I traded in my Tiger 800 XRX and bought a Himalayan. I completely agree with your comments. You can wring its neck all day long and it just asks for more. It is perfectly happy pottering around but somehow encourages you to use your skills to get the most put of it. It makes perfect sense on the busy and potholed roads where I live on the Essex Suffolk borders and soaks up the central gravel lines or sunken ironworks that characterise the rural roads, whilst also being really easy in busy urban traffic. It's a great bike

You're right on that point about smiles per mile, I had many bikes through the years, and when I think of it the most fun or smiles per mile I ever had was my Honda 50 when I was a teenager, I really wish I never sold that bike, great video again Freddie 🎉

A couple of Lads Using all the power of their Bikes on the Bypass near Here got Caught & were given 6 weeks Free lodgings in HMP .. I ride around on a 47 bhp Honda. Even though I have Had a Full Motorcycle Licence for Many Years. & I am more than Happy

Great Sunday morning viewing with a cup of tea

YOU have been Bitten! I got my himmy in 2018, didn't get to ride her much ,due to serious illness, (Pancreatic Cancer) and 2 years of weakness mainly due to the Chemo Therapy, and another year building muscle and strength. So I bought a 350 Classic, a bit easier to manhandle! Just could not part with "LAYLA" My Himmy, still a joy to ride, so takes turns with"RUBY" the Classic, people can't believe I am 73 and a half, and still riding, IT IS what keeps you going, I may not go touring, but still enjoy riding,My Wife now has the bug, but no desire to ride Biguns, She passed her licence here in Malta , and can ride 125's . She has a Puegeot Speedfight Scoot, and a Malaguti Dune ADV 125, which will give the Enfields a race without disgrace! I would recommend anyone to try a Himmy, Test one or borrow a mates, disappointment is only for the BORING! Cheers, DINO and PANDA .

" how many smiles per mile". million dollar truth. Love u Freddie. spec-sheet doesn't matter.

We are each to his own , but I rode my old Harley to Scotland last year . Loaded up And wild camped for 10 days , 2500 mile round trip .. taking in all the coast and Skye … I had such a great time .. I went in April had 20 minutes of rain in 10 days. No hassle finding incredible places to camp . The whole trip just cost me fuel and the food I bought and cooked myself . I never knew what was around the corner .. I had no schedule. Bliss

Beautifully produced video series Freddie and Monika. ( Not sure who does what! ) I can only marvel at your skills at putting a story together ...well done.

My current bike is a Himalayan and it's probably my favourite bike that I've owned to date. Despite its relatively high weight for its power it's a playful bike, perhaps because as you point out you can push it at 100%! It is brilliant being able to throw it at any surface too and it'll have a good go. Main problem for me is after a few hours I find the seat excruciating! Also I love that literally any bike I buy next will feel incredibly fast by comparison.

Freddie... you are the Bob Ross of motorcycle reviews.

Your outlook Freddie is that of a ' mature ' motorcyclist !.I've had well over 100 motorcycles in a lifetime of riding , from a Honda C50 to a Yamaha FZR1000 and they all had their virtues and loved most of them but the most enjoyable rides were on the less powerful ( and often much older ) ones .I recall with a group of mates riding the annual ACU 500 mile National Rally , most on largely modern bikes of greater than 500cc which was easy yet one was on a 50 year old AJS 350 with a modest 17 b.h.p ( a very robust and reliable thumper ) and rather like the parable of the tortoise and the hare , he never held anyone up and where most were knackered after the continuous journey, he was the most refreshed and used a fraction of the fuel and argued he could have done it over again !.

You're right Freddie, smiles per mile all the way! Awesome adventure

I picked up a 2023 himalayan two weeks ago and its my favourite bike of all time. It has shortfalls, power, brakes, uncomfortable seat, and a few quality issues but so much info on youtube, do your research before you buy and you know how to sort these. So many cheap accessories. Ive now fully accessorised, fixed brakes with ebc disc and sintered pads, dropped in tec camshaft (20% power increase for £169), new seat handcrafted from SAS seats North Wales for £70 cant recommend highly enough), now ready for some light trails. 105mpg during run in period.

