Yeti. The Himalayan beast in my life

Yeti is what I named him. Many preferred to call it a goat, a Himalayan Goat. But for me, it never looked like one. It always looked like the beast. Untamed, but well mannered and imposing. It has been an agonizing three and half months of a wait, to be honest. Waiting time for my beast was killing me. My friends who knew about this decision kept on asking me on the status, adding salt to the burn. On 16th of Aug., 2016 he arrived. I got to see first glimpse of Royal Enfield Himalayan, reserved in my name at the show room.

I am not sure if you were surprised by me calling him, well a him! A bike or a car is typically seen in a feminine form. The 1st generation Bajaj Pulsar TV commercial did dare to call it a male. It did not last that long, of course. People still continued to call vehicles a her or she in references instead of using “it”or a “him”. Alright, let’s bury that hatchet.

I cannot explain the few days after I made the down payment at the show room. It was wait, and wait. My wife teased me to no end, while I tried my best to contain my excitement. Did a few weird things in between, the excess energy had to flow somewhere.

So finally when we met face to face, a day after the Indian Independence day, the excitement subdued. Well, I didn’t know how or what to react. I had one bulleteer friend Vishnu Tantry to accompany me to the showroom. We listen to the walk through and waited patiently for the executive finish. Took a test ride before signing on the dotted line, found everything okay and satisfied.

The showroom did not make an attempt to make it special – so I was sort of disappointed a bit. I guess the quote that do not expect and you will be happy it didn’t happen was more apt in this case.

A Himalayan upgrade

My existing workhorse has clocked 42,000 Kms. That is a lot for a TVS Wego in three and half years. It has been a mainstay for my traveling needs. Munching 72 kilometers a day, returning a decent average of 37kmpl (blame it on my riding style).

Upgrading from 8 horses on Wego to 24.5 is a huge upgrade, adding 300 cubic capacity to boot. 32 nm of torque on Himalayan is four times that of Wego. This was a serious step up from what I use to ride today.

Yeti, the Himalayan

What can I say about Yeti. Read any review, and you will know that Royal Enfield had hit a sweet spot. A balance, that along with its price, great deal. For me personally, this is the first and the only Royal Enfield I have ridden. It may surprise a few of you, but I am not lying.

I had heard many compare other RE models, and I did not have a yardstick. It never mattered. For me, it was a love at sight, booked at test ride. It is big money for me, to bet for a mode of transport to work and back. Along with some weekend trips, to be planned in future. After I had a final word with my wife, I went ahead and booked it in May.

Yeti’s ride is super smooth, it’s handling is spot on and at cornering the bike felt so good. I love the power delivery of and how it sounds. It has been a revelation for me, for someone who has ridden 200 CC bike before but uses a 110 CC scooter everyday.

The two days it has been with me, I have got heads turning every where we went. That, was the icing on the cake. More to come, but for tonight, syonara.