[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Review

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Pros

• All-new, well-rounded and well-differentiated roadster from the Himalayan platform
• Sporty and youthful motorcycle, targeted at a younger audience. More exciting colourways than with any Royal Enfield motorcycle ever
• Looks substantial compared to some rivals, with a long wheelbase and some elements like the tyres being the largest in class
• Very approachable motorcycle with a seat height of 780 mm and a kerb weight 11 kg lighter than the Himalayan. Feels well balanced as well, not top-heavy!
• 39.5 BHP Sherpa engine has been retuned for a very peppy midrange. Refinement levels are slightly better than the Himalayan too
• Slick 6-speed gearbox with a decently light slip and assist clutch helps to stay in the torque band all day long. Best experienced between 3,000 to 6,000 rpm
• Competent city ride and handling package from Showa - compliments the urban nature of the motorcycle well
• Excellent instrument cluster carried over from the Himalayan - now with updated features. Navigation, though not a perfect implementation, is still useful

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Cons

• Not for everyone! With its scrambler-inspired looks and loud colourways, the Guerrilla is set to polarize opinion
• The Sherpa motor has a slightly erratic idle, followed by a slightly jerky low-end below 2000 rpm - best kept within the torquey mid-range even when in the city. Not newbie-friendly
• Single-cylinder vibrations, though made smoother now compared to the Himalayan, are present throughout the revv range. No deal-breaking resonance experienced at any rpm range, but certainly not dismissible either
• Runs hot - The radiator fan was unexpectedly busy even on rainy and cold Bangalore days. Summer performance needs to be monitored
• Suspension is good for the city but feels significantly less sophisticated than in the Himalayan when ridden hard. 11L fuel tank could also affect touring abilities!
• Poor lamps all around. The headlamp is woefully inadequate and the quirky new indicator stalk + tail lamp vibrate on bad roads, making it blurry for traffic behind
• Fit and finish could be improved. Good overall build is marred by poor execution of touchpoint items like the joystick switch, indicator switch, etc. Also, the stock mirror is useless at highway speeds
• Missing features for rider control like traction control, IMU / cornering ABS, quick shifter, adjustable clutch and brake levers, backlit switchgear, etc.

Introduction

The 2nd generation Himalayan, launched in 2023, has become an international sensation for Royal Enfield! Bringing in praises from media houses across the globe - it surely has caught the world's attention and is competing hard with the CFMoto 450 MT for the title of being the best entry-level ADV to get into adventure riding. Although the bike has some known weaknesses in terms of vibrations and low-end grunt, the whole package feels so competent that it wouldn't have surprised anyone to know that more products are coming from this platform. The surprise however is that the second product from the platform is a naked roadster and not a scrambler as many would have expected. Enter the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450!

This is not a Scram 411 replacement - the 17" front wheel is a clear enough statement for the positioning of this new product. The Scram will continue to be sold parallelly for now.

The Guerrilla (Spanish pronunciation- "gue-riyah" and meaning war as in 'guerrilla warfare', not to be called a Gorilla!) then is a naked roadster designed to appeal to a younger audience. Royal Enfield wants their customers to consider the Guerrilla as a rebel in this space, offering an analogue experience to motorcycling as compared to modern machines. After riding the motorcycle around for five days, I wonder if this bike should have been positioned as the Hunter 450 instead, with similar colourways and marketing that had a much wider appeal to it! However, while riding the Hunter 350 - one may get the sense that the engine feels very retro for an otherwise modern motorcycle that it represents. The Guerrilla 450 on the other hand is a very well-balanced, modern roadster that is quite a lot of fun in the urban environment. In fact - if the brands were not to be revealed, I would guess that many would relate the overall experience and ethos more to a Husqvarna than a Royal Enfield! Yes, this feels closer to a more mature KTM than their baggage of history would ever allow Royal Enfield to make.

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Pricing

The 2024 Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 was launched in India at an introductory price of Rs.2.39 lakhs ex-showroom and the range extends to 2.54 lakhs depending on the colour choices. This makes it ~30k cheaper than its more popular platform sibling - the Himalayan and also goes directly against rivals like the Triumph Speed 400.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Design & Styling

The Guerrilla 450 is designed to appeal to a much younger audience than the average Royal Enfield clientele. It has a slightly youthful design which is overly exaggerated by loud colour schemes and thick block pattern tyres. Royal Enfield claims that this roadster was co-developed with the Himalayan, with most of the mechanicals being retuned or customised for the roadster. New subframe, suspension, wheels, steering geometry - the whole works! The most striking aspect between the two siblings is the size and the weight factor. Whereas the adventure motorcycle felt tall and top-heavy, the roadster feels lean, nimble and well-balanced. The numbers confirm the same too. With a seat height of just 780 mm (825-845 mm on the Himalayan) and a kerb weight which is 11 kg less.