Hi Freddie, thank you for sharing this amazing journey with us all. The fact that you ended up doing it on a Himalayan in the end made it all the more interesting for me ! I completely concur with your opinion of the Himalayan. I have wanted one since they first came out but circumstances meant that it was only in April of this year that I finally got around to buying one. So I've had many, many years to get excited about the Himalayan, hours of KZfaq videos watched and yet somehow, the new Himalayan has still managed to exceed those high expectations, built up over a prolonged period of yearning to own one. It's just a go anywhere, do anything motorcycle. It's so versatile. I call it the Swiss Army knife of motorcycles, or indeed the Land Rover Defender of motorcycles ! It has already rendered my scooter obsolete. All errands and emergency shopping runs are done with the Himalayan these days. It's great fun to ride on the road and more capable than I am off-road ! With the hard panniers fitted, you have so much carrying capacity, it just adds so much versatility to this already versatile motorcycle. Unless you intend to cross continents in a few days, using only the Autobahn, it has sufficient performance for any kind of trip and on the current model I find the oft criticised seat to be extremely comfortable. It's just a cracking bike to have in your fleet, to jump on without worrying about it. Ride it anywhere, leave it anywhere. Let it get dirty, it won't get upset ! I absolutely love mine and in a way I am kicking myself slightly for not getting one sooner. Having said that, the screen and seat are significantly improved on the later models, so it probably wasn't such a mistake to wait after all. Thanks Freddie, a beautiful video as always ! Must have been fun standing by the roadside in the pouring rain to film the group passing by, time and again 😝 We appreciate your sacrifice ! ER.

"How many smiles per miles it gives you..." Ah, the romantic poet in you Freddie. An equal sentiment for your next postcard to Monica. :)

I'm glad you get the Himalayan, Freddie. I'm lucky enough to call The Lecht and Cairnwell Pass in the video my local roads with my Himalayan. Perfect bike for around here and yes, it is also a mule, I'm just back from 3500 miles to Norway and Sweden and it never missed a beat.

A lovely watchable mini series that promotes biking Scotland and the Himmy perfectly thank you. I’ve a himmy just over two years now and done about 12k on it ( I have other bikes) it’s taken me on a LEJOG and side to side as well as the south coast the lakes, and wales every trip is an adventure. Cheap to buy, cheaper to run. It’s a bike for all roads and a proper adventure bike that can take you anywhere. I love mine and have trips in my head to do and redo …. Just say you dont have to rag it everywhere, you can and it’ll take it but the art of Himmying is the pootle, it’s absolutely about the journey a bit a about the destination and a lot about the company.

I loved following this adventure. No one does motorbike vids like you, absolutely fantastic! Like mini movies! So glad you enjoyed the tour and thanks for giving me some inspiration.

Scotland, unique, special place, and the people as well!!

Love the series Freddie - Scotland is stunning whatever the weather 🥵☔️😀👍

This is the thing about all the RE's - none of them are "best in class" on paper, but they're all in their own way uniquely *loveable*. I'm definitely looking for a Himalayan as a winter hack to pair with my Interceptor. I'm a Scot living on the south coast of England and thinking of riding the Interceptor home to Glasgow in September to visit old friends. Of course I'm worried about the weather, but also fatigue, being in my mid-60s and unused to longer trips. I used to do it in a oner in the car without thinking about it, but the last time left me exhausted. I'll need to break it in two (at least). Anyway thanks for the blog Freddie. Slainte!

Great little trip Freddie, living in the Lakes with easy access to Scotlands open roads with the best scenery and lack of traffic is wonderful, and I fully agree with your thoughts, just don’t tell everyone! 😁

What a brilliant little film. Just beautiful...............

The roads around Braemar, my local roads, some of the best scenery in the world, and those twisties, the reason I fell in love with bikes.

I have a himalayan great bike but i broke my shoulder last year and my arm isnt right..so frustrating! Im glad you spoke favourably.

Those mountains and roads and the bike riding and the music altogether makes this video so beautiful!

