Joining our BikeReview long termer family for 2025 is this cute Yellow Ribbon Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 LAMS machine. Currently in Simon's shed, it has been put to use commuting and weekend scratching... Photos: HMC Photography/Simon Harris
In July 2024 AJ headed to Spain to the global launch of the Guerrilla 450. In December we had the chance to hit the road at the Aussie launch to see how it performed on our bumpy roads, and now we have one for a long term test. Say hi to the BikeReview Guerrilla 450.
As you probably know, the Guerrilla has received widespread acclaim in terms of an overall package, competitive pricing, rider accessibility and, of course, its kinetic qualities. For an Enfield, it is very light and, in conjunction with the punchy 450 single-cylinder motor, offers a ride experience worth looking into if a LAMS happy roadster (RE terminology) style machine is your bag.
Check out our World Launch Report and Tech Overview of the Guerrilla 450 here…
I like it. It’s comfy – the seat has loads of room to shift about – a well set out one size fits most design. The Guerilla is easy to become familiar with, too, based on its friendly dimensions and mass and is as easy to ride as it is to feel good on.
It’s a bit quirky in design, with the asymmetric tank, proper nakedness, slightly psychedelic paint schemes, and intriguing combo of trad and new stuff, such as conventional forks (with gators), almost useless mirrors, multi-function TFT dash, neat exhaust, jagged decals, LED lighting, and block tyres.
Royal Enfield must be praised for remaining steadfast and dedicated to a particular vein of motorcycle design that encompasses (or seems to) imagination, tradition, bygone values, and culture that perhaps eludes some other manufacturers.
It’s like a cocktail that mixes the halcyon days of old school motorcycling with modern but solid engineering, funk, style, brotherhood, and a more human production process.
My first rides featured a little bit of trepidation on the unknown CEAT soft-road tyres, but Jeff assured me they were good, and they are proving to really match the neutral, easy riding nature of the Guerilla. Direction changes require little to no effort while maintaining a feeling of stability and, in tighter sections of road, allows you to approach corners with quite some verve and confidence.
Lean behaviour from straight up to full over is consistent and it does not take long to start demolishing the footpeg blobs. Lightness shines through here and this makes the Guerrilla the most alluring small sporting all-rounder from the RE brand to date for me.
The motor is very friendly and will happily tolerate some rider tardiness and will willingly drive from below 3000rpm if you ask it to. The flattish nature of the torque curve from the very slightly over-square single makes for thrust that rises predictably and engagingly with engine speed.
The exhaust note is a bit matte around town, but once the throttle-body opens and the revs start building, it produces a nice, purposeful snarl that really compliments the increasing urgency of the engine to bump the 9k limiter. Fun!
I have to say that in my first several hundred kilometres of travel that constant throttle riding, such as freeway operation, does numb my right hand quite drastically. I’m not sure why or exactly how to fix this as the engine itself is very smooth, but it feels almost as though the hand grip is too big, or the position of the throttle when closed is not quite natural for me. I may muck about with it as I am also experiencing occasional snatch when transitioning from closed to open throttle.
So far, gearbox operation is proving to be totally reliable and the cable-operated clutch is light on the hand, which is ideal for commuting situations. The suspension is non-adjustable bar for rear spring preload, but seems adequate in dealing with the atrocities we are made to call roads here that I have so far traversed.
I did get a little bit of distance on some unsealed road but I don’t feel that this is the calling of the Guerrilla. It prefers urban jungle warfare. The brakes, although not headliners in specification, are adequate for hauling the relatively light chassis of the Guerrilla up. Only prob for me here is if my hand happens to be numb when needing to use the brakes…
A month in and the 450 Guerrilla roadster is growing on me. Is it time to find the warpaint, camouflage, bandanna, and sign up to fight the powers that want to be? In reality, it always has been, so maybe the sentiments behind the Guerrilla are that catalyst…
Read Jacinta’s opinion of the Guerrilla 450 here…
TECH TALK – 2024 ROYAL ENFIELD GUERRILLA 450
Sharing the 452cc Sherpa engine with the Himalayan 450 but re-mapped for street use, with a 42mm throttle-body, RbW throttle and 84mm x 81.5mm bore x stroke, the Guerrilla run an 11.5:1 compression ratio and makes a learner legal friendly 29.44kW@8000rpm and 40Nm@5500rpm. It also features a slipper clutch (cable actuation) and a six-speed gearbox.
