Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Review: New RE Roadster Ridden!

The new Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 is a roadster based on the new Royal Enfield Himalayan’s Sherpa 450 platform. But it’s more compact, more accessible, significantly lighter, and apparently, more fun for everyday riding. With reasonable pricing as well, the Guerrilla 450 certainly makes for a lighter, more accessible motorcycle. Is it just a smaller, more compact Himalayan, or is there more to it? And does it tick all the boxes to make it a preferred roadster in a segment already flooded with several impressive rivals in its price bracket?

Watch the video review:

Also Read: Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Launched At Rs. 2.39 Lakh

The Guerrilla 450 is Royal Enfield's modern roadster based on the Sherpa 450 platform.

Introduction: Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450

The Guerrilla 450 is based on the new Himalayan, but its development actually began alongside the Himalayan, according to Royal Enfield. And it’s a fitting example of platform-sharing, with the Guerrilla 450 using the same Sherpa 450 platform, but with several tweaks to the design, ergonomics and chassis to give it a different personality. The idea perhaps is to get some customers of entry-level performance roadsters into the Royal Enfield family. During the Royal Enfield product presentations, the words “accessible,” “fun,”   “intuitive” and “the real roadster” were used judiciously to underline the Guerrilla 450's (also called GRR) personality.

Also Read: Top 5 Highlights Of Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450

We spent a day riding the new Guerrilla 450 in and around Barcelona to see what Royal Enfield's new roadster is all about.

Is it as intuitive as it’s made out to be, is it as fun, and more importantly, is it as impressive, to make a solid choice? Those were the questions on my mind when I packed my bags to travel across to Spain to get up close and personal with this new rebellious roadster from Royal Enfield. Admittedly, there are some characteristics which are impressive, some which left wanting for more, and some, which we intend to find out in our road conditions, back home in India. But for now, let’s go ahead with our first impressions.

Also Read: Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Accessory List Detailed

The Guerrilla 450 definitely has road presence, and is well-proportioned and has a sporty stance.

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450: Design

At first glance, the Guerrilla 450 strikes a handsome pose. It’s well-proportioned, with a sporty and aggressive stance that will definitely catch the attention of anyone looking for a street bike in its segment and price point. Although sharing the new Himalayan’s platform, there are significant changes to give it a different personality. And it’s actually more accessible, courtesy smaller 17-inch wheels, a lower 780 mm seat height, and lighter kerb weight of 185 kg, a full 11 kg less than the Himalayan. The fuel tank is smaller with 11 litres of capacity, and the Guerrilla 450 is available in five colour options - Smoke Silver, Playa Black, Gold Dip, Yellow Ribbon and Brava Blue.

Also Read: Top 10 Stats Of Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450

The Guerrilla 450 is lighter, shorter and has less seat height than the Himalayan 450. The fuel tank capacity has gone down to 11 litres.

Compared to its ADV sibling, the Guerrilla has an exposed face, although the LED headlight is the same unit as seen on several recent Royal Enfield models, including the Himalayan. To make it lighter and sleeker visually, the fuel tank capacity has gone down 6 litres to 11 litres, but the chunky tyres (120 mm front and 160 mm rear) gives it a muscular stance, something which is certain to win it points from some quarters. How many tyre options are available with those sizes is still open to debate, and budget, should anyone look for tyre options other than the Ceat tyres in those sizes of (120/70 R17 and 160/60 R 17).

Steering geometry has been sharpened, suspension travel shortened and wheelbase is also 70 mm shorter than the Himalayan.

RE Guerrilla 450: Chassis Changes

The chassis is similar to the all-new Himalayan’s, but there are changes. The headstock is different and so is the rake, sharpened by about 4 degrees, with the smaller front wheel. There are changes to the rear sub-frame’s design as well, to give the Guerrilla 450 a distinct visual identity. Going with the theme of being more compact and accessible, the Guerrilla 450 also has a shorter wheelbase of 1440 mm (70 mm shorter than the Himalayan), and suspension travel has also gone down (from 200 mm to 140 mm front, and 150 mm rear). 

Fat block pattern tyres give the Guerrilla 450 a muscular stance.  

After all, it’s a street-oriented roadster without any off-road biased pretensions. But will that stop owners from taking on the rough? Unlikely. And so, the tyres are block pattern type, and overall, to me, it does seem somewhat like a scrambler, even with its limited suspension travel. The idea is to not just make the Guerrilla 450 better suited for the road with more agile dynamics, but also to make it accessible to a wide range of riders of different heights and build.

Also Read: Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Vs Rivals - Specifications Comparison
 

The top-spec Flash variant gets the same TFT dash of the Himalayan with integrated Google maps. 

Features & Variants: Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450

On the features list, there’s standard dual-channel ABS, with sintered brake pads front and rear, just like the Himalayan. But the ABS modulation has been tuned in association with Bosch, specifically for the Guerrilla 450. There are two ride modes, Performance and Eco, and on the top-spec Flash variant, available in Yellow Ribbon and Brava Blue colour options, the 4-inch TFT dash with integrated Google maps is standard. 

The lower variant of the Guerrilla 450 gets the familiar semi-digital console.

The mid-spec Dash variant is available in Gold Dip and Playa Black while the base Analogue variant is available in Smoke Silver and Playa Black with the semi-digital instrument console and optional Tripper TFT navigation pod.

The Sherpa 450 engine is the same as the Himalayan's with identical output, but the throttle response has been tweaked on the Guerrilla 450.