The best word to describe the Guerrilla is - polarizing! This is a love-it-or-hate-it affair, except for maybe the base variant in the plain silver colour scheme. Royal Enfield seems to have taken design inspiration for the roadster off a scrambler (Ducati, to be specific!) and those proportions and those block pattern tyres feel out of place on a roadster format. Riding the motorcycle around town, I had a lot of young people pay a lot of attention to this motorcycle - with a lot of the mature folk expressing the disconnect they felt as well. That said - there are no funky design elements nor unnecessary plastic panels to scoff at - so if this bike appeals to you and the colours are too loud - just get the base variant in silver!

Where RE has gone truly adventurous (and unnecessarily so IMHO) is with the tail section. As with the Himalayan, the fenders are straight with the extension housing the number plate and the tail lamps / indicators. These indicator stalks that double up as tail lamps might have trickled down from the big bikes (like the Harleys and the BMW 1300 GS), but I struggle to understand the need to fix something that ain't broken in the Indian context. Not only do I think these split tail lamps look ugly when switched on, but I also found them to be vibrating quite a bit on the rough patches. With brake lamps and indicators on, and with the vibrations of those stalks over rough patches - I find it difficult to decipher what was happening with the Himalayan and the same issue carries forward to the Guerrilla as well. Anyway, moving on from the rant - even with the new subframe, the tail section remains touring-friendly with a payload of 191 kg - so you can add touring accessories on the motorcycle without exceeding it.

There are three variants and five colourways on offer. The entry-level "Analogue" variant comes with two colourways - Smoke Silver and Playa black, the latter being shared with the mid-variant called "Dash" which also comes in a Gold Dip colour scheme. The top variant called "Flash" is available in two colourways - Yellow Ribbon and Brava Blue which is featured here in this review.

Build Quality, Fit & Finish

Fit & finish is generally top-notch with the tight feeling on the move reminding you that the bike is well put together. Those of us who associate Royal Enfield with metal more than plastic would not be disappointed. Out on the road - the motorcycle feels like it can take on whatever our city roads could throw at it.

That said - there are a few areas where the quality has slipped and that takes away from the premium experience IMHO. For starters, the indicator stalk on the LHS console feels cheap with the exposed bare metal finish visible beyond the plastic. And right down below it, the joystick button which is five-way operational feels like it can give up after a few months of use. Moreover, the joystick does not offer much feedback for operation, and pressing the button sometimes makes it do another operation (right or up, for example!) than what was intended. Another item that doesn't stay where you intend is the stock mirrors, which are completely useless at highway speeds!

Wiring is mostly neatly routed alongside the frame but some of the frame and clips for the wiring could have been better concealed around the handlebar section. There are a couple of notable misses here as compared to the Himalayan though - 1. No plastic shrouds for the radiator section means the plumbing for the coolant lines is visibly exposed and 2. Some of the attention to detail has gone missing, notably - the way the front brake line is just dangling on the Guerrilla, whereas it was neatly crossed on the Himalayan.

The paint quality is excellent on some colours like this Brava Blue, whereas I found it to be very good on the matte / satin finished colours. But I doubt most people out of their college days can pull off these loud colours anymore.

Features and Instrumentation

The Guerrilla 450 comes equipped with TFT instrumentation, ride-by-wire throttle, slipper clutch, dual channel ABS, USB-C charging port and two riding modes. But it is still far off from being the most tech-loaded bike in the segment - with features like traction control, IMU / cornering ABS, quick shifter, adjustable clutch and brake levers, backlit switchgear, etc. being conspicuous in their absence.

That said - Royal Enfield has hit it out of the park with the instrumentation - the round TFT looks and feels class apart, especially when it can be used with Google Maps navigation. Whereas others like Harley Davidson have been content at placing square displays inside round console. Royal Enfield truly has gone the whole hog and developed a (claimed) world-first. I am generally a fan of analogue instrumentation on motorcycles and think most connectivity features are a gimmick - but this display and navigation truly work. However...



... it is not all rosy and has a few areas of improvement. The most important one is the need to have the phone screen turned ON when using navigation. Google Maps is being cast from your phone to the TFT display via the Royal Enfield App, so the navigation needs your screen to be unlocked. This drains the phone and also defeats the purpose of having navigation on the display. I would have rather preferred to keep my phone in the pocket than plugged into a mobile holder in the handlebar. Secondly as mentioned above, the joystick button needs major improvements and does not offer much feedback for operation.

