a crappy cold feeling like crap. Hope to recover to head out on Good Friday for green laning around Ullswater North Lake District. It will come back covered in mud and a smile on my face.
Great video Nathan. Bought my Rally in December after watching your reviews. The more I ride it, the better it gets. Fantastic for the empty lanes around the lakes of the Millevaches here in France. And 4k euros OTR with a 3 Yr warranty. If it would just stop raining........!!
Great video with lots of practical perspectives. I live in Vietnam where big bikes over 175cc are taxed and speeds aren't high. But I still want something bigger regardless for (long distance comfort, 2up, size, and capablity). Another way to put this could be, "you can travel on a trail bike but it's more difficult to ride trails on a travel bike".
I really enjoy your reviews of the current crop of affordable trail/travel bikes. I started trail riding four years ago in South Wales with the TRF on a DR350SE which cost less than a grand. Its been bullet proof and very capable, I still have it. Ive since bought a Crf300l rally which had been across the states on the TAT and last autumn I took it to Morocco with a gaggle of Mush bigger adventure bikes. It did really well and averaged 100 mpg most of the time. It has Ktech F and R and is great off road. I had a hankering for a big single, I initially thought a DR650 would be a good platform to start with but decent ones were hard to find. Then a friend mentioned he was selling a TTR600 he had prepared for long trips so after he returned from Dakar on his T7 special ( 170kg and 27L tank) a deal was done. . Its lighter than the rally and has about 45bhp, (620cc, modded cam, 20 L tank, rebuilt/shortened Ohlins shock) It's an oldie but a goodie.
Another great video Nathan you hit the nail on the head with the comment best cheap stock adventure travel bike is the 411 Himalayan. I loved mine when I had it I have upgraded (possibly) to a CRF300 rally a year ago but it was more expensive to buy then I spent a small fortune upgrading the suspension and adding racks etc that the Himalayan had standard. It will be interesting to see how the new Himalayan goes after a couple of years. I don’t think the Voge is available in Australia. The only issues with the Royal Enfield here is parts availability generally it is quicker and cheaper to order parts directly from India for us because the local dealers and importers only stock common service type of parts.
I'm not sure which I'd have. The latest Himalayan is more reliable than the Mk1, I've heard. I bet the Scram 411 is a good ride. Have you been astride one, Nathan? One of the best bike channels on here. Nick
Hey - thank you for this. I’ve watched a lot about the Himalayan and the original is essentially the perfect bike for what l need - slow paced backroads, just enough power to be safe on main roads, and can do even more than what I might need in terms of green laning, able to get me out on long road/camping trips, and a low seat. I’m strong, but as a woman of 5’4” I do not fancy dragging this thing around in the mud. I think l could lever it up in place if I drop it, with the low center of gravity, but not much else. Especially when loaded with luggage. What do you think l could find with the sameish size engine, manageable seat height, same back road and green lane capacity, can handle a few freeway hours as needed, can take luggage, but may not weigh so much? I’ve been looking at the xt225/250/sarow/bronco - but all are mid-90s in the uk and I’m not yet a mechanic. Any and all thoughts appreciated. I plan to come visit in the fall to try a few of your bikes out as well, but just wondering if you have any rabbit holes I may not have sought out. Thought about your new ccm 230’s but just not enough power for larger roads - however few hours there - as I’d like - I’m hoping for 70 or above top out. Many thanks for your amazing everything.
A himalayan is like the forth bridge maintainence wise but its my go to bike. If you have mole grips and a bit of mechanical knowledge you will be able to get home.
Good review but a bit too late for these two bikes at this moment. Because both of them, being representatives of India and China adv bikes, have better successors. They are CF450MT and Himalayan 450.
@@nathanthepostman , what about the Voge 525DSX? Any chance you would be able to get a loan of one of those. Technically under 500cc I think and maybe also in the running.
Hi Nathan, have you ridden the husky svartpilen? I've got one myself and was just curious about your thoughts on it. Haven't tried any 'off road' with it but would be fun to see how far you could push one
Nice short and sweet video! I am thinking of buying a himalayan Mk1 They are a lot cheaper in the UK than here in Spain where I live and work. OK, I will have to pay a tax to import it, but it's not a lot of money to do this. Do you know how easy it is to change the speedo housing from miles per hour to kilometres per hour? Would I need to change the whole housing?
@@Just_2_Wheelz check out Simon The Biker trips using Himalayan 450 in India and weight reduction tactics of Abhinav Bhatt 170 Kg himalayan 450. Even though im not a fan of heavy bikes, looks like RE has come very very close to nailing this.
Ha. Yeah I may have rounded it up a touch. But I reckon I was getting a good 150 miles before the light came on and I think there's about a 3.5 litre reserve. So at a push you'd nudge 200 I think.
