Royal Enfield's Guerrilla 450 is an all-new model that features a modern liquid-cooled engine. This is the second model powered by a new single-cylinder engine called the Sherpa. Does a modern standard motorcycle work for a brand like Royal Enfield, and is the Guerrilla 450 a contender in a now very competitive segment? Come with us to Barcelona, Spain, to find out.
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Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/royal-enfield-guerilla-450-first-ride/
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00:00This is Royal Enfield's Gorilla 450. It's the second model powered by the Sherpa
00:04450 engine. We're in Barcelona, Spain to find out if this thing is as good as
00:09Triumph's Speed 400 and other standards in the market. Let's find out.
00:23So it's the night before I leave to go ride the Gorilla 450 in Barcelona, Spain.
00:29And this is a little bit different than most press launches. Usually we know everything that
00:34we need to know about the bike before we leave. We've seen a first look, we've seen all the press
00:38materials, we've seen photos, we've seen all kinds of videos. Royal Enfield has told us nothing about
00:45this bike besides the name, 450, and a couple photos on their Instagram page that are covered
00:52up by the Gorilla name. So you really can't look too much of the bike. We know a few things about
00:58it from the photos you can tell. It's got 17-inch wheels, it's got conventional forks, it's got a
01:04smoother, maybe smaller tank than the Himalaya 450, and it's got the Himalaya Sherpa 450 engine in it.
01:11Other than that, that's all they've given us. But our UK contributor Ben Purvis, he does a lot
01:17of work looking at approval type documents, patents, all those things, trying to get some
01:22information before everybody else. And on this bike, we've got some info. We know the power
01:27numbers, we know the weight, and we know a few other things about the bike, which I will share with you
01:34after I get packed and I head to the airport.
01:46So what Ben found out is that the Gorilla 450 makes the same amount of power as the Himalaya 450
01:53because it has the same 452cc Sherpa dual overhead cam single. So it makes 39.5 horsepower
02:01at 8,000 rpm and it makes 29.5 pound-feet of torque at 5,500 rpm. That's a slightly more
02:12torque than Triumph's speed 400, but the Gorilla does weigh more than Triumph. Gorilla comes in at
02:19403 pounds, whereas the Himalaya comes in at 432 pounds, I believe. So it's losing about 29 pounds
02:30off from the Himalaya going to the Gorilla, and then the Triumph weighs only 375 pounds. So
02:39the speed has the advantage on weight, but the Gorilla has the advantage on torque.
02:45Horsepower numbers, exactly the same. So instead of the inverted fork on the Himalaya as well,
02:50it's got a standard conventional fork, but the specs of the fork and the shock are unknown at
02:58this time. So we'll find out again later today when we go to the tech presentation and we find
03:04out all the details, but we do know that the wheelbase has changed. So it's been reduced from
03:12the Himalaya's wheelbase of 59.4 to 58.7 inches, and the bars are narrower and there's similar stuff.
03:22So looking at what we can see in the photos, it looks like that the Gorilla uses the same subframe
03:31and the same frame as the Himalaya, but has quite a different look to it as you expect it
03:37being a standard instead of an adventure bike. So that's not a whole lot of detail to start with,
03:42at least it's something. It gives us an idea of where the performance may lie.
03:47When you look at the horsepower numbers, torque numbers, the weight, it gives you a little bit
03:55of an idea that it's in the ballpark and that's good. The Himalaya was the first one to run the
04:01Sherpa 450 liquid-cooled engine, so it's not the first for Royal Enfield, but it's still
04:08quite a departure from its classic air-cooled heritage that's been doing it for a long time,
04:14and it does really well and it offers it at a really, really awesome price. So
04:19that's the big question is, what is the price on this thing going to be? Because we have no idea.
04:38Hola, buenos dias!
04:41All right, I'm in Spain. I'm in Barcelona, finally. My flight was delayed. They lost my luggage.
04:47I have no riding gear. So while we keep thinking about the new Gorilla and wondering about how
04:54it's going to be and what it's going to be, I gotta go buy some gear. So come along with me
04:59shopping for gear in Barcelona and we'll talk more about the Gorilla 450.
