Reader rates his £4k Enfield Himalayan after a year
Ollie Chatterton has taken a somewhat unconventional path on his way to owning a Royal Enfield Himalayan at the age of 22.
“I was a mod,” he says matter-of-factly. “I had a Paul Weller haircut and a Vespa 125 complete with fox tail and about 12 sets of mirrors. Then I decided to become a rocker; that’s when I bought my Enfield Continental GT. That was a nice bike but I spent all my time polishing it.”
Instead it was while at local Enfield dealer, Cooperb near Wellingborough, that his rocker lifestyle was replaced with more dirty dreams. After seeing pictures of the new Royal Enfield Himalayan, Ollie’s off-road instincts were awoken. “I rode motocross as a kid and enjoyed it,” he said. “So when I saw Enfield were due to bring out a new, small-capacity adventure bike I thought it’d be the perfect antidote to the cleaning obsession I’d developed with the GT.” Ollie agreed a trade-in on his Continental and awaited delivery of his new Himalayan, although he did wonder if he’d done the right thing. “When the bike arrived I was pleasantly surprised,” he says. “It handles nicely, is comfortable and pretty robust. Although lacking topend power and no motorway cruiser, it’s given me some great days out tackling local green lanes and going on weekends away.”