Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00Adventure is calling, a dream to ride across open plains, a thirst for climbing mountain
00:14passes, a hunger for endless ribbons of asphalt.
00:19You need to explore the great outdoors on two wheels, and there are so many motorcycles
00:27that can take you there, from sophisticated ADVs to dirt bikes with lights.
00:35The options are nearly unlimited.
00:38However, there's one big problem.
00:43You are a cheapskate.
00:44Worse yet, you're a discerning cheapskate, so you will not have any used motorcycle in
00:48your garage.
00:49You want a brand new motorcycle, a fresh odometer, and a fresh warranty, and you will not pay
00:54more than $5,000.
00:55And if that's the case, you should be looking at either the Royal Enfield Himalayan or the
00:59CSC RX4.
01:01So buckle up my frugal friends, because we're taking these bikes to the top of those mountains
01:06to see which one breaks first.
01:07Or to see which one of us breaks first.
01:09I don't want to break.
01:11I don't want to break either, but we'll see.
01:13Nobody's sure.
01:14I really don't want to break.
01:18To get to that thar snowy peak in the distance, I have chosen the Royal Enfield Himalayan.
01:23It is a 411cc air-cooled single-cylinder engine, and it is wrapped up in approximately 1,000
01:28years of pedigree and heritage.
01:31If you don't know about Royal Enfield, they've been making bikes since 1901.
01:34So that's, yeah, about 1,000 years.
01:35It also has knobbly tires, a 21-inch front wheel for trotting down dirt paths, and some
01:41wind protection for cruising down the freeway.
01:43So it is clearly the best cheapskate adventure bike.
01:47Unlike Aries Machine, he has made a terrible mistake, I'm afraid.
01:50This guy's all proud of his pedigree, but I don't give a crap about that, buddy.
01:53I have features.
01:54The CSC has a 450cc liquid-cooled engine, so more technology and more displacement.
02:00Thank you very much.
02:01Pretty much adjustable everything, whether it's my brake lever, or my windscreen, or
02:05my suspension.
02:06And it also has this three-piece luggage kit that is included in the base price of $4,995.
02:12However, I did step over the $5,000 price tag because I got the $45 ABS switch because
02:18I want more adjustability.
02:20So as seen here, sitting at $5,040.
02:27That does bring me to some bad news about the Himalayan, actually.
02:30Because in order to avoid hotels and restaurants, because we're cheapskates, we had to lash
02:34all our camping gear to these bikes, and I had to splurge on these lovely top-loading
02:38aluminum saddlebags, which cost $700 approximately.
02:41So despite the lower base price on the Himalayan of $4,750, as it sits, about $5,500.
02:49And you call yourself frugal.
02:50Yeah, I know.
02:51Well, okay.
02:52The true test is going to be who gets to the top of the mountain with the least dollars
02:56in damage.
02:57And I noticed Mr. Henning already busted his mirror just getting to this campsite.
03:00Ah, f**k me!
03:02I always trust a friend to point out your failures.
03:04I did fall down.
03:05I had a little boo-boo, but I looked it up.
03:06It's like $22 for a new mirror, so $5,062.
03:09I still very much like my chances.
03:12And the brush guard and the side panel thing?
03:14That's like ADV bike patina.
03:15You can't even pay for that, actually.
03:18That's custom.
03:23The idea was to test the bikes on about 200 miles of off-road riding over the course of
03:28two days.
03:30With about 60 pounds of equipment strapped to the bikes, we set out across the high desert
03:34and aimed for the even higher mountains in the distance.
03:38But naturally, we kicked things off with a nice, mellow downhill.
03:41Oh, my God!
03:44Oh, God, there's so much stuff dragging.
03:47Oh, I don't like my odds here.
03:52Not really riding so much, just kind of walking this motorcycle down.
03:55Okay, okay.
03:57So ABS switch is off, but ABS is still active, so maybe that $45 wasn't well spent.
04:08The Royal Enfield has 8.6 inches of ground clearance, the CSC, 8.1.
04:15In other words, not enough for this particular trail.
04:22Good thing we are so good at this.
04:31Oh, God damn it.
04:32Can we not get out this way?
04:34What's up?
04:35Can we not get out this way?