05:08We made it to Motocard. This is like the super shopping spot in
05:16Spain for gear. So we're gonna go in and see what we can find.
05:27Borja has helped us out big time. We've got everything we need, I think.
05:32We've got pants, jackets, gloves, helmet.
05:37Shopping spree in Barcelona. Not what I expected to be doing today,
05:41but we'll be ready to go ride the Gorilla 450. Okay, so there it is. All the gears ready to go
05:47for tomorrow. Boots, helmets, gloves, pants. So now it's time to get ready to go to the tech
05:55presentation. We'll find out if we were right about the horsepower of 39.5, the weight, all
06:00that stuff. They're gonna give us all that and we should get a price. We're all really very happy
06:05to have you all here. We just got done with the tech presentation and dinner. Lots of detail
06:22in the presentation, but not all the details. So let's go ahead and start with what they didn't
06:29tell us, but they're going to tell us tomorrow. And that is most importantly, the price and the
06:35availability. Still wondering what the price will be. Still wondering if they can match Triumph's
06:41$5,000 price point. Something in me tells me they can't and maybe that's not why they're,
06:46and that's why they're not telling us the price before we go ride it. They're gonna tell us the
06:50price after we ride it, or maybe they're gonna surprise the heck out of us after we ride it and
06:55tell us the price and we're going to be blown away. Let's start out with the weight. 408 pounds
07:00with 90% full tank. Don't know why they wouldn't just measure it with a full tank, but 408 pounds.
07:07So that's right around where we said earlier. So we got that right. Power and torque, exactly like
07:15we said, 39.5 horsepower and 29.5 pound feet of torque at exactly the same RPMs as the Himalayan
07:26450. So there's two ride modes of performance and an eco, and they basically changed some of the
07:34behavior of the throttle response on both bikes. It seems like it's just gonna kick in a little
07:41sooner when you crack the throttle. So we'll find out tomorrow. Other numbers. Seat height,
07:46that's a really important number for these motorcycles, and this thing, the seat height is at
07:5330.7 inches. Decently low seat height. They do have a taller seat, which adds a little bit for
08:01taller riders, but as it is, it seems to be nice and low and the standover is pretty solid. It's
08:09a narrow seat at the front, so reaching the ground shouldn't be an issue for too many people.
08:14They do not even offer a low seat. That's how confident they are in the ease of reaching the
08:20ground. So only a tall seat option, which is more of a bench seat, doesn't have any scoop in it.
08:25It's basically straight across. The chassis, the frame. So the frame is similar to the Himalaya,
08:31but different. It's a unique frame. Basically same design, but things are changed to make it work for
08:38each bike. So you're looking at things like mainly up front at the head tube area. It has a 21.8
08:46degree rake and a 3.6 inch trail. So it's a pretty steep steering angle. I expect that it's going to
08:53be pretty quick turning, which is cool. Other places on the chassis that's different is the,
09:00obviously, the suspension. So we're talking about a 43 millimeter front fork, conventional fork,
09:05with 140 millimeters or 5.5 inches of travel. At the back, you've got a monoshock that's
09:12adjustable for preload, and that has 150 millimeters of travel or 5.9 inches. And
09:18when you look at that, those numbers compared to the Speed 400, identical front fork travel.
09:26And at the rear, this has 0.8 of an inch more rear suspension travel. So very, very comparable.
09:34Wheelbase is 56.7 inches. That comes from, obviously, a steeper head angle, different trail,
09:42and smaller front wheel. So all that shortens the bike up quite a bit. Other changes they made have
09:48to do with the handlebar width, just more narrow, but the foot pegs are up higher and placed further
09:54back. A little more sportier position on your feet. Comes standard with the Royal Enfield Tripper
10:00navigation. Really cool system. They ran us through it. I downloaded the app on my phone
10:06tonight, so we're going to try it out tomorrow. What else did we find out? So ABS, obviously,
10:11and we already spoke about the two ride modes. No trash control, which we expected because Himalayan
10:16doesn't have trash control either. So this is a sub 40 horsepower motorcycle. Trash control
10:21would be nice, but it's not a must on something at this speed. So it comes in five colors,
10:27all kinds from mild to wild. There's like a plain basic silverish color all the way to this wild
10:35yellow and purple color scheme with some dots. And it looks like a comic book. It's crazy. And
10:42they're trying to talk to a very wide audience with this bike. So they want people that are,
10:49you know, maybe more reserved will take the silver one and they want to catch younger riders with the
10:55crazy colors. But overall the paint looks really, really good on it. At least what we saw inside.