Very interesting and good to get your insight. The 411 seems to be very similar in its attributes to the old Honda NX650 Dominator, albeit with a smaller engine, ABS and Euro 4/5. Hard to accept that the good old Dominators are now about 30 years old! The Voge looks very interesting, just struggling with the politics of buying Chinese but European manufacturers are taking us down that road anyway. On another 'cheerful' note, with these Euro 4 & 5 restrictions, it looks as though we will only be able to enter some cities on more recent bikes.
Great video as always! I'm hoping the Loncin bikes become available to you. They have a 300 Rally, close to the Voge, engine seems the same but, with a carburetor and no ABS. The price is much lower. I'm thinking £2500. As much as I'd like to get off the pavement, where I live in the US, there's no option for that I'd consider and only the RE is sold here. I am looking at Ecuador as a place to live and there, an adventure bike would be needed. Their imports are taxed heavily but, what comes from China doesn't seem to be. They use the US dollar and doing the conversion to BPS the Himalayan 411 would be £6k, Voge 300 Rally £4k, Loncin 300 Rally £2519 and Loncin 250 £2014. The 250 has 17.7hp, I think it's a pushrod engine but, the rest looks the same as the 300.
One twist. Popping on a 44T rear sprocket on the Voge thus dropping the revs to 1000 x 10mph - how much more would that make it a Travel bike, especially as it would extend the 3500 mile service interval?
I think the other advantage of a £4k bike is that you can abandon it if required. If you have a nasty off in Turkey and end up with a broken ankle, then limping away from £4000 is far easier to swallow than having to arrange shipping and repairs for £20k of GS
What a pleasure it is to watch an objective, highly informative and well-paced video with absolutely no bullshit. Congratulations, sir.
I'm doing my A2 in the coming weeks and the Himalayan 411is top of my list. Im long in the tooth (ish), not interested in going fast but i do want a pack mule that will get me places. I'm also looking forward to learning about servicing a bike and it looks like the 411 is just the right amount of analogue to do exactly that.
I thought common-sense was in short supply, but every time you post a video, Nathan, there’s another dose of the stuff. I think the 411 would be the best choice for me, but I prefer the looks of the Voge. It would make me smile every time I opened the garage door. Enjoy yourself mate, Les
I have a himalayan, the torque of this engine is amazing, on the road is so steady motorbike, not a fast bike but a stable and a motorbike with great presence on the road
I have Himmy euro4 and did days training at Croft racing circuit in n of England. Racing circuit!!! ( not a track day. A training day with advanced instructors). Whilst it lost out on straights, gosh I was really impress by general handling and getting round corners - at serious leans without worry. Amazing experience !! Keen to try the vote.
You have to be complemented for your down to earth, no nonsense and honest reviews Nathan. Very refreshing and appreciated in this age of media “falseness”. Well done mate 😎
Nathan is such a class act, and gives such brilliant objective insights. 👍
Love tuning in to NTP on YT. Great content and I'm surprised you haven't got thousands more subscribers. I'm sure it'll happen 😉
As a road less travelled adventure rider the Himmy for me. 4k brand new thats some cheap adventures, add in the satisfaction of spannering it yourself and why look elsewhere. The Voge looks like a trail bike but missing then extras to make it an adventure bike - rack, front pannier racks centre stand and screw and locknut tappets. The shims put me off the 452. Should say the Himmy now has longer service intervals .... but oil and filters are so cheap why not extend the engine life with some new lube before the intervals especially if its been ridden hard in the warm ( if we ever get that ) Keep em coming looking forward to visiting in April !!
Had a himalayan until last year, not without its faults but loved riding it, especially with the high lift cam and decat exhaust etc.... sorted out the lack of power, and it revved much quicker and had 20% more power.... I swapped to a 350 classic reborn.... nicer engine, but less power....
I would definitely buy a himmy again if i was looking for that kind of bike...
The thing about riding a Himalayan is you have to factor in extra time for the amount of people who genuinely want to talk to you about the bike. I’ve not experienced it to this level with any of the other bikes I’ve owned 😂
Haha. It's very true. Even the non bikers seem intrigued
I took a short test ride on the Himalayan, I have the GT650 and Hunter 350 in addition to Honda Rally 300 ($2500 to fix the bubblegum suspension, let it breath battery, racks/crash bars...). The idea of the Himalayan made sense to me. I was so very disappointed with the engine, the character, the way it developed power, the not (at least to me) mechanical noises it made. If it had the Hunter's 350, it would have been awesome. So crazy idea, Himalayan 350. As always thx for another good vid from sunny Indonesia.
@toqtoq3361 Yep, a bit lighter, 350 Himalayan. Not interested in the 452, going with the CFmoto MT450.