Just returned from my trip to Scotland back to the midlands. Smile per mile on my Tmax 560 was 100% Scotland is a beautiful place to visit

Very happy to hear this appraisal because I am currently in Italy and heading to England to buy either an Interceptor or Himalayan - With 4-5 grand for a good Interceptor or 2-3 grand for a Himalayan. As I live overseas and have other bikes, and don’t really have anywhere to store a bike this review is timely and informative. Going on marketplace and will get one. So if anyone has one to sell for cash please PM me.

What a great adventure, thank you for sharing.

Nice. Thanks for sharing the journey. 👍

Great video, Freddie. Thank you 🙏 👍

Great coverage of a great trip.

Really enjoyed this & your other videos. Keep up the great work 👊😎👍

Excellent Freddie, great trip for all. Many thanks.

Brilliant trip, keep it up 💪

Really loved this series of films Freddie, it was great! Ride safe 👏👍😀🏍

Another stunning video. Thank you for making it. Hope you get your Triumph up and running soon.

Awesome video Freddie, great trip I very much enjoyed this series.

Really enjoyed these videos Freddie and can’t wait for my turn with the Highland Scramble in September!

You can all sum it up really good! Love the you tell everything. The music and the video together sums up the atmoshpere! Awesome

Fantastic trip Freddy, you have become my go to for bike adventures now

Everything you could want from a motorbike trip. Simply fabulous. Thanks for sharing. Safe, happy travels 👍

loved watching your trip....Scotland is beautiful...and you are spot on with your "smiles per mile"...its like the debate about whats a "beginner" bike...to bad your trip is over...cant wait to see what you have planned next...and if the Bonneville is completed..

Great little series Freddie definitely smiles per miles is the answer !! 😃

Just did my first trip on my Himalayan. Loved it but was very wet so got damp and as was with tent had to take it easy. As my first bike wasnt a bad choice! Sure if I have issues or eventually want something bigger it hasnt cost a fortune to get going. The wet Uk weather is my next challenge. (Lucky the campsite had a tarp n dry area for packing up).

I believe this will be my next bike! Loved the series freddie

Smiles per mile....i like that view

Great video series. Looked like a fantastic trip, even with the dodgy weather. Must do that trip myself sometime soon.

That's 1 heck of a video Freddie. Really inspirational . I have to say you have taken a painstaking effort .

Thanks for uploading this vid. Loved the complete series! (Just came from Islay (Feis Ile) and Skye myself but I'm taking a Himalayan into the Indian Himalayan next September. Thanks to your experience I'm convinced that I'll be riding a decent bike thru Kashmir & Ladakh! Cheers!

Your cinematography, eye for what looks good and general presentation of everything around biking is annoyingly brilliant! TBH you deserve your own biker top gear show. Keep up the good work! PS also also ordered the hood jeans for me and the MRs and got to say they are great, sooo comfortable!

Love to hear this as a Himalayan owner. This trip is definitely going on my to-do list. Beautiful work w editing and production...loved it!

well Freddie, this was once again a beautiful experience to watch. youre way of transporting the story, the emotions, the presentation of a bikes soul is outstanding. man i would love to go with you for a ride. you are a special guy! thank you for your work and all the beauty you show us. best regards Norbert

Nice videos Freddie! Riding, filming and editing it yourself 👏🏻

Absolutely nailed it there Freddie. Eloquent and accurate as usual. These bikes are a perfect "Fit" for today's back roads whether in the UK or Europe. I loved this video....... being a Scot, I couldn't really help it. Wonderful stuff. Please keep it coming.

Thanks for sharing this adventure,Freddie. I’ve never ridden a Himalayan, but I’d like to and I’ve read numerous reviews of the bike from people who share your positive reactions . The bike seems to grow on people and they fall in love with it. Beautiful scenery in Scotland. Another destination on my bucket list. Cheers, Dan. ✌️🏍🇨🇦

Club med with bikes! Great video and profound insights, love ya work

Great little 'mini series' Freddie. Thanks for sharing the experience. Many years since I visited Scotland but hope to go again soon. It's a long way from Australia but who knows?