Switchgear otherwise is comprehensive. Though it looks borrowed from other stablemates. RHS switchgear consists of ignition and dedicated buttons for hazard warning and riding modes. LHS switchgear consists of a home button (functionally more of a back button in the menu), headlamp controls, indicators, a horn and the infamous joystick as mentioned a couple of times above. The ease of switching riding modes will be appreciated by customers. Some of the menu functions are disabled while on the move so you may have to come to a stop to change the display options. Some of the options available to be configured through the display include a clock, ambient air temperature, ride mode, side stand indicator and gear indication.

Lighting all around is LED, but the headlamp is woefully inadequate - so much so that at times I could barely make out the high beam flashing! AUX light purchase cannot be avoided if you are into night riding. Powering all the electricals is a 12 V - 8 Ah VRLA battery from Amaron.

Wheels & Tyres

Tyre selection on the Guerrilla follows form more than function. The bike comes equipped with 120/70 R17 CEAT Gripp XL Rad Steel F tyres in the front and 160/60 R17 CEAT Gripp XL Rad Steel tyres at the rear. These are some of the largest tyres in its class and also look chunky due to the offroad-inspired block patterns on these road tyres.

In five days of riding, I found nothing to complain about the tyres - they took both the rough and the smooth with ease. Corners felt predictable and the bike felt like it would stick to the assigned lane despite hard cornering. The wet grip felt slightly less than I would usually expect - but nothing alarming to require electronic intervention, even when braking hard during heavy rains. That said, I suspect sporty tyres could help the bike to tip into corners better and owners could benefit from an upgrade to sportier rubber.

Ergonomics and Comfort

The Guerrilla has a typical roadster stance with an almost upright posture, slightly rear-set footpegs and an accessible seat height of 780 mm. The ergonomics are excellent for city use with the wide handlebar allowing you a good commanding position to navigate traffic. The clutch and brake levers are non-adjustable, but felt ok for my hand size (you may need to check for yours).

Riding stance for perspective. I'm 5'11" for reference:

Fuel Tank Capacity & Range

The fuel tank capacity is 11 litres and assuming fuel efficiency is in the ballpark of 25 km/l, this should be good for about 220 km before the bike requires a refill. IMHO, Royal Enfield should have considered a larger fuel tank by at least 2 more litres due to two reasons - 1. The tank-to-tank touring range and 2. To have a slightly better feel and shape to hug the rider knee during the ride. The Guerrilla is E20 compatible, with a sticker near the fuel cap prominently proclaiming this.

To make the situation much worse, the digital fuel gauge and Distance-to-empty (DTE) reading can be quite erroneous. I was riding with 1/4 bars left and the DTE showing a comfortable 80 km, and within the next 15 km - the last bar dropped so rapidly and went to zero on the gauge with the DTE still showing another 66 km left! Not sure whether to trust the gauge or the DTE left me with some tense moments till the next fuel bunk.

Maintenance

After an initial checkup of 500 km / 45 Days, the bike comes with a service interval of 5,000 km / 6 months. However - every alternate service is a general checkup and an oil change is recommended only once a year / 10,000 km. The first four services come with labour charges excluded.

Standard & Extended Warranty

The bike comes with a 36-month / 30,000 km warranty from the date of sale, whichever is earlier. Dealers are offering extended warranty up to 5 years. We strongly recommend taking the maximum extended warranty option available.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Riding the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450

The Guerrilla 450 is powered by a 452 cc single cylinder, 4 stroke, DOHC, liquid-cooled motor first seen on the second generation Himalayan - christened the 'Sherpa'. This engine produces 39.5 BHP @ 8,000 rpm and 40 Nm torque @ 5,500 rpm:

This motor is also the first-ever liquid-cooled engine from Royal Enfield. Featuring a compression ratio of 11.5:1 and coupled to a 6-speed gearbox and slip & assist clutch - the powertrain is competitive on paper against modern competition from Triumph and KTM. Traditionally, Royal Enfields have been known for their long-stroke motors but shockingly - the Sherpa motor is square, bordering on short stroke! Featuring an 84 mm bore and an 81.5 mm stroke - Royal Enfield claims that this motor has been tuned to produce torque all the way from ~2500 rpm to 8000 rpm. Royal Enfield has been known to tune their motors differently for each motorcycle, and the Guerrilla receives a more aggressive tune as compared to the Himalayan. Moreover, the sprocket has also been revised to compensate for the different tyre sizes and bring the overall gearing similar to the ADV. Whereas the linear power delivery of the Himalayan masks the feel of the actual performance on offer, the Guerrilla feels much more eager from 3000 rpm onwards.