04:38We're going to have to go back up?
04:40Oh, my God.
04:41Oh.
04:42If the cameraman knew that, I'm going to tear his head off.
04:45That might not work.
04:48I'll spare you from watching this in real time, but the takeaway is that the RX4's grabby
04:52clutch and street tires weren't working for me.
04:56Meanwhile, the Himalayan's low seat height and tractor-like engine made Zach look like
05:00an old pro.
05:03Not a great start for Team CSC.
05:05I don't think I've ever ridden a motorcycle off-road that required me to ski my boots
05:16so much.
05:17Outriggers out for safety.
05:19Not super flattering, that's for sure.
05:21It's not flattering at all.
05:22It's embarrassing.
05:23I can't believe this video is going to go on YouTube.
05:25People are going to make fun of me.
05:27He knows what he's doing, everybody, promise.
05:30He just doesn't have a trusty little Himalayan burrow.
05:32I'd like to think that maybe aggressive tires would make it better, but what aggressive
05:38tires would not fix is the super abrupt throttle response and then the crappy clutch engagement.
05:44Anytime you need finesse or control, it's just not there.
05:47Honestly, it's pretty difficult to ride, point in case.
05:53The Enfield is a slow, lopey, facet hound of a motorcycle, but it's very calm and relaxed.
06:02It just trundles along like this and kind of doesn't seem to care really where you're
06:07going as long as you don't have too much urgency in getting there.
06:10For a dirt bike, this is a cakewalk, but for a street bike, this is a little bit tricky
06:15and I think you're starting to see the separation between the bikes a little bit.
06:18I'm hoping that the CSC is more of the sport touring type of adventure bike as opposed
06:24to the off-road adventure bike because it needs some sort of redemption at this point.
06:32I like this firmer surface, this is more to the CSC's liking.
06:40Really beautiful spot, too.
06:41It's also the fastest we've gone all day, which is nice, considering how much we were
06:46struggling.
06:47In fact, I think it's time to open this bad boy up.
06:51Oh, what are you suggesting?
06:53I got 450 cc's to play with.
06:55I'm suggesting that I'm about to leave you in my dust.
06:58Come on, little budo.
06:59Come on, little budo.
07:00You can do it.
07:02You can do it.
07:08See ya.
07:16We spent a shocking amount of time trying to avoid the sandy hills that surrounded the
07:21dry lake bed.
07:26And when that didn't work, we decided to go through them.
07:32Oh boy, oh boy.
07:35That's a lot of ascents.
07:38Last obstacle of the day.
07:41Come on, little budo.
07:44Oh, scared that jackrabbit.
07:48Oh, it's getting soft.
07:51Come on, RX4, you got this.
07:54Come on, hook up.
07:57Oh, yes.
08:01Ah!
08:07No!
08:11I'm trenched out.
08:12Oh, man.
08:14So close.
08:16Within sight of the top.
08:19I'm saying, if I had a knobbier tire, man.
08:21If I had a knobbier tire.
08:23Yeah, and just a bigger member also.
08:25But, you know, I'm on a budget, I gotta wear out the stock tires before I'm allowed to
08:28put TKC 80's on.
08:30I mean, this is some of the worst conditions for those tires.
08:33It's so silty.
08:35You ready?
08:36Yes, sir.
08:46Oh, I'm sucking on beams.
08:48Sorry.
08:49We're getting there, we're getting there.
08:52All right.
08:54Yeah.
08:55Woo!
08:57That's how I'm going to be victorious.
09:00I'm just going to wear you out for pushing my bike.
09:03Yeah.
09:08Day one's been real trying, but we've got the high desert behind us.
09:12We're going to get down on the backside into the valley and presumably set up camp.
09:16And then the green, earthy, and perhaps snowy peaks in the distance.
09:21And those mountains look a lot bigger than the mountains we've already climbed.
09:25Yeah.
09:26It's not both poorly for our chances.
09:28But it's okay.
09:29I've got confidence.
09:49We survived a very windy night camping.
09:53And we are ready for day two, where we will, we promise this time, actually get into the mountains.
09:56We're closer.
09:57Believe it or not.
09:58We did learn a thing or two on day one, trundling across that rocky, loose, nasty desert.