That was perfect for a relaxing Sunday morning 😎👍

Nice one Freddie, Scotland is a fantastic place to ride, I've toured there when the weather has been glorious and not so glorious but always loved every minute of it. You take a chance and hope for the best like anywhere in the UK .....

Life can be very fast and full with work and other responsibilities. So a bike that is a little happier to be slower helps me take life at a more relaxed pace. Where i can look at everything around me. I live near Oban. Thoroughly enjoyed your videos. And i definitely picked the right bike in the Himalayan. I'm so pleased you have discovered and appreciated it too.

hey Freddie...Last weekend I did the enfield slide school on a modified Himalayan.....I was super impressed with the bike....im on the lookout for a cheap one.....its a super little bike..... great series of videos....thanks as always

I love you Freddie, ride safe.

Fantastic tour around Scotland Freddie thanks for taking us along! I must agree with you on what defines a great bike tho I would say it’s impossible to define? The great fell walker Alfred Wainwright summed it up perfectly once when he was asked what he’s favourite mountain was? He’s reply was “the one am on?”in other words all of em! I think it goes without saying that the Himalayan isn’t the fastest kid on the block BUT BOY CAN IT WORK Where speed isn’t the Answer! Brilliant video 👍🏻😎

I’d rather be riding a bike at 80% than 100%. Easier on the engine and you always have a bit on hand for getting yourself out of trouble / overtakes etc. at the end of the day whatever floats your boat !

I have really enjoyed this series.

Just love your words I find the little V.F.R. 400 the same you can push it to the limit without killing yourself I am about to by a Honda silver wing for touring yep a Silver wing that old no tax no mot etc etc but I love it !! Keep up the good work you are a\pro at what you do Freddie !! Thanks for your hard work !!!

This is how I feel about my 2023 V7 special. It’s definitely under my skin. Cheers! 🎉

Totally agree Freddie, smiles per mile is the way to go

Fab photography Freddy, well done.

Nice one Freddie...

Interesting wrap up, I have several bikes including an Interceptor and a Himalayan; I completely agree with you, I was asked the other day if I could only have one which out of the many would I choose, easy, the Himalayan as it is the only bike that will take me anywhere, no other bike gives me the same sense of freedom.

Loved the Himmy, but loved the Meteor 350 even more :)

Top of the top, you must write a book with all your motorbike experience👌👌👌

I think you nailed it - its way more fun (and less stressful) wringing every last ounce from a lower powered bike than having to be very careful with the throttle of a high powered bike. With the former you know its not going to get away from you. With the latter you are always worried that one slight slip and its going to go down and incur a lot of expensive damage.

Glad you enjoyed it Freddie.I hope you get a chance to do the NC500 in the future.

Brilliant video again Freddie ,smiles per mile I feel the exact same way about my t120 ,I been riding 50 yrs my days of big adventure bikes and sports tourers are gone I get more fun from my Triumph than I ever did for my BMWs or the jap bikes,thanks for sharing 👍

Loved this Freddie. Beautiful shots and some thoughts about motorcycling that I'm sure will be shared with many others. Lots of bikes, used in different places for different reasons, likes and dislikes. I seem to always come back to bikes that are smaller and lighter with a shape that can fit a carrier on the back to cope with a small backpack and rolled-up tent. Maybe a tank bag for...wine :) In my true traveling days, looking back, a bigger, faster, heavier bike would have ruined all of my adventures. Now I'm thinking the new Honda scrambler (just saw fitted with a Vance and Hinds to get rid of the awfulness - and it looked awesome and sounded wicked). And the new Triumph scrambler. On these, or the Himalayan, I would happily tour/travel pretty much anywhere. B roads and trails are where it's at anyway. For me!

You've highlighted the paradox of the Himalayan. On paper it just seems lacking in so many ways. But to ride it, something unexpected is there. I've had my Himalayan for two years and while it is so different than the Vespa scooters and W650 in my garage, it is fun in a manner that defies description. I'm glad I could hear you illuminate some of what has eluded me. Thank you for that. And for the wonderful ride in Scotland.