11:01So tomorrow out in the sun will be the true measure of the paint, but really cool paint jobs.
11:07I'm really into the black, red, and yellow bike. It has a very kind of cool retro 70s vibe, which
11:13is cool. Overall, the bike is looks solid, looks put together, and looks like it's going to be a
11:20lot of fun. So it is getting late. I still have to prep all my gear, charge my GoPros, charge all the
11:29cameras, send off some emails, and then get some sleep before we have to be out front at 730 to go ride.
11:50We just finished our first little morning session. We went about 60 kilometers, so
11:5436-40 miles-ish. And I gotta say, initial impressions are positive. This thing,
12:03the engine is really fun. It's the first time I've ridden a bike with the Sherpa 450 engine.
12:09I haven't ridden the Himalayan yet. So I have to say though, the engine as is, is pretty rad.
12:16And overall, the bike is really good. It's got a real nice torquey character. Fueling is pretty
12:21much spot on. I think there's a little bit of snatchiness right off the bottom, kind of in like
12:26second gear. But other than that, it's pretty solid. This engine, it's a little vibey. You can feel it
12:32through the foot pegs and in the tank where your legs touch on the tank right there at the
12:36the tank and seat juncture. But it's not bad. It's not like super annoying or it doesn't like, you
12:42don't really feel it in your hands too much. So it's not that big of a deal. It's a single.
12:46So there's going to be some vibes, but overall, super good engine character. Handling-wise,
12:51it's super light and agile. Rolls off the side of the tire really nice. The bars aren't super wide.
12:56It's surprising that you have as much leverage as you do to push the bike down or pull the bike
13:00down into corners. It's really quick to react and you can make, you know, mid-corner adjustments
13:05really easily. Thus far, I'm really impressed with it. I don't have many complaints besides
13:11the vibes I think thus far. The dash is super rad. This tripper dash is great. This tripper
13:18dash is really, really good. You know, it's probably flickering from the frame rate. It's a very nice,
13:25clear, easy to read dash. Brakes, pretty solid brakes too. I'm really, really impressed with
13:30these Vibrays. Not a lot to criticize thus far in the first hour of riding. So we'll get back to you
13:37later in the day. So we've been on the bike for about half a day at this point and overall, I'm
13:43very impressed with this motorcycle. It's definitely a new type of Royal Enfield. This
13:49is not your nostalgic, retro style, air-cooled machine. This is something that's totally new
13:55in the Royal Enfield world besides the Himalaya 450. This thing right here feels thoroughly modern
14:02and up-to-date as any other standard motorcycle. And that's really the cool part about it is that
14:08now you have more choice in the Royal Enfield lineup. You could go for a Hunter 350 or you
14:14could do a Continental 650 or you can do a Gorilla 450. Handling, it's really good. You've got
14:21non-adjustable suspension besides preload at the rear, Shoei units, 5.5 inches in the front, 5.9
14:28inches in the back. Fairly well controlled even for my weight. Geared on, I'm 230 pounds at this
14:34point. I'm not feeling like I'm blowing through the stroke. The rebound doesn't feel too fast.
14:38It's actually very well sorted and well controlled. The chassis, super light, super nimble. You can
14:44throw it around in the corners. Just takes a little bit of bar pressure and the thing just
14:48drops in the corners like it's nothing. Change in your line mid-corner, no problem. Brakes, brakes
14:53are actually really good. These Vibrate brakes thus far, no issues. Plenty of feel, plenty of
14:59communication. You can really feel what the brake is doing with a lot of power. They do not feel
15:04low spec. They don't feel wooden. They're really nice feeling. I've been playing with the the
15:09Tripper Dash a little bit. Paired it this morning. It only took about a minute to get it paired up
15:14and no issues. I think the only complaint I have about the Tripper app is that your phone has to
15:21be on in order to put the navigation onto the screen. So you know that's going to chew through
15:27some battery power. But there's a USB-C connector so you can plug your phone in if you need to. But
15:33it does chew through a lot of battery. Ergonomics, very very comfortable. This seat is nice and low.