10:02And what I learned, if I'm honest, is that my friend, Arie Henning here, his damage repair bill is slowly climbing.
10:07Tell the ladies and gentlemen how much it costs.
10:09Let's know about my bill.
10:10Okay, so the mirror that I busted, I misquoted it at $22.
10:13Actually only $15.
10:15And then the handlebar, which is also bent on account of the multiple right side dirt naps I subjected the bike to.
10:20Only $48 to replace that.
10:22That is $62 to replace these parts and bring this machine back to showroom condition.
10:27That's remarkably affordable.
10:29And frankly, I like the bike's chances today because these roads are a lot more hard packed.
10:33And we're going to elevation where my extra horsepower is probably going to be at an advantage.
10:37You've got like acclaimed 23.
10:39This thing's going to be gasping for air.
10:42I'll translate for him.
10:43What he's trying to say is that the Royal Enfield was unscathed from yesterday's adventure.
10:47And it did all the things that his bike did with much lower effort.
10:51So either I'm a tremendous rider, much better than Eric Henning, or it's just easier to ride.
10:56I think I know what the answer to that is.
10:58Okay.
10:59In any case, with a name like Himalayan, you better believe I'm not afraid of a little bit of elevation.
11:10After a day in the desert where the mountains refused to get any closer, it felt like we were finally making progress.
11:21Man, what a beautiful view.
11:31I much prefer this sort of road.
11:33Give me something wide.
11:34Give me something smooth.
11:35Give me something kind of hard pack.
11:36The CSC is doing it just fine.
11:38I haven't done it any favors by loading it up with all this camping equipment and filling the top box with weight.
11:44And I also failed to point out my 5.3 gallon fuel tank, which equates to like, you know, 35 pounds of weight pretty high up in the chassis.
11:53So the whole it feeling top heavy and wanting to fall over kind of makes sense.
11:59It does have some design features that are much more street bikey, you might say.
12:04Well, it was not designed in the Himalayas.
12:07So this is exactly why you have bikes like this, right?
12:11You can get out and get lost because the truth is we know you can do this on an MT07 if you want to, but it's just not going to be enjoyable.
12:21And you're going to be worried about damaging it and that kind of thing, but not with these things.
12:24Not worried about damage.
12:25Not considering how cheap replacement parts are for the CSC.
12:35Here we go.
12:36Rocky climb.
12:42Gritting my teeth already.
12:44This is the terrain of the Himalayas.
12:46Trundling along.
12:47Got to slip the clutch.
12:48Gearing's kind of tall for this.
12:51Focus.
12:52Got to work the clutch on this bike so carefully.
13:00Come on, come on, come on.
13:02Keep it on line.
13:04Woohoo.
13:05Alrighty.
13:06Cleaned it.
13:07Cleaned it.
13:12You alright?
13:13Yeah, I'm okay.
13:15Now I can just make fun of you for making up for lost time, it seems.
13:18I think I got cocky.
13:20Yeah.
13:21Yikes.
13:22Pull that out of there?
13:23Well, that bit of trail was tough, so I'm not surprised you fell down.
13:27But dude, it is hell on that CSC.
13:29This is just not what that bike is designed for.
13:32We've pushed it a little further than it really needs to go.
13:36Ready?
13:37Yep.
13:41It's just patina, man.
13:43It's just patina.
13:45You stand forward, I'll slide it out.
13:50Okay, that's my fault.
13:56Okie dokie.
13:58I will say in defense of the Royal Enfield, it tipped over pretty hard into this mirror and it's still okay.
14:04I think you got lucky, dude.
14:06Lucky or, you know, high build quality.
14:08Whatever.
14:14And away he goes.
14:17On his glorious off-road machine.
14:19Guys, I'm getting a little jealous of the Royal Enfield.
14:22I'm not going to lie.
14:23I'm not going to lie.
14:24But I am looking forward to pavement because then the CSC will be worth it.
14:31Spoiler alert.
14:32We were nowhere near pavement.
14:35Worse yet, the trail was about to get seriously steep.
14:46Trying to get the ball rolling here, alright.
14:50Oh, dragging stuff already.
14:52It's such a rough, rocky trail.
15:09Jeez.