The laws of physics can't be so easily overcome and the new Guerrilla 450 falls seriously short of the low-end torque pull of the earlier generation long-stroke RE motors. Releasing the clutch off idle, the bike crawls forward at 10 km/h, but it feels strained and prepared to stall at the hint of an obstacle. You may need a slight throttle and clutch play when moving from idle in 1st. Similarly in 2nd and 3rd gears as well, the bike will pull forward at 17 km/h and 20 km/h respectively without any accelerator inputs, although making its disapproval known quite audibly. This motorcycle is just not happy below 2,000 rpm and if you are used to the older Enfields, relearn your habits. Period.

Above 2,000 rpm, the violent disapproval turns to one of submission and from 2,000 to 3,000 rpm it feels like the bike has accepted the reality that it needs to get a move on. The first hint of real life comes at 3,000 rpm which is a sweet spot for sedate city use. This also makes the bike a bit too technical for the newbies, asking you to constantly shift to the torquey mid-range and etching you to get a move on. Unlike the linear torque wave on the Himalayan, the Guerrilla gets a nice torque surge above 3,500 rpm onwards to 7,000 rpm and brings a much wider grin on your face. Keep the bike in this rpm range and the progress is fast, capable of giving the men in orange a run for their money. Even though the peak power is delivered close to the redline at 8,000 rpm, it feels the most exciting when kept below 7,000. The motor, although free-revving, lacks the mad top-end rush that the rival is known for! The rpm needle starts flashing red post 9,000 rpm.

Not sure if it is just our test bike, but the first gear feels very muted - almost as if the map defaults to the ECO mode in 1st. Upon shifting to 2nd you will be pleasantly surprised by the added torque surge on offer. Whacking the throttle open in 2nd and 3rd gears can be quite addictive.

The bike shares its expressway cruising abilities with the Himalayan, and both 80 km/h and 100 km/h come up in the meat of the torque band, i.e. at 4,000 rpm and 5,000 rpm respectively in 6th gear. However, being a roadster - you are always fighting windblast on the highways and naturally tend to settle down between 95-105 km/h, which is the sweet spot to compromise between speed and comfort.

The gear shifts are much improved compared to the Himalayan and feels positive to click into slots. I had the occasional protests from the gearbox when shifting from 1st to 2nd - but all of the other shifts were handled gracefully. Clutch action is decently light and doesn't make the city commutes cumbersome.

Riding Modes

Two riding modes are available:

• Performance
• ECO

The ride mode can be viewed and changed by pressing the "M" button on the RHS switchgear. ECO mode is interesting as it reduces the power output of the first 4 gears. Royal Enfield claims that the power delivery in ECO mode is reminiscent of the original 411 motor. I found the ECO mode to be useful in city usage and it also helps deliver better fuel efficiency.

While the 4-gears thought process is a bit interesting on paper, I found the logic to be slightly flawed in the highway scenario. For example, you accelerate your way progressively through the first 4 gears and slot into 5th and 6th, the motor feels like the restraints have been removed and it starts performing with the full vigour of a 40 BHP motorcycle in these two gears. However, suppose you have to brake and downshift into 4th or 3rd and then try to pull off with the same eagerness - you suddenly are dealing with a ~ 25 BHP motorcycle once again! That somehow felt more of a buzzkill to me than having all 6 gears in a low-power map for ECO mode.

It would be better to consider the ECO mode as a beginner mode - as the Guerrilla has a lot of grunt in the lower gears for a beginner to be comfortable in the initial days.

Refinement & NVH

Once again, the laws of physics raise their ugly head. With a large single-cylinder motor, vibrations are present throughout the revv-range. Royal Enfield has burned the midnight oil since the Himalayan came out and the motor feels more refined than we last experienced in the adventure format. This feeling of better refinement is also aided by the fact that windblasts at highway speeds also take your attention from the vibrations ever-so-slightly for it to become less of a bother.

As with the Himalayan - I could not identify a particular rpm in which vibrations came on or went off. They were a constant companion. Most of the time, a buzz can be felt on the tank, seat and footpegs. Thankfully, no resonance was experienced at any rpm range and it doesn't get harsh enough to restrict revvs, which means the vibrations are not a deal-breaker for me, but certainly not dismissible either.

Coming to the exhaust note, gone is the bassy, lazy, long-stroke exhaust note of the old Royal Enfields. While riding the motorcycle, you could confuse it for a Hero or KTM depending on the throttle inputs. The only saving grace is a generous dollop of pops and rumbles from the exhaust when closing the throttle off.

