When you’ve been working on dirtbike magazines as long as I have, you get to thank your lucky stars that some new bike riding assignments take place in very special places. And you get to call it ‘work’.
Like the time Honda took us all the way to southern California to ride the new Honda CRF450X in the mountains near Big Bear Lake, high above San Bernadino. Or the time KTM took us to Il Ciocco, located in the Tuscany region of Italy and home of the annual Hell’s Gate Enduro, to ride some new EXCs. Or when Husqvarna took us to Sweden to ride some new enduro bikes. Or when Suzuki took us to the North Island of New Zealand to ride the new V-Strom 800 DE. Or when Yamaha took us to the South Island of New Zealand to ride the WR250R.
Truth be told, you can get a little blasé about these new bike launches, but when a recent invite from Urban Moto Imports, the Australian distributor of Royal Enfield (and multiple other bike brands) landed in my inbox, well, this launch promised to truly be one out of the ordinary. Why? Because the invite was to attend the world media launch of the new Himalayan 450. And the launch was to be staged in the Himalayas. Yes, THE Himalayas.
Crikey … it’s