Superlative Freddy. Nice job sir. Nice job.

I'm glad ive got one in my back garden ready for after MOD 2 next week :D

Loved these videos Freddie. You summed it up perfectly for me...Much better to ride a slow bike fast, than a faster bike slowly! I have an RE Classic 350. I love it. Not gonna win any land speed records but it's a bag of fun. Safe riding. When you coming to LA? Wanna ride the PCH for a bit? You can stay at our house.

Some really great roads and scenery Freddie that's for sure and you didn'tseem to need your head cover for the midgies either .For me I reckon the bike I had that I could rag around the best was my old Suzuki GS 550 what a fun bike that was great on the country lanes running from Durrington Wilts to Pewsey twice a day for work what fun . Nice one 😉👌👍

Whatever bike he’s currently sitting on is the best bike he’s ever ridden.

Your video on the Scram 411 helped convince me to try one. I can echo your sentiments on the Himalayan platform. It is a bike that has 'just enough' power. It is not powerful, but you really aren't going to regret that it doesn't have more. It's a Goldilocks bike; not too much or too little, just right.

I'm heading out to Connemara - inisbofin - Westport - Achill taking in Louisburgh drive in 2 weeks on my heinkel. Can't wait.

Great series, Freddie. I'm fortunate enough to have the Highlands on my doorstep, and I should really make more use of it!

Great that you loved the bike so much. I imagine the extra 20% the Interceptor has would be useful two up though....

Freddie, an absolutely stunning series of videos. Beautifully shot, tons of information and proving once more that whatever bike one has is the best bike for the job because it yours. I never seen you wearing the midge net Freddie, was it not too bad?

Love this

Hey Freddie, I watched your Scotland trip, and I was wondered on the guy who ridden the ducati diavel. He did whole the trip on- and offroad, wet and dry, together with more offroad capable machines. I have maxium respect for him

You talk the same about the Himalayan as my vstrom 650. After it’s warmed up, I thrash it and it feels so good whereas a powerful bike it’s a mind game with the throttle. I tried the Himalayan and just didn’t do it for me except the sound. Good we all different. Makes me yearn for Scottish visit.

I agree with you when you say you can push the bike to its limits and really enjoy it. I've had many bikes in the past from across the spectrum from mopeds to superbikes. But the ones I've enjoyed the most are the ones that I could really thrash. My current road bike is a Triumph Street twin, which gets a regular thrashing and leaves me grinning for the rest of the day. Anyway I love the Himalayan and will hopefully get one soon.

Super little video - I’m glad you enjoyed it - I put my money down on one last week!

Sorry bout the camera damage! But great set of videos, I enjoyed seeing a little bit of Scotland. Will have to go ride it myself one of these days.

Hi Freddie, greetings from Brittany 😁 wherever you go you are a one off mate and completely watchable. My wife doesn't get it, not sure I get it but I'm hooked. I think maybe you are just a nice genuine person and there are not many of those about. Best wishes to you and M and keep on keeping on. Ride safe, Tony.

I part exed my Ducati Scrambler for a brand new Himalayan and I love it. Sure I miss the power for overtaking, but as you concluded, 95% of the time I ride just as quick on the Himmy. :)

Brilliant journey! You're spot on with the comments about the Himi. I'm a proud owner of that bike as well as an Interceptor and I love both bikes for different reasons. But, if I had to choose one for the type of riding I do most, it would be the Himi. Much more versatile. With that said, I just bought my 3rd bike ever, a Moto Guzzi V85 TT and I'll say, it's quite the machine but I don't think it replaces the Himi. We'll see though... ;-) Cheers!

Totally enjoyable as ever Freddie. It seems RE might have a slightly more powerful water-cooled 450cc Himalayan in the pipeline. That could help people bridge some longer motorway hops from next year on…..

Another great video Freddie but you’ve only just touched the real beauty of Scotland you need to go again and get off the NC500 which is a great route in itself but get out in the real wilds of Scotland to discover its raw real beauty . Keep up the good work dude always enjoy watching your videos.