India’s two-wheeler industry is going through a revolution. All eyeballs are trained on the sub-500cc segment. So much so that, even brands well known for pushing larger displacement motorcycles now want a piece of this pie. Everyone is trying to downsize the legacies of their big-bike portfolio to the 400 odd-cc motorcycles by offering all the bells and whistles at a tempting price point. To sum it up, motorcycles have never been so accessible and capable. Homegrown bikemaker Royal Enfield seems to have taken it on itself to become the pioneer of this segment by introducing a new motorcycle in its already exhaustive fleet of sub-500cc motorcycles. It is called the Guerrilla 450. Can it be the new
torch bearer of the sub-500cc segment? Let’s find out.
Like many, I was expecting a Scram 450. After all, the Himalayan 411 gave birth to the Scram 411 and it was well-received as a more relatable and accessible version of the hardcore Himalayan. Surprisingly the Guerilla 450, based on the new Himalayan 450 is a roadster instead of a scrambler.
Being a roadster, the Guerrilla 450 has a petite body style that resembles the Hunter 350 than the Himalayan 450. The old-school round LED headlamp along with the fork gators gives it a rebellious look. The side profile makes it look accessible to newer riders. That seems to be the plan, have the motorcycle with the performance of the Himalayan 450 with the accessibility and on-road performance of the Hunter 350. A daily rider which won’t overwhelm you with a tall geometry like the Himalayan. In line with the roadster design, the tank shape is on the flatter side rather than a tear-drop shape. Tank capacity too is 11 litres, six litres less than the Himalayan. To keep the retro charm, the Guerrilla gets a one-piece seat.
The Guerrilla 450 will be available in three variants, Analogue, Dash and Flash. The Guerrilla gets five unique colour treatments. The colour combination is a bit polarising but eventually grows on you.
In the electronics department, it gets 2 riding modes, Eco and Performance and can be selected from the circular-shaped coloured TFT screen(Tripper Dash). The Tripper Dash gets the same connectivity features that you find on the Himalayan and you will find it only on the Dash and Flash variant. The Analogue variant is equipped with an analogue cluster.
Royal Enfield has made sure the handling matches the dynamic nature of the engine. To maintain the roadster aesthetic, it has 17-inch wheels and sharper rake and trail angles compared to the Himalayan. This enables it to dive into the corners with ease and also gives it a sporty stance. The Guerrilla doesn’t shy away from carving the twisties and tackles corners with confidence. I feel, Royal Enfield could have taken the “fun-handling” quotient up a notch by giving it a set of road-biased tyres. Given the aggressive rake and trail angles, the wider 120-section front tyre makes it feel a bit lazy in corners especially when you want to correct your lines mid-corner. I feel that a set of tarmac-focused tyres with a narrower front could improve the handling significantly. On that note, I wish the Guerrilla 450 was equipped with USD forks. The current setup gets the job done but is tuned more towards the softer side. Overall, the Guerrilla handles well and is a fun-to-ride motorcycle in the truest sense.
To summarise, Royal Enfield has done a fantastic job introducing a niche product in its lineup. The Guerilla 450 is fun to ride and feels premium. It is the perfect motorcycle if you are looking to enjoy the performance of a Himalayan on your daily commute. But can it be the torch bearer of the sub-500cc segment? Priced at Rs 2.39 lakh for the Analogue, Rs 2.49 lakh for the Dash and Rs 2.54 lakh for the Flash variant, the Guerilla 450 seems to sit in a sweet spot to compete against the likes of Triumph Speed 400, Triumph Scrambler 400X, Harley Davidson X440 and the Hero Mavrick. The odds of its success will depend on how well the Royal Enfield brand is perceived against the likes of premium brands like Triumph and Harley-Davidson.