I suspect the new tune given to the Guerrilla as compared to the Himalayan has resulted in the roadster running hotter. The radiator fan was being kept unexpectedly busy even on rainy and cold Bangalore days, way more than I remember with the Himalayan. There is a draft of hot air felt on the shin area whenever the fan turns on, which wasn't a problem in Bangalore. However, summer performance needs to be monitored on our ownership reports, especially in cities with hotter climates.

Suspension and Handling

Suspension duties are handled by Showa, but the Guerrilla does not get the highly-acclaimed USD forks from the Himalayan. Instead, this roadster rides on 43 mm Telescopic forks and a monoshock suspension at the rear from Showa.

Starting from idle, you notice a slight inherent stiffness in the suspension, but not cumbersome in the city by any means. Once you get to city speeds, the suspension starts exhibiting good composure, dismissing some of the smaller potholes with authority and completely ignoring the rough patches of concrete on the road. At these speeds, it is hard to find fault with this suspension setup.

The problem comes when you push the suspension further to its limits, either with higher speeds or larger potholes. The more basic hardware setup becomes evident and the bike gives an unexpected jolt when pushed into some of the harder stuff. Although a roadster is not expected to hammer through potholes as an adventure would, I felt the transition towards the limits was not very progressive. The bike took me by surprise by feeling plush at some stuff and then crashing into some of the slightly bigger stuff.

The Guerrilla 450 has a rather long wheelbase of 1,440 mm, which lends it good straight-line stability. Royal Enfield has compensated by giving this roadster a much steeper rake (by 4 degrees as compared to the Himalayan) to bring in a faster steering geometry.

The Guerrilla is a heavy motorcycle on paper at 184 kg, but the weight is very well masked. At city speeds - it belies the weight numbers on the spec sheets and most users would not have much complaints riding it through traffic. However, the front end starts feeling heavier once the speeds climb. Could be due to the fat tyres and the slightly odd thread patterns. The bike does take some effort to tip it into the corner, but once in - the bike maintains the line through corners despite slight mid-corner undulations.

Braking

Braking duties are handled by ByBRE, Brembo's budget brand, which has now become the mainstay of most bikes in the segment. The setup consists of a 310 mm ventilated disc up front with double-piston calipers and a 270 mm ventilated disc at the rear with a single-piston caliper. Dual-channel ABS comes standard.

Overall the setup is excellent and performs the job efficiently.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Images

Royal Enfield has tried to strike a balance between mature and youthful, neo-retro roadster and scrambler design elements. The end result works, but this bike is sure to polarize opinion due to the colourways on offer:


The front 3/4th looks the most mature - with its neo-retro inspirations:


The bike feels thin but is long. The side profile reveals a significantly large 1,440 mm wheelbase, 15 mm longer than a BSA Goldstar 650:


Looks like a Scrambler from the rear 3/4th, the block pattern tyres contributing heavily to this:


Where RE has gone truly adventurous (and unnecessarily so IMHO) is with the tail section. The quirky new indicator stalk + tail lamps vibrate on bad roads, making it illegible for traffic behind. Chunky 160-section tyres are the widest in class and have good road presence:


LED headlamp is shared with other RE models, looks good but has poor throw:


The ugliest element in terms of finish is this headlamp assembly, the gap intentionally left for adjustment of the throw. The exact same arrangement was used on the Himalayan as well, but the metal tubular side frame fairings on the ADV masked them pretty well. This is an eyesore on the naked:



Nice, wide and upright handlebar which gives good leverage to navigate city roads:


The circular TFT display has been shared with the Himalayan. Supports Google Maps navigation though it requires your phone to be unlocked. Has two appearance modes shared with the Himalayan- the analogue with turn-by-turn navigation and the digital mode with Google Maps navigation casting:


Stock mirror is useless at highway speeds, has a poor field of view and just doesn't stay in place!


Switchgear is comprehensive but looks borrowed from other stablemates in the first look. RHS switchgear consists of ignition and dedicated buttons for hazard warning and riding modes. LHS switchgear consists of a home button (functionally more of a back button in the menu), headlamp controls, indicators, a horn and the infamous joystick as mentioned above. Levers are non-adjustable:


5V, 2A Type C charging port is provided on the handlebar with a spring-loaded cap:


Lean fuel tank, at 11 litres capacity, looks nice but feels a tad too small IMHO. 13 litres may have been better in terms of functionally (tank grip) and touring range:


Matte section ahead of the tank which covers the wiring mess from the headlamp section into the frame is a good design touch:


Tank is lean, and contributes to making the bike feel smaller when seated:


I found it difficult to hug the tank perfectly when seated. The knee recess wasn't long enough and was fouling with my kneecaps and the width of the tank feels less as well:


The Guerrilla does not get the highly-acclaimed USD forks from the Himalayan. Instead, this roadster rides on 43 mm Telescopic forks, pointed the right side up!