Honda looks to be doing just that, they are making a Himi clone with a Honda 350cc engine
@@toqtoq3361the Honda 350cc is an air cooled low revving engine from the cb350
you're not the first to suggest the sweet 350 in a Himmy
Would much rather support India.
Nathan = Guy Martin *Offroad edition* Down to earth and not got his head stuck up his derriere.
I once heard the Himalayan described as "looking like a piece of haunted furniture"....🤣 ...'nuff said.
Have you ridden one offroad ?
better than looking like a childs origami class product as soooooooooooooooooooooooooo many bike do these days
@@JIMWSMITH nah I'll stick to my Tuareg. But even if I did ride it, that wouldn't change what I heard someone say...
Guess it doesn’t match your spangled leotard? 😂😂😂
@@devonbikefilms yeah, you're probably right.😀
Just took delivery of a new Himalayan. Should make a nice 2nd bike to my TriumphTrophySE. Haven't been out on it yet, other around Penrith, as have a crappy cold feeling like crap. Hope to recover to head out on Good Friday for green laning around Ullswater North Lake District. It will come back covered in mud and a smile on my face.
Very good analogy of the two bikes no bullis!!!t. 👍
Great video Nathan. Bought my Rally in December after watching your reviews. The more I ride it, the better it gets. Fantastic for the empty lanes around the lakes of the Millevaches here in France. And 4k euros OTR with a 3 Yr warranty. If it would just stop raining........!!
Great video with lots of practical perspectives. I live in Vietnam where big bikes over 175cc are taxed and speeds aren't high. But I still want something bigger regardless for (long distance comfort, 2up, size, and capablity). Another way to put this could be, "you can travel on a trail bike but it's more difficult to ride trails on a travel bike".
You read my mind, I had this doubt on me for some time. I ordered the Voge. Thank you so much!
Excellent insight!
I really enjoy your reviews of the current crop of affordable trail/travel bikes. I started trail riding four years ago in South Wales with the TRF on a DR350SE which cost less than a grand. Its been bullet proof and very capable, I still have it.
Ive since bought a Crf300l rally which had been across the states on the TAT and last autumn I took it to Morocco with a gaggle of Mush bigger adventure bikes. It did really well and averaged 100 mpg most of the time. It has Ktech F and R and is great off road.
I had a hankering for a big single, I initially thought a DR650 would be a good platform to start with but decent ones were hard to find.
Then a friend mentioned he was selling a TTR600 he had prepared for long trips so after he returned from Dakar on his T7 special ( 170kg and 27L tank) a deal was done. . Its lighter than the rally and has about 45bhp, (620cc, modded cam, 20 L tank, rebuilt/shortened Ohlins shock)
It's an oldie but a goodie.
Don't forget on the Himalayan you can get a saree guard... now that is an option you don't see on many bikes.
More than anyone else's review or opinion, i am looking fwd to Nathan's thoughts on the new 450 Himalayan.
The Aussies are raving about it.
Another great video Nathan you hit the nail on the head with the comment best cheap stock adventure travel bike is the 411 Himalayan. I loved mine when I had it I have upgraded (possibly) to a CRF300 rally a year ago but it was more expensive to buy then I spent a small fortune upgrading the suspension and adding racks etc that the Himalayan had standard. It will be interesting to see how the new Himalayan goes after a couple of years. I don’t think the Voge is available in Australia. The only issues with the Royal Enfield here is parts availability generally it is quicker and cheaper to order parts directly from India for us because the local dealers and importers only stock common service type of parts.
I'm not sure which I'd have. The latest Himalayan is more reliable than the Mk1, I've heard. I bet the Scram 411 is a good ride. Have you been astride one, Nathan?
One of the best bike channels on here. Nick
It's a good road ride , but the smaller front wheel doesn't do it any favers offroad and zero crash protection.
Well explained Nathan. Great vid for anyone considering one of these.
The new voge 500 with spoked wheels that are tubeless for £4999 looks great
Fantastic review once again.I bought the voge for the very same reason I guess you did.The bike is just so honest.
That's a great way of describing it fender
Hey - thank you for this. I’ve watched a lot about the Himalayan and the original is essentially the perfect bike for what l need - slow paced backroads, just enough power to be safe on main roads, and can do even more than what I might need in terms of green laning, able to get me out on long road/camping trips, and a low seat. I’m strong, but as a woman of 5’4” I do not fancy dragging this thing around in the mud. I think l could lever it up in place if I drop it, with the low center of gravity, but not much else. Especially when loaded with luggage. What do you think l could find with the sameish size engine, manageable seat height, same back road and green lane capacity, can handle a few freeway hours as needed, can take luggage, but may not weigh so much? I’ve been looking at the xt225/250/sarow/bronco - but all are mid-90s in the uk and I’m not yet a mechanic. Any and all thoughts appreciated. I plan to come visit in the fall to try a few of your bikes out as well, but just wondering if you have any rabbit holes I may not have sought out. Thought about your new ccm 230’s but just not enough power for larger roads - however few hours there - as I’d like - I’m hoping for 70 or above top out. Many thanks for your amazing everything.