RE Guerrilla 450: Engine & Performance

The 452 cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine has been retained from the Himalayan, with identical output, and same internals. In numbers, the liquid-cooled Sherpa 450 engine puts out 39.5 bhp at 8,000 rpm and 40 Nm of peak toque at 5,500 rpm. The torque curve is the same, with 85 per cent of torque available between 3,000 rpm and 8,000 rpm. 

The Sherpa 450 engine has familiar performance, sprightly and eager, as long as you're in the right gear and in the right rev range.

And it is within this rev range that the Sherpa 450 is really impressive in its performance. But being a single-cylinder engine, some buzz and vibes remain. While accelerating through the gears, there’s some buzz which can be felt at between 4,500 and 5,000 revs, but it’s in sixth gear at speeds of around 100 kmph where the vibes are prominent, just like the new Himalayan is.

Also Read: Top 5 Features Of Royal Enfield Sherpa 450 Engine

Longer gearing (45-teeth rear sprocket) is compensated by the 160-section rear tyre, and throttle response is apparent, along with the lighter kerb weight of 185 kg. 

According to Royal Enfield, the throttle modulation on the Guerrilla 450 has been changed to give it a slightly different and more enthusiastic response. It also gets slightly different gearing, courtesy a 45-teeth rear sprocket (Himalayan gets a 47-teeth rear sprocket). However, RE engineers say there’s no noticeable difference in the longer gearing, with the fat rear tyre compensating for that change. Even though cruising speed is said to be 100 rpm lower, it wasn’t noticeable during our ride experience. 

The torque band is concentrated with 85 per cent of it available between 3,000 rpm and 8,000 rpm. On the downside, below 3,000 rpm you miss the engine's meaty torque. 

The Sherpa 450’s performance is eager and enthusiastic, but to get to the meat of the torque, you will need to be in the right gear. And when you’re riding enthusiastically on a twisty road, you will have to plan your gear changes. Below 3,000 rpm, you will need to downshift to remain the powerband. So long as you’re on the gas, with the engine spinning above 3,000 rpm, the Guerrilla 450 doesn’t disappoint. 

Also Read: All-New Royal Enfield Himalayan First Ride Review

Handling is sharp, stable and composed, and this is where the Guerrilla 450 doesn't disappoint at all!

RE Guerrilla 450: Ride & Handling

On the dynamics front, the Guerrilla 450 is a composed and stable motorcycle, qualities which definitely make it fun to ride. The 43 mm telescopic front fork has been tuned in collaboration with Showa, and if you’re questioning why there’s no upside down fork, the damping and feel of the front end is more than adequate. An USD would have added to the price, and overall, during our ride experience, the current set-up didn’t feel lacking or inadequate in any way.

Over 160 km of our test ride route was all smooth tarmac. Ride quality is firm, but if it's stiff, we'll confirm once we get to test the Guerrilla 450 back home.

What is noticeable though, is the firm ride quality, to complement the bike’s sharp dynamics. The road surfaces in Spain didn’t offer us much to gauge how the suspension would fare in our pothole-infested roads back home, but the little bumps and speed breakers we encountered, the ride was pliant. The true test of the suspension and the ride quality can only be ascertained once we get the bike for a longer test back home, in our riding conditions and traffic.

Prices for the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 begin at Rs. 2.39 lakh (Ex-showroom)

RE Guerrilla 450: Pricing & Rivals

The Guerrilla 450 certainly has no dearth of rivals, and with its accessible and fun personality, Royal Enfield will be hoping to replicate the success that it has had with the Hunter 350. Pricing is reasonable, starting at Rs. 2,39,000 (Ex-showroom) for the base variant, going up to Rs. 2,54,000 (Ex-showroom) for the top-spec variant. A slightly lower starting price point of around Rs. 2.3 lakh (Ex-showroom) could have perhaps made the Guerrilla 450 more appealing to buyers and made it extremely attractive.  Current launch prices though are reasonable enough for anyone looking for an entertaining roadster in this segment.

The question is, will the Guerrilla 450 be able to get in riders looking for a sporty, performance-oriented roadster into the Royal Enfield brand. 

Variant-wise prices of Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450:

We can't wait to spend some more time with the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 back home, on our roads, in traffic, and around our twisties!

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450: Verdict

The Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 certainly makes a statement from the brand, introducing a roadster that is modern in the true sense, and quite entertaining to hustle around a twisty road. As an everyday companion, the Guerrilla 450 should be able to carve out a fan following, both overseas and in India. But there are some minor niggles, not really deal breakers, but worth mentioning. Low-end performance, particularly below 3,000 rpm, is something which will need getting used to, and the vibes from the engine, at around 4,500 rpm while accelerating and around 100 kmph in sixth gear while cruising, are noticeable. 

The Guerrilla 450 offers a sporty, agile and performance-oriented roadster from the Royal Enfield family. Will it rule the streets? More when we get it for a detailed road test.

But as Royal Enfield’s newest roadster, the brand will be hoping the Guerrilla 450 will be able to repeat some of the commercial success it has had with the Hunter 350. Ride quality is firm to complement its sharp dynamics, but the ultimate test of how firm it is, can only be ascertained once we get the bike for a proper test on Indian roads. But as a roadster with stable and sharp handling, the Guerrilla 450 certainly is enjoyable. Eventually, it’s a fun street bike which can put a smile on your face, every single time you twist that throttle. A test ride is definitely recommended!

For anyone looking at an entertaining roadster in this segment, the Guerrilla 450 definitely deserves a test ride! It may be the bike for you!

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Key Specifications:

For more details see the official Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 page.