Forks are made by Showa:


17-inch alloys with 120/70 R17 CEAT Gripp XL Rad Steel F tyres in the front:


Braking duties are handled by ByBRE, Brembo's budget brand, which has now become the mainstay of most bikes in the segment. The setup consists of a 310 mm ventilated disc up front with double-piston calipers and standard ABS:


Some extra attention to detail seen in the Himalayan with the extra neat brake lines is missing here:


Comes with a handy radiator guard:


No plastic shrouds for the radiator section means the plumbing for the coolant lines is visibly exposed:


A closer look at the stepped single seat offered on the Guerrilla:


Pillion seat is long, but not very wide. The pillion gets solid grab handles on either side:


It's not a 'Gorilla', it is a "Guerrilla" with a double-R and a double-L! Wonder what is happening with the Royal Enfield branding department. The upcoming motorcycle is a "Bear"! Don't miss the cheesy "Grrr" taglines on the websites and brochures either!


The fenders, shared with the Himalayan, are straight with the extension housing the number plate and the tail lamps / indicators. The rear subframe is different from the Himalayan but still has a decent functional payload of 191 kg:


Good to see the stock battery being Amaron. The "bay" looks neat:


The exhaust is well-designed, looking petite when viewed from the rear. Ground clearance is decent at 169 mm:


160/60 R17 CEAT Gripp XL Rad Steel tyres at the rear, mounted on 17-inch alloys. These are some of the fattest tyres you would find on an Indian-made motorcycle. 270 mm ventilated disc at the rear with a single-piston caliper. Dual-channel ABS comes standard:


Mono-shock at the rear, also from Showa. Preload can be increased by rotating the 6-step adjuster clockwise using a C-spanner provided in the tool kit:


The thick plastic sump guard that comes with the bike is unusual for the roadster segment, but owners wouldn't be complaining:


The swingarm is very long for a roadster format. The pillion seat does not even come to half the wheel circumference. Stock saree guard covers the entire cross-section:


Royal Enfield branding even on the rubber-mounted footpegs. Aluminium footpegs are the norm in the segment, but I'm not complaining if these are helping reduce the vibrations:


Unusual for the roadster segment, the Guerrilla comes with a central main stand:


A very recognisable Royal Enfield key, made even more boring by skimping on the silver roundel branding as seen in the Himalayan:

[sai_ace]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Riding the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450

Not sure if it is just our test bike, but the first gear feels very muted - almost as if the map defaults to the ECO mode in 1st. Upon shifting to 2nd you will be pleasantly surprised by the added torque surge on offer. Whacking the throttle open in 2nd and 3rd gears can be quite addictive.

Exact point which I dint hear anyone or any other review mention - but I experienced it first hand. The RE showroom guy likened it to how trucks can take off from 2nd gear.

I think this 1st gear defaulted to eco mode is the RE jugaad for the lack of TC. It was an irritating experience to say the least - especially considering how grin inducing and explosive the 2nd gear is!

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by sai_ace

Exact point which I dint hear anyone or any other review mention - but I experienced it first hand. The RE showroom guy likened it to how trucks can take off from 2nd gear.

I think this 1st gear defaulted to eco mode is the RE jugaad for the lack of TC. It was an irritating experience to say the least - especially considering how grin inducing and explosive the 2nd gear is!

It is a good thing in the traffic for engines with less torque down low and relatively tall gearing. First gear often ends up being the choice for slow speed city crawl and abrupt and exciting fuelling in the first is always very frustrating. First gen 390 is an example. The first gear is pretty useless for smooth progress and you often have to shift to second and then you find yourself stalling it often due to low torque.

[ToThePoint]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Where RE has gone truly adventurous (and unnecessarily so IMHO) is with the tail section. The quirky new indicator stalk + tail lamps vibrate on bad roads, making it illegible for traffic behind. Chunky 160-section tyres are the widest in class and have good road presence:
Attachment 2675295


The ugliest element in terms of finish is this headlamp assembly, the gap intentionally left for adjustment of the throw.

Attachment 2673760

Nice review as usual CD.

Is it just me or everyone can see the tail section being offset from wheel center. Same is the case with rear footpegs and the mounts. I remember first noticing this on the interceptor where the cans on both sides had different clearances from the wheel - that was couple of years ago when it launched

That headlight assembly is truly an eyesore.