Great video. I will be very interested to see comparisons of the new voge 525 and the new Himalayan.
A local shop in my country has both of these on sale. Voge for 2800UK pounds, Himi411 for 2500UK pounds
I was actually thinking about buying another Himalayan as you say it's alot of bike for 4k
A himalayan is like the forth bridge maintainence wise but its my go to bike. If you have mole grips and a bit of mechanical knowledge you will be able to get home.
Good review but a bit too late for these two bikes at this moment. Because both of them, being representatives of India and China adv bikes, have better successors. They are CF450MT and Himalayan 450.
That'll be the sequel. 'which £6000 adventure bike.'
@@nathanthepostman , what about the Voge 525DSX? Any chance you would be able to get a loan of one of those. Technically under 500cc I think and maybe also in the running.
The Honda switch assembly may be more expensive than on the Voge, but then it’s less likely to have broken in the first place.
8 times less likely?
Disappointing that the Voge isn't available here in Oz.
Dealer supports probably not on par with major brands.
the voge seems very good value ;;
Hi Nathan, have you ridden the husky svartpilen? I've got one myself and was just curious about your thoughts on it. Haven't tried any 'off road' with it but would be fun to see how far you could push one
Nice short and sweet video! I am thinking of buying a himalayan Mk1 They are a lot cheaper in the UK than here in Spain where I live and work. OK, I will have to pay a tax to import it, but it's not a lot of money to do this. Do you know how easy it is to change the speedo housing from miles per hour to kilometres per hour? Would I need to change the whole housing?
Can you show us inside the dance🎉 club mate please?😅
Himi 411 discontinued. It is now himi 452 all the way forward.
That's not great, actually. I've sat on the new 450 at the dealership and that thing felt insanely heavy compared to the old 411.
@@Just_2_Wheelz check out Simon The Biker trips using Himalayan 450 in India and weight reduction tactics of Abhinav Bhatt 170 Kg himalayan 450. Even though im not a fan of heavy bikes, looks like RE has come very very close to nailing this.
200 miles range from your Voge?! I’m only getting 130 before the light comes on. Maybe there’s a hole in my tank 😂
Ha. Yeah I may have rounded it up a touch. But I reckon I was getting a good 150 miles before the light came on and I think there's about a 3.5 litre reserve. So at a push you'd nudge 200 I think.
CRF300L RALLY
£6500
@@babyjackismstill rather have it. Depreciation is the real cost not the ticket price.
@@BikingChap Depends if you're riding it to keep or sell after a few years I guess.
@@_Makanko_ with the vast majority buying bikes on PCPs these days it seems most look to change them every 2-4 years.
@@BikingChap I see, a lot of owners in the UK are using that scheme to pay off the bike, sell it and move to a newer one?
Very interesting and good to get your insight. The 411 seems to be very similar in its attributes to the old Honda NX650 Dominator, albeit with a smaller engine, ABS and Euro 4/5. Hard to accept that the good old Dominators are now about 30 years old! The Voge looks very interesting, just struggling with the politics of buying Chinese but European manufacturers are taking us down that road anyway. On another 'cheerful' note, with these Euro 4 & 5 restrictions, it looks as though we will only be able to enter some cities on more recent bikes.
Drove the Voge 300 last weekend and was really impressed. Did not know much about the brand but great handling and not too heavy.
Another highly watchable, zero bullshit, video from the main man, nice one 👍🏼
Great video as always! I'm hoping the Loncin bikes become available to you. They have a 300 Rally, close to the Voge, engine seems the same but, with a carburetor and no ABS. The price is much lower. I'm thinking £2500.
As much as I'd like to get off the pavement, where I live in the US, there's no option for that I'd consider and only the RE is sold here. I am looking at Ecuador as a place to live and there, an adventure bike would be needed. Their imports are taxed heavily but, what comes from China doesn't seem to be. They use the US dollar and doing the conversion to BPS the Himalayan 411 would be £6k, Voge 300 Rally £4k, Loncin 300 Rally £2519 and Loncin 250 £2014. The 250 has 17.7hp, I think it's a pushrod engine but, the rest looks the same as the 300.
One twist. Popping on a 44T rear sprocket on the Voge thus dropping the revs to 1000 x 10mph - how much more would that make it a Travel bike, especially as it would extend the 3500 mile service interval?
No it wouldn't extend the service intervals at all unfortunately