A new era in Royal Enfield’s storied history
Riding west out of Milwaukee, we hit I-94 and lit out for Wisconsin’s historic Kettle Moraine Trail region. After navigating around then out of the city, we opened up the throttles of the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 motorcycles and shot over to the passing lanes. Running up through the gears, I was once again amazed at the power the Sherpa 450 single can make, this time in a street-oriented roadster style motorbike. Pinning it in every gear, I was shifting at 8-9K rpm, and found myself doing 92 mph by the time I caught the lead group of riders. And I still had throttle left. “Geez, will this ‘do the ton’ if I stayed on it??” I wondered aloud.
Impressive.
Rocking the highway outside MKE on the Guerrilla 450. Yes, it can do it. Photo by RE/PunchPR.
I was in town for Royal Enfield’s North American press launch of the Guerrilla 450, the newest motorcycle in their lineup, and their second with the new water-cooled 450 “Sherpa” engine. I first sampled it in the completely redesigned Himalayan 450 last year in Utah, and immediately loved the bike and mill. Though only 41cc displacement larger than its predecessor, the new Sherpa powerplant makes twice the ponies, and almost twice the torque.
Again, impressive.
So riding the new Guerrilla stripped-down street bike with the 452cc single was certainly an experience I was looking forward to. I was not disappointed. Royal Enfield has a fantastic motorcycle here, and this mill marks a new era in RE reliability and performance. It’s that good.
Lined up, locked and loaded.
The vision behind the Guerrilla 450 is simple- an affordable, approachable, highly capable motorcycle for urban/suburban riding, that is lightweight, easy to handle, and fun to ride. Yet with the 452cc Sherpa engine, this new bike, like its stablemate Himalayan 450, the Guerrilla can take to the highways and byways with much higher speeds. Case in point, our blast out on the interstate, with throttle to spare. Couldn’t have done that with the previous gen 411.
Royal Enfield refers to the Guerrilla 450 as their newest “roadster”, a moniker previously reserved for their popular (abroad) pint-sized Hunter 350. I would say, after a day in the saddle of this Guerrilla, that the Hunter has ceded that moniker, at least for the North American market. I loved the little Hunter, but knew it would be a difficult sell for riders needing a bike that can do higher speeds on state and interstate highways over here. This Guerrilla 450 removes that concern from the equation.
My steed for the day. Love the paint scheme and fork gaiters. Not so keen on the wide boxy radiator. At least the black hides it some.
We started our day at Royal Enfield HQ under low overcast skies and the threat of rain. Milwaukee‘s surface streets, like many city’s, are nerve wracking to ride over- cracks, seams, potholes, manhole covers, occasional debris, and uneven pavement. Honestly, the perfect test bed for the Guerrilla 450 to show off its street chops. The bike is fairly light, around 405 lbs with full fluids, has a low seat height of about 30”, and an upright rider triangle suitable for a variety of sized riders. At 5’8”, I felt comfortable from the get-go, darting around town on the bike.
Rolling around Jone’s Island, near the Port of Milwaukee. Photo by RE/PunchPR.
“Confidence-inspiring” is a worn out term that moto journalists have thrown about for years. What the heck does that even mean? By the time we hit the highway, I had a definition- an easy bike to acclimate to, that you immediately feel comfortable on, that responds to inputs in measured, predictable ways, and makes you feel connected to the bike quickly.
Pretty apt description of the Guerrilla 450.
The Guerrilla 450 comes equipped with a slipper clutch, and shifting is light and smooth, both up and down through the 6-cog gearbox. They don’t have a quickshifter for the bike, nor any of their models for that matter, but it’s not necessary with this 452cc single thumper. A two-finger light pull was all it took, up and down shifting. Great work, RE.
Decent brakes, adequate suspension. Nice package. Photo by RE/PunchPR.
The Guerrilla pinches on their now well-known and reliable ByBre brake system fore and aft, an Indian subsidiary of Brembo, and the brakes are adequate for a bike this size. I hard-squeezed them a few times, just to test, and they felt solid and stopped well. The bike sits on non-adjustable Showa forks up front and a single mono-shock in the rear with some manual adjustment. Over the rough streets around town and even out on open roads, I was cursing the ill-maintained tarmac of Milwaukee and Wisconsin, but not the suspension of the Guerrilla. What also helps are rubber mounted footpegs, as a single cylinder can get pretty buzzy up in the rev range and at higher speeds.
Very little translated to my old-guy knees and spine, thankfully.
Twistys in Wisconsin- who’d have thought? Somewhere in the Holy Hill region. Photo by RE/PunchPR.
The Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive is a fantastic 115 mile ride through six Wisconsin counties, with a surprising amount of curvy and hilly roads to dive through and around. Vast forested regions, wide open farm land and cattle/horse ranches, and mostly untrafficked byways to explore. Despite the precip threat and overcast all day, I loved this ride through Wisconsin’s beautiful countryside. In many ways, it reminded me of the lake and ranch country of my home state of Georgia, between Atlanta and Macon.
Riding it all on this lithe little bike was pure joy.
Am I riding North Georgia, or South Wisconsin? Similar scenery and roads. Photo by RE/PunchPR.
The Guerrilla 450 rolls on a pair of CEAT Gripp XL Rad Steel tubeless tires, 120/70-17 up front and 160/60-17 rear. These are an Indian brand, mainly street-oriented, with an ADV/dual sport style block-tread pattern. Over wet roads, tar snakes, some leaves and occasional light gravel, they always felt planted and grippy, around town and out in the country. When it comes time to replace them, Dunlop, Bridgestone and others will have a proper substitute, as I’m not sure CEAT’s motorcycle tires are available Stateside yet.
At just a tick under 3 gallons fuel capacity, the Guerrilla gets anywhere from 40-55 mph, depending on how you ride it. We rode them pretty hard at times. Range therefore chalks between 160-180 miles on a full tank, which held true for our ride. By the time we returned to the Milwaukee RE HQ at the end of the day, I was on fumes, my low-fuel light having flashed at me for nearly half an hour.
Three colorways to choose from- Smoke Silver (L), Playa Black (M), and Brava Blue (R). Photo by RE/PunchPR.
The Guerrilla 450 comes in three nice color schemes for the North American market- “Brava Blue”, “Smoke Silver” and “Playa Black”, the one I rode. This bike slots in more on the “modern” than “retro” side, but the Playa Black, with its distinctive red and yellow striping on the fenders and around the tank, reminded me of bikes I remember back in the 1970s-80s. If I bought one of these, it would be in Playa Black.
This engine and this motorcycle are another step forward for Royal Enfield, and I believe it’s an important bike in this small displacement category. These are affordable ($5300 USD) and so easy to ride, and yet have plenty of capability and performance when called upon. It’s a great entrance bike for new and young riders, yet entertaining enough for older and veteran riders.
Look out, Triumph Speed 400, there’s a Guerrilla 450 coming up fast behind you.
A line of nice iron by Royal Enfield. Photo by RE/PunchPR.
Huge thanks to Royal Enfield North America for giving us the opportunity to sample the brand’s newest offering, and congrats on a very capable motorbike. I hope they sell like hot cakes here in the Americas.
Rob
For more on the Guerrilla 450, and their whole lineup of motorcycles, click here:
Video ride and review forthcoming…
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