[saikishor]

RE has done a blunder in tyre size. This bike has a very un conventional tyre size, resulting in users having to stick to the Ceat brand. This is a very idiotic form over function move IMO. Yes form over function itself is idiotic, but this tops the list.

I also strongly dislike the color schemes of this bike. That gold color looks awful and the one who approved it should be fired.

[Axe77]

Superb review CD with your trademark attention to detail.

I love the fact that RE is expanding its 450 family just as it has the 650 cc family. This is however as you rightly mentioned, a polarising design and never really caught my fancy TBH. I find the design a bit confused and the colors a bit too loud for my liking. But be that as it may, what I’m happy about is that they’re not afraid to experiment and expand their 450 and 650 family both to different formats.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by sai_ace

I think this 1st gear defaulted to eco mode is the RE jugaad for the lack of TC.

Originally Posted by b16h22

It is a good thing in the traffic for engines with less torque down low and relatively tall gearing.

Agree to both points - Looks like they have dialled it down in the first gear then. After the initial couple of minutes, I got pretty used to this power delivery- so it is just a matter of getting used to!

Just that the first gear had proper potential to scare people, even experienced riders! But then RE decided they had to cater to new riders too.

Originally Posted by ToThePoint

Is it just me or everyone can see the tail section being offset from wheel center. Same is the case with rear footpegs and the mounts.

Excellent attention to detail. Had noticed it, but felt it too minor to be called out. I had called it out on the Interceptor thread because of the sheer variance on either sides.

Originally Posted by saikishor

RE has done a blunder in tyre size. This bike has a very un conventional tyre size, resulting in users having to stick to the Ceat brand.

Unconventional, but a quick search on various tyre aggregator websites show options from Vredestein, Eurogrips and Pirelli. Much more expensive tyre options than the rivals though!

[Its_Arkk]

Can the tyres be downsized to 150 back and 110 front ?

Otherwise it's a really good looking bike especially in the blue and the silver colour.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Axe77

I love the fact that RE is expanding its 450 family just as it has the 650 cc family. This is however as you rightly mentioned, a polarising design and never really caught my fancy TBH.

They do have three competent engines now - with the 350, 450 and 650 Twin. I suspect the 650 might be moved up the performance ladder given how competent the 450 really is (especially if they can further improve the refinement)! We already have started seeing signs of that thought process with the Bear 650.

The Guerrilla makes you wonder why RE skipped to commit to the Scrambler format here. Is it because of the Scram 411? I guess it won't be too long before a 19 inch variant slots in between the Guerrilla and the Himalayan. Would most likely be much more offroad friendly than the Bear 650 as well.

[ringoism]

A very thorough review, thanks for this.

My friend brought home a bright yellow Guerilla a few nights ago and I had maybe 15-minute test-ride on the Mizo hill/ ridge roads between and beyond our homes. As such my comments could not have been so comprehensive obviously, but would mirror yours on some important points. Note that this bike had done only 11km's, so wasn't wanting to push the engine hard of course.

Cons:

1. Yes, the vibes are instantly noticeable and more or less ever-present, albeit not necessarily objectionable. More than this, the engine just has a sort of generally loose/rattly sound like I remember fresh (bs3) 411's I've ridden as also having. Vibes on a big single are a given, but I can't see any reason the noises need to be there. I am comparing to RE / Harley Street twins, a new Ronin I'd just ridden (felt really great btw), and heck, even my FIL's 15-year-old FZ16... all of which hum nice and quiet at idle/low revs through midrange, meaning there are no mechanical noises except whatever sounds "right" (like gear whine, slight tappet noises, etc).

2. Yeah, headlight intensity/spread is laughable. I was wondering if I was mistakenly hitting some fog/acc light switch instead of the high-beam, but nay, that was actually all it could do, add a small slightly brighter spot in the center of the FOV. Just how do things like this get through R&D/testing phases with people thinking that it's ok??? Again would say even the lowly old-tech FZ does much better.

3. At 6'2" that "accessible" seat height and the peg location has my knees bent more than is probably going to be comfortable beyond a half-hour ride.

4. Small front wheel diameter does strike you as being pretty limiting for anything truly rough.

5. Drive-by-wire to me felt unnatural and touchy, I will assume this was in Sport mode, but anyway...

6. In MZ this cost him ₹20k more than the Triumph would have. A hard pill to swallow except that he would have to ride 12+hrs on what must be the nation's most horrible longstanding stretch of (so-called) NH, to avail of Triumph ASC.