15:10What a mess.
15:12Holy crap.
15:13What do we do?
15:15Maybe we'll camp on the trail tonight.
15:18I mean...
15:19I think we just tag team it.
15:20So you push me and then I push you?
15:21Yeah.
15:22I think that's the best bet.
15:23Otherwise, we're just putting a lot of wear and tear on the bikes.
15:28Oh, buddy.
15:29Okay.
15:31You're my best friend, did I ever tell you that?
15:40Ready?
15:41Two, three.
15:48Okay, ready?
15:49Yep.
15:50One, two, three.
15:55It may only have 23 ponies, and yes, it weighs 430 American pounds before you bury it in luggage.
16:02But what the Himalayan lacks in horsepower, it makes up for with pure determination.
16:08And durable clutch plates.
16:12Alright, out of the saddle and everything.
16:15Now it's time for us to get that orange bike way down the hill all the way up there.
16:21Not looking forward to it.
16:27We'll see if all your horsepower helps.
16:30It's going to help throw Ruth, that's for sure.
16:36The CSC has a whopping 42 horsepower.
16:39But with street tires and an awful clutch, putting that power to the ground is a challenge.
16:45The seat is also tall and it's heavier by about 20 pounds.
16:50So if you take it where it doesn't belong, bring a friend to push.
16:55This is the price you pay for adventure to a certain extent, am I right?
16:58We're not really spreadsheet adventurers, you know?
17:00We don't have things planned out all that well.
17:02Alrighty.
17:03Ready?
17:04Here we go.
17:05Final push.
17:09I might be able to get up on the pegs.
17:11Ah, it's so hard.
17:12It's so hard.
17:13Oh my god.
17:15Oh no.
17:18Does have horsepower.
17:20I'll give it that.
17:33So close to the top.
17:36First tip of the day for the CSC.
17:39Oh my gosh.
17:42I give up.
17:44It did pretty good work though.
17:47You guys saw that, right?
17:48There was like a huge rock.
17:49I hit it dead on.
18:02I literally was just like front end dancing, huge rock right here, went right into it.
18:08I could see blue sky underneath both wheels.
18:10Nice.
18:11That was sweet.
18:12Cool.
18:13I was really hoping to make it to the summit without hitting the deck, but oh well.
18:19The mirror survived.
18:21Indeed it did.
18:22That's good.
18:23That would have been another $15 that I don't want to spend.
18:27Lucky for Ari, the CSC can take a beating.
18:30The factory crash bars did their job, so really he just added a little bit more of that ADV
18:35patina he loves so much.
18:38We were still in good shape to head to the top.
18:41Let's go.
19:12That's a nice view.
19:14That's awesome.
19:15I don't quite suppose it's going to get any better than that before the sun sets.
19:20Man, look at that freaking view.
19:27There's nothing quite like an epic panorama to make it feel like you're at the top of a mountain.
19:34But we'd had our fill of snow and rocks, and we had certainly learned how the bikes work off-road.
19:39So we took the paved route back to a warmer campsite,
19:42which meant we finally had a chance to use our cheap ADVs as street bikes.
19:55On asphalt, they're both totally adequate, up to about 80 miles an hour anyway.
20:01The Himalayan will do everything you ask of it, so long as you don't ask it to go, stop, or turn very quickly.
20:09The CSC is faster, with better brakes, a more comfortable riding position, and better wind protection.
20:17So, which one do you buy?
20:19The lovable tractor from India, or the flawed but featured ride from the Middle Kingdom?
20:25The winner?
20:26That was yet to be decided.
20:39So we woke up this morning, and in the bright light of day, we did a final damage tally on our motorcycles.
20:44Now, a little caveat here, Zachary and I have a gentleman's agreement that damage to the crash bars and luggage does not count,
20:51because that just happens.
20:52Patina.
20:53Yeah, it's character.
20:54Now, all that being said, I have actually not inflicted any more harm on the CSC than I did from the onset,
20:58so I still only have a busted mirror and a bent handlebar, both of which should be replaced,
21:03but it's only going to cost me 62 bucks.
21:05I mean, come on, how frugal is that?
21:07That's awesome.