Chassis-wise, the steel tubular frame uses the engine as a stressed member. The swingarm is steel and runs a linkage-type SHOWA monoshock and offers 150mm of travel, while up the front 43mm conventional SHOWA forks are covered with fork gators and give 140mm travel. Wheels are 17in cast alloy with 120/70 – 17in and 160/60 – 17in on-road/off-road 50/50 CEAT GrippXL tyres.
Braking is taken care off by ByBre (By Brembo) with a 310mm front rotor with two-piston sliding caliper and a 270mm rear rotor with a single-piston caliper, and dual channel ABS is a feature too. The front master-cylinder is of the conventional type with integrated fluid reservoir, and the brake lines are braided stainless-steel for added feel and power.
The Guerrilla is 2090mm long, with a wheelbase of 1440mm and a seat height of 780mm. It is 833mm wide and 1125mm tall without mirrors, and ground clearance is 169mm. Weight comes in at 191kg wet and ready to ride, or 174kg dry. The fuel tank capacity is just 11L, so expect plenty of fuel stops here in Australia, with an estimated fuel range of 300km between filling up a best case scenario to bone dry, we estimate it will be closer to a range of 250-260km between fill-ups.
Electronics include the ABS, and two Ride Modes, Economy and Performance. The TFT dash is Tripper enabled should you wish to add it and it can also Blutooth to your mobile. The lighting is LED and the engine is of course electric start. No anti-theft immobiliser or traction control. Guerrilla 450 colours are Brava Blue, Yellow Ribbon, Gold Dip, Playa Black and Smoke.
Pricing has been announced for some International markets (it’s under $5000 AUD in India but don’t expect that here), we predict it will be somewhere around the price of the Himalayan, perhaps a little less, so $9,000 – ish Ride Away, but nothing official is available on price here in Australia. There are three variants, one with a basic analogue dash and two with the TFT dash.
2024 Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Specifications
Price & Availability: $8590 Ride Away (Playa Black)
Colours: Brava Blue (+$100), Yellow Ribbon (+$100), Playa Black.
Claimed Power: 29.44kW(40.2hp)@8000rpm
Claimed Torque: 40Nm@5500rpm
Claimed Fuel Consumption: N/A
Claimed Fuel Range: N/A
Wet Weight: 191kg
Fuel capacity: 11L
Engine: Liquid-cooled DOHC single-cylinder four-stroke, four-valve head, 84mm x 81.5mm bore x stroke, 452cc, 11.5:1 compression ratio, EFI with 42mm throttle-body, semi dry sump, wet multi-plate slipper clutch, six-speed gearbox
Chassis: Steel tubular frame and sub-frame, steel swingarm.
Rake: N/A mm Trail: N/A mm
Suspension: SHOWA 43mm forks, 140mm travel (f), SHOWA monoshock, 150mm travel (r).
Brakes: Single semi-floating 310mm brake rotor, two-piston caliper (f),
Single 270mm rotor, single-piston caliper (r). Dual Channel switchable ABS.
Wheels & Tyres: 120/70 – 17 (f) 160/60 – 17 (r) CEAT GrippXL tyres.
Dimensions:
Wheelbase: 1440mm
Seat height: 780mm
Ground clearance: 161mm
Overall width: 833mm
Overall Length: 2090mm
Overall height: 1125 no mirrors
Instruments & Equipment: Ride Modes, TFT dash, ABS.
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