7. RE spares on the H450 have become exhorbitantly expensive vs. the 411 not to mention the UCE Bullets, which were far cheaper yet. I am not going to assume that Guerilla items have been significantly reduced. To my shock, I am being told by an agency that rents both that the RE spares for Himallayan 450 are now far more than for Triumphs even. This does not see in any way justifiable. A handlbar (it's just a steel tube!) up from ~₹450 to ₹2400, stuff like that was cited, please check these claims against reality. If true (more than one souce said the same) I don't see how word isn't going to spread about this and put RE in a poorer light vs. some very good competitors.

8. Engine not really feeling happy (to me) in higher gears below 3000rpm. This does not have a heavy old-school flywheel for sure. Wouldn't expect it, mind you, but if it'd pull smooth from a bit lower I'd consider that welcome.



Pros:

1. Engine pulls very willingly and feels smoothish and happy above 3k rpm. More power than I'd need within the hills. Lively and fun.

2. Bike was absolutely responsive and confidence-inspiring onroad, handled great, again this was on twisty stuff up to probably no more than 60-70kmph. Feels like the type that will do what you want it to without having to think much or manhandle it in any way. I love those sorts of bikes. Front tyre is unusually wide yet steering feel isn't heavy, and seems it'll grip nicely on hard cornering/braking.

2. Being tall, I felt I could spread out nicely on it and posture seemed a comfortable one, as I imagined the seat would be in general use.

3. Suspension is firm-ish but not at all harsh, felt good / confident/ comfortable enough over very lumpy/irregular pavement with small potholes. FZ (funny to compare, but it's what I rode there on...) was brutal in comparison on same road, being pure torture after an hour or so. I'd say RE has done a good job considering the type of bike this is, while confessing I've not ridden its direct competitors.

Overall a feel-good bike with a little attitude, that would probably work well as a satisfying, well-performing, fun all-rounder, whether for more entertaining commutes or less-travelled country roads / longer rides.

For me personally, though, would probably be looking to something with (in order of importance) longer suspension, more legroom, lower fuel consumption, and more engine refinement in specific areas...

Yes, a guerilla is a bit rough & ready irregular fighter, by definition one engaging in stealth, skirmishes, and general harassment of larger and better equipped rivals - often to great effect. Not sure that description fits this bike to a "T", but might be running in that general direction.

My friend who bought the bike didn't realize this and couldn't at first grasp why a bike would be named after "terrorists". When I told him a guerilla was like the Mizo rebel fighters of old, he finally understood :-).

That said, the Mizo rebels never did prevail, but instead with the historic Mizo Accord came to something like acceptance of respective differences, a broader understanding and some measure of co-existence with a much larger (and somewhat remote) entity.

I think this RE will find its place in the whole scheme of things. It needn't be embraced or hated by all, it can live in its own space with pride, and hopefully be respected/ appreciated for what it is.

-Eric

[ringoism]

Must add: What came to mind just now was another sporty/scramblerish, fairly budget-friendly big single that likewise had been derived from that company's successful dual-sport using the same engine - both now being historically significant bikes, even if this one never became a big seller:

https://magazine.cycleworld.com/arti...da-ft500-ascot



This one had twin counter-rotating balance shafts and was fairly vibration-less.

But anyway can see a similar spirit at work in the concept and design when we come to this new RE. Though the contemporary one must be the better performer.

-Eric

[neith]

We took delivery of an analog G450 a few weeks ago from the RE brand store in Chennai.

According to the store staff, there was only one analog bike in stock, and it was allotted to us.
This happened without a PDI, I trusted them because it was the brand store, which I now regret.

The day after delivery, I noticed that the rear mudguard was misaligned. Initially i thought it was a poorly fitted mudguard but upon further inspection, it became clear that the subframe itself is misaligned.

This issue was missed during delivery because the bike was positioned with the tail too close to the backdrop.

In the pictures, the blue line aligns with the start of the subframe and the yellow lines run parallel to it.

I raised this issue during the 500km first service, having high hopes since this was a first batch bike and that they take it seriously, which was the case when we pointed out some serious issues with our H450 in Feb which was proactively escalated within their team and to their credit rectified and monitored them for some period of time! But in this case they did nothing about it and told me, “Sir, it’s corrected.”

I sent pictures to the store manager as well a week ago, but haven’t received any response yet.

Being curious, I observed the bikes parked at the service center in which roughly 30% percent of them had various degrees of the twist.

Also attaching a picture of a Shotgun 650 in the showroom to show that this isn’t due to any user damage.

I don't have much hope for resolution, but sharing this as a word of caution about this issue and to insist on a PDI.