A
ND HERE I AM on my own
snowy Himalaya (it’s white,
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the ferry to Tasmania. My most recent
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in Sri Lanka, where I rode a 350 with
my friend Rohan Sourjah who is in the
process of setting up tours of his home
country. I liked it very much, partly
because it was just right for a busy place
like Sri Lanka but partly also because it
is just plain likeable.
So was I going to enjoy this new bike,
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engine from the 350? In truth, it’s
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a new design – there is far more to this
than just increasing the capacity. Andgiven how different the rest of the
bike is, it’s not surprising that the pair
do not feel at all alike.
A few days later on the Tasmanian West
Coast I found out exactly how different
the bikes feel – and how different the
Himalayan makes the rider feel. On the
wonderfully twisty road north from
Queenstown I had been holding off a
Holden ute for a quarter of an hour or
so. He was keen to get past, and I found
that I was keen to stay ahead – and when
we reached the Zeehan turnoff, I was still
in front. The bike’s mild power output
might make this seem unlikely, but there
is a lot of torque – and as a result I was
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convincingly. Cornering itself was fun,TOUR TEST
“AND STILL
THE SNOWY
HIMALAYAS RISE
IN ANCIENT
MAJESTY BEFORE
OUR EYES...”
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
WROTE THE ORIGINAL
MUSIC, JOHNNY
MERCER THE WORDS