BHPian CrAzY dRiVeR recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Pictures: Off-Roading With The Himalayan 450The first event for my batch was the obstacle course – which started with these pipe beams! Two hume pipes (actually three, but the third one was later deemed too much for this event!) were laid out on the track and smoothened out with mud. Just the right speed is the key here, you have to let the bike do its thing! Too much speed works against you as the bike will be airborne with minimal effort here. The Himalayan has enough ground clearance to clear these, so long as you are not taking it too slow, sitting on the bike. Stand up and let the suspension handle it all! I remember seeing some mention of the event which had this weigh bridge (aka see-saw) mentioned – but this was not included in the obstacle course The next main obstacles were these balance beams. The idea here is to balance the motorcycle on the beams for as long as possible: Balance beams don’t pose much of a risk – but the same can’t be said about this rock garden. This obstacle is made up of lots of rocks to test the endurance of the rider and the bike. Underbody hits and hard falls can happen here if one isn’t careful – the trick once again is to trust the motorcycle and let the brilliant Showa suspension and the 21″ front end of the Himalayan do its job, while you try to save the bike through the constantly shifting lines: Next up was this steep slope – which looked much scarier in person as compared to the picture here. The good part – there is enough run-off area post the slope, so you can just let the engine braking handle the speed and brake once down the slope: Couple of tight turns through the trees: The challenge here is to shift weight on the motorcycle fast enough so you can steer the bike faster while standing: Slight breather through the sand before a slightly more challenging obstacle: Tired? Offroading is much more exhausting than the road. Plus the Kolar heat was really starting to pick up! Next up was the tyre matrix: Once again the tip is to just trust the bike – the beautiful long travel suspension on the Himalayan sorting out the challenge with ease – so far as the rider can avoid getting in the way: Sharp turns yet again: This one being more difficult as the path barely can accommodate with width of the bike – helps to have precise lines here: The last major obstacle was this steep slope, leading to a mud-pit: The key is to control the speed properly with engine braking during the descent. Carrying more speed into the mud can turn disastrous! Ask my brown riding gear how I know this “Daag acche hai”: Few riders were able to make it out of the pit on their own: Others had to be pushed out: Once the tyres dig into the mud, it fails to regain traction for quite some more time: 5 Human Power up the full slope: With the obstacle course completed – the marshals mark the sticker on the helmet to approve the completion of the first challenge The condition of my Himalayan after the obstacle course, and the fall in the mud! The next challenge was Bike Rescue – towing one Himalayan with another: Riders were randomly paired upon their arrival and given the rope. Rest is upto them to pull the bikes across the finish line: With the Rescue Challenge completed, the third event of the day was to find technical issues with three parked Himalayan motorcycles. The motorcycles had obvious defects like broken clutch cables, no brake levers, etc and didn’t pose much of a challenge to any riders to spot these. This seemed like an improvement area – Royal Enfield can plan to have a motorcycle service DIY or workshop instead of this simple spot-the-issue challenge: Continue reading BHPian CrAzY dRiVeR’s post for more insights and information.
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Various obstacle courses at the Royal Enfield Himalayan Spirit 2025
