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My RE Guerilla 450 comes home: 1,200 km & 4 month review

26th March 2025, 13:28 by Ananth Iyer

Despite its negatives, I absolutely love the bike. It fulfilled my dream of owning a Royal Enfield after almost 2 decades.

BHPian docbharat recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi Team-BHPians!

After being a silent follower of teambhp for over a decade, I finally thought of sharing my first post. What I am about to share is a story of an old, unfulfilled dream of mine and how it finally came true with Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450.

The spark

I was always a bike lover since childhood and drooled at every other bike that I used to see, and the same was with my dad. But one day, somewhere around 1998-1999, dad brought home a used 1989 Royal Enfield Bullet 350, custom painted in metallic green with chrome accents. It was quite a head-turner in a small town of ours, as Bullets were not commonly seen in such places. There were only a handful of them that I used to see. The famous “Thump” of the bullet was unforgettable and was pure bliss to my ears. Even today I get goosebumps thinking of those moments. Sadly, dad had to sell the bike for a reason I was not sure about. One thing that I always kept speculating was that my dad had safety concerns about me using the bike as I had just finished my school and was entering college. You know—that age where speed gives thrills. But from that moment onwards, I always dreamt of owning a Royal Enfield Bullet again, but that never happened for a very long time.

The peacemaker

In 2011, I was about to graduate from the medical school and start my internship shortly. As I awaited my graduation results, with my dad not being very confident about my results, he offered me a deal: I could either make peace with a new Hero Honda Passion Pro immediately or wait for my results and then buy a Yamaha Fazer. At some point, even I was not sure about my results, so I opted for HH Passion Pro, thinking something is better than nothing. But very soon I realized I should have waited!
Despite HH Passion Pro never being my choice, it turned out to be my true companion. I rode it to every trip during college, then commuted to work and for lazy Sunday morning short rides. It gave me that independence and joy of being on the road and enjoying motorcycling.

This is the last picture of my bike just before the exchange. Its the only picture of my Passion Pro with Guerrilla 450 in the background. This was just a coincidence, and I noticed it while scrolling through the pictures after getting back home with a heavy heart.

The dream getting fulfilled

In 2018, I bought my first car, a Ford Figo Titanium TDCI. By then the Passion Pro had already covered close to 80,000 km and started to show its age. Figo became my primary mode of transport with the bike gathering dust. Over the next 5 years, I barely rode it and covered only about 1000 km. Meanwhile, my fascination for Royal Enfield never faded. I followed every bike that was launched, and the one that really caught my attention was the Interceptor 650. I loved the way it looked back then with the twin exhaust and mesmerizing exhaust sound. Somehow, I never attempted to test ride one. Years passed by, and another bike that caught my attention was the Guerrilla 450. I used to see its spy shots, and it was speculated to be Scram 450. The bike looked sleek and well proportioned. It got officially launched in 2024, and I started watching every damn review on YouTube and read every article about it. Seeing my growing obsession with it, my wife urged me to get a test ride. I was very hesitant towards it, for reasons still unknown. Maybe I hadn’t ridden a powerful bike in years, and the idea made me nervous. Somehow, I decided to give it a try and headed towards the nearest showroom. It was love at first sight when I saw the bike in person. I was very nervous during the test ride, and I even stalled the bike a couple of times. After a couple of attempts when the bike started rolling, I was amazed by the power it had and the thrill I was getting while riding it. Be advised, these feelings were after riding it for only 200 meters on 2nd gear and at about 40 kmph max. That night I couldn’t sleep properly because of two reasons. One, I was annoyed for not being able to ride the bike properly, and two, I had an urgent desire to own the Guerrilla. The next day, without thinking twice, I went ahead and booked it. The only confusion I had was while deciding the colours, as RE this time decided to go with very unconventional colour schemes. I had to decide on the best out of all the poor colour choices. I finally went ahead with Gold Dip with a feeling that it looked unique and expecting not many people would opt for that colour.

Me checking out the test ride Guerrilla 450

Buying the dream

After two weeks of waiting, I was informed by the sales executive that the bike had finally arrived. After paying the entire amount and without the opportunity to do PDI, which was very disappointing, I went ahead and took the delivery as my excitement overpowered my disappointments. I got the bike refueled at the nearby fuel station, got the bike blessed at a nearby Ganesh temple, and finally brought it home. It’s such a lovely feeling.

Till date, I have covered close to 1200 km in 4 months and completed the first service as well. Following are my observations about the bike:

It’s a head-turner and grabs a lot of attention. It gives a big bike feel.
The bike has amazing power, which took me some time to get used to. The engine response is quick, and it makes every ride thrilling and enjoyable.
It has a bit of a sporty yet comfortable riding stance. Long distance riding should not be very exhausting.
The seat height I felt to be on a lower side considering me being a six-footer. I added the flat tracker seat as an accessory, which increased the seat height by around 20 mm and also increased the seating comfort. It provides more room to move around.
Stock mirrors are good, but the bar end mirrors added appeal and practicality.
I got the crash guards installed, but I felt my legs often hit them while crawling in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Well, now I got used to it, and I don’t feel it interferes much.
During a couple of instances, the famous Bangalore’s average-sized speed breakers scrapped the underbelly twice when I was riding with a pillion. That was annoying while I heard reviews talking about taking this bike to off-roading.
The front brakes are sharp and have a good bite. The rear ones are decent. I hardly use them.
The suspension feels stiff. Pillions will be uncomfortable on the bad roads.
The bike handles beautifully in the city traffic. It’s nimble and fun to ride.
I felt nervous in a couple of instances while cornering at decent speeds. It felt like the front wheel might lose traction if I do not slow down.
The 11-litre fuel tank has a usable range of 170 km.
I have been getting a mileage of 21 kmpl, with 95% of the riding being in the city. I felt it’s not bad for the power this machine generates
Guerrilla being a naked roadster, riders will feel a lot of wind blast on open roads. Best cruising speeds would be less than 100 km/h only.
The headlight is decent and illuminates the road moderately. This will not be suitable for highway rides during the night.
In stop-and-go traffic conditions with a pillion, Eco Mode is a boon as it keeps the aggressive nature of the bike under control.
The digital console looks great and is very functional. But on a cloudy day, it keeps shifting between light and dark mode, which could be annoying.
Absence of rear mudguard during a rainy day could be problematic as the tyre splashes the mud onto the rear seat. The accessory mudguard is not in stock at any of the outlets.
Vibrations though existing, are not very bothersome. One can live with it as it adds character to the bike. I guess I’ll miss those when EVs take over the ICE motorbikes.
The headlight flash button is oddly placed and is almost unusable.
The engine does get hot in the traffic, but I felt this has been less after 1st service.

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Verdict

Despite its negatives, I absolutely love the bike. It fulfilled my dream of owning a Royal Enfield after almost 2 decades. This bike for me isn’t about practicality but about passion and the joy it brings me while riding it. I do miss the “Thump” though.

For now, I plan to use it for short rides in and around Bangalore and occasionally commute to the office. I am looking forward to creating more memories with this machine. Cheers!