15:40It's a 30.7 inch seat height. Reaching the ground is a piece of cake. It feels super low. I will say
15:46the dish though does keep you in pretty much one position the whole time. It's difficult to move
15:51forward and back on the bike with ease. I want to try out the taller seat that's basically a flat
15:56bench. That'll give you some more room to move around and make it maybe a little more comfortable
16:00for taller riders. But has a nice feel to it. It doesn't, it's not uncomfortable at all. Fit and
16:05finish is killer on these things. Like there's only a few little areas where you notice some
16:10hardware that it's maybe an odd choice. Like they could have like smoothed it out a little bit. But
16:14overall thus far, really really cool bike. On the engine, the engine has plenty of torque.
16:20It revs out to eight and a half, nine thousand rpm. It's a really fun engine. It has really
16:26really nice power. We're gonna get back on the road and then later tonight we go to another
16:30presentation where they're going to tell us about pricing and availability and then we'll
16:35check back in and let you know our final thoughts. The ride is done. We've spent all day on this bike.
16:44Enough to really get a good idea of what this bike is like. Just like I said at lunchtime, it really
16:49is a great motorcycle. It's an excellent new option for Royal Enfield. This will not be replacing any
16:54other bike in the lineup. Once again, engine, it's great. This engine has a really nice torquey
17:00character and it revs to the moon. You know it revs up to 9,000 rpm before it hits a rev limiter.
17:06It's usable almost all the way to just past 8,000 rpm. Comfort wise, it is a pretty comfortable bike.
17:13I would say the only thing, once again, is the seat kind of traps you in one spot but other than
17:17that the seat is comfortable. So it's not like you need to move around a lot to be comfortable.
17:22You can sit in the same place all day long and you're not going to get a hot spot. You're not
17:25going to get uncomfortable. Reach the bars is nice. The clutch and the brake lever, I would like to see
17:31some sort of adjustment mechanism on them because the reach of the clutch lever for smaller hands
17:35is going to be a little bit of a stretch. I mean for me, it's right where I like it and I like my
17:40levers really far forward. So if it's where I like it, it's probably too far forward for a lot of
17:46people. Great dash, super easy to read, played with the tripper app, connected piece of cake. Handling
17:52wise, this is non-adjustable Showa suspension. The only thing you can adjust is the preload and I
17:57didn't even touch the preload because it felt good as is. You know we rode a variety of really nice
18:05like billiard table smooth roads all the way to some bumpy city stuff. I'll say on the smooth stuff
18:10it is excellent. Looks side to side, you can tell what the tires are doing, you can feel everything
18:15that's going on. In the city and hitting the bumps, it's maybe a tad bit harsh but it's not bad and I
18:22would rather take that than a spongy mess that soaks up everything and doesn't let you handle
18:29well. Very fuel efficient which is good because the tank is quite small. It's 11 liters which is 2.8
18:36gallons I think. It'll do about 180 miles on a tank is what they're claiming. There came in 300
18:41kilometers on a tank so 180 miles that's still pretty decent. Overall though Royal Enfield has
18:47done a really good job. We're going to find out pricing and availability soon. So if this thing
18:52comes in at any price point below $6,000 it's going to be awesome. This thing is really fun,
18:58it handles great. No complaints other than a slightly vibey engine and a little bit of weird
19:04fueling second gear when you shift from first to second you get a little bit of a lurch. Other than
19:08that this thing's awesome. I like it, it's definitely a competitor in the standard market.
19:14If you're shopping around for something below $6,000 this is the bike you should take a look at.
19:18If you like what we're doing hit the like button, subscribe, tell all your friends. You're going to
19:22have questions and comments put them down below I'll get back to you. Thanks for watching we'll
19:26see you next time.