21:08I, on the other hand, broke the side stand spring on the Royal Enfield somehow, and I busted the front brake lever.
21:15But the truth is, you could shatter most of the things you can see on an RX4,
21:19and it would still come out to less money overall than the Royal Enfield with that aluminum luggage on there.
21:24Yeah, and I mean, for once, he's not exaggerating.
21:26This is an incredibly affordable motorcycle, and it is a much better street bike than it is an off-road bike,
21:32because frankly, it shouldn't be on anything more off-road than this dry lake bed here.
21:36It's perfectly fast on the highway, and it does a lot of things good, and it does have a lot of features.
21:41The problem is, some of those features just, they're not good.
21:45Like the windscreen adjustability, that's literally the jankiest thing I've ever used.
21:48The ABS switch did not work from the get-go.
21:51And I mean, then there's things that aren't adjustable, like the clutch, which is grabby, the throttle, which is abrupt,
21:55and those two things combine to make the CSC just more difficult to ride, whether you're on-road or off-road.
22:01So, I mean, for my hard-earned, diligently pinched pennies, I'm not buying a CSC.
22:07I would, however, buy the Royal Enfield.
22:10Yes, it is dog slow, but it is a more functional machine, and it is so handsome.
22:14I mean, look at it. It's so good-looking, right?
22:17It might have brakes and a transmission and a headlight from 40 or 50 years ago.
22:21It does, yeah.
22:23But it's a nice machine, and I mean, there's something to be said for the millions of reliable miles
22:27that are under the belt of Royal Enfields around the world.
22:30They're an old company. They know what they're doing, and that's probably why it just sort of feels tighter as a package
22:34and has better build quality.
22:36Another important distinction to make at this point is that these are not dual-sport motorcycles.
22:41No, no, no. Not even close.
22:42These are small, adventure-touring motorcycles.
22:45If you want to take them on some horrible torture test route through the mountains like we did,
22:48you can do that and survive, technically.
22:51Barely, I would say. It was close.
22:53But if you want to do that, you know, you want to ride off-road and then a little bit of on-road,
22:57frankly, there are better options.
22:59In fact, yeah, while we're at it, let's just show you guys this thing here.
23:04This is a Honda CRF250L.
23:07It is engineered in Japan. It is made in Thailand.
23:10It is what our cameraman was riding the whole time, and boy, was he waiting for us off-road.
23:14Plus, he skipped down the highway just fine.
23:16You can add luggage, and the MSRP is only a little bit more than the bikes that we were riding.
23:21So, you know, you could consider that, too, if you're discerning cheapskate.
23:25Careful with that, though. That literally costs more than our motorcycles.
23:29It's just a good option is what I'm saying.
23:31It is a good option, and something I was surprised about with these bikes,
23:34one of which is made in India, one of which is made in China,
23:37is that they're perfectly durable.
23:39I had a genuine concern that as soon as we took them off-road,
23:42they were just going to disintegrate and just leave parts all over the trail.
23:45But we definitely rode them hard.
23:47I did my best, that's for sure.
23:48Chucked them at the ground numerous times, took them over rocks, through mud.
23:52I mean, through snow over the top of a mountain.
23:54And nothing broke that wasn't our fault.
23:57I am just really excited that there is growth in the small ADV segment,
24:00because it's a cool spot for people to get into.
24:03I think we can all agree that more options are always a good thing.
24:06Two other things, actually, that I'd like to add at the very end.
24:09First, I won.
24:10This guy.
24:11Important distinction to make.
24:12So competitive.
24:13And last of all, we are very excited to be back.
24:15Yes.
24:16And please comment, tell your friends, subscribe,
24:19and buckle yourselves up for more motorcycle adventures.
24:22Right on.
24:23Thanks for watching, guys.
24:24We'll see you next time.
24:25I don't ever want to do this again on this bike, but it is doing it.
24:30I got distracted by a very large lizard that ran across the trail.
24:33It is a 411cc air-cooled liquid.
24:36Liquid lubricated.
24:37I have no idea why I said liquid.
24:39There's nothing to do with liquid except the water in the saddlebag.
24:41It's super cool.
24:42And the oil.
24:43It's really cool.
24:44It is keel.
24:45Nailed it.
24:46We're so good at this.