Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Review | LAMS Motorcycle Test

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Review

If you’ve been considering the Royal Enfield lineup – especially the smaller-capacity models and wishing for a boost in performance – the new Guerrilla 450 has arrived to meet those expectations.

Previously, those seeking more power had to look to the 650 twins, but now the Sherpa single-cylinder engine – first introduced in the new Himalayan – is available in a roadster.

With a competitive price tag starting at $8,590 ride-away, this new LAMS-approved motorcycle presents a strong option against 400-500cc rivals. It significantly outperforms Royal Enfield’s 350 models, not that it will replace them, and marks a notable evolution for the Indian brand.

Of course I still haven’t ridden the new Himalayan, so this probably comes as less of a surprise to those who have. However the Guerrilla 450 roadster should have significantly wider appeal with a more accessible seat height and mainstream styling for the more urban environment.

It’s worth noting that, true to form, Royal Enfield hasn’t aimed to deliver the absolute highest performance or most feature-packed option in the category. Instead, they’ve focused on creating a well-rounded machine with solid features and an impressive quality of finish. The question remains: will that be enough?

I headed along to the local Aussie launch to find out that answer, doing a loop out of Sydney’s West up into the Blue Mountains to Bilpin and back to see what was on offer. And where the Guerrilla 450 fits into the competitive LAMS segment.

While not the longest day in the saddle, I do think the mix of road conditions, from escaping Sydney traffic, cruising some ‘burbs, a café visit or two and of course the more open roads and nice twisties, should be a pretty good indicator of what these bikes will be doing day to day.

The Sherpa 452 cc engine is a liquid-cooled single that makes 40 horsepower at 8000 rpm. The torque peaks at 5500 rpm with 40 Nm, most of that torque is also available much earlier as it pulls quite well from 3000 rpm. That torque figure is quite competitive for the segment.

A six-speed gearbox ensures you won’t feel limited on the freeway. The clutch is light and down-shifts forgiving. Even if you knock the bike down a gear more than you’d expected the slipper clutch smooths out your mistakes.  Shifts are clean and precise too, with a gear indicator displayed on that round TFT dash, which will no doubt be very welcome for new riders who aren’t used to keeping track.

The real kicker here is a nice little punch of torque as you shift into second gear, which helps give the Guerrilla 450 a bit of extra character and underlines the sporty side of this machine.

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Cruising along at highway speeds (110 km/h) sees the mill turning 5500 rpm and you’ve got plenty left in the tank. That’s a pretty relaxed section of the rev range in sixth.  I saw 140 km/h in fifth at one point.

That’s pretty good by my reckoning, and even approaching the 7000 rpm mark the little single was pretty smooth, some vibes started to resonate through the tank – felt through my knees – and just starting to emerge at the ‘bars, which seem well damped. You don’t need to rev the bike to redline for performance or fun, so it’s hardly an issue.

While the Guerrilla isn’t the most powerful 400-500cc bike on the market, it’s well-suited for highway cruising and has enough urge for overtaking at highway speeds. Strong torque, for a LAMS bike, throughout the rev range makes it an ideal city commuter. Keep in mind, this isn’t a race bike or a sportbike—nor does it aim to be.

Interestingly there’s also a RbW throttle, and modern EMS (Engine Management System) with a choice of two ride modes, Performance or Eco. I reckon most will just leave the bike in Performance.

Fuelling is smooth and predictable. The only time I really felt the need to feather that clutch was in slow traffic for the up-shifts into second, to lessen that punch of torque I mentioned. The bike will lug along at very low rpm if you’ve messed up shifts or gear choice, which makes it forgiving for new riders.

Often the adoption of RbW is accompanied by traction control, but that isn’t the case here, not that I’d really say it’s a feature that’s strictly necessary. But it is becoming more common, even on these small machines.

The Guerrilla 450 rolls on a chassis designed from the start with the Guerrilla and Himalayan in mind. Including gaitered 43 mm Showa telescopic forks plus a monoshock with pre-load adjustment.

I weigh around the 75 kg mark plus gear and found that set-up very suitable for the vast majority of conditions. Only the occasional big pothole was really noticeable, without impacting my line. I could happily just ride over most road inconsistencies, and we did test that out quite a bit.

The new banana swing-arm adds to the eye candy, but that may just be me. Wheels are 17 inchers front and rear.   I’ve got to be honest, the Brava Blue colour option, with blue front wheel was undoubtedly the winner for me in the styles stakes.

The paint is more white than blue. Royal Enfield have done a great job here, with a matching blue sub-frame and nice deep fleck to both paints.

The finish quality is really commendable and the decision to minimise the use of plastic helps here too. The other options are Playa Black, which features a splash of red over a mainly blacked out machine, or Yellow Ribbon with more gold in the mix alongside predominantly black.

The steel twin-spar frame, swing-arm and alloy rims no doubt help achieve that reasonable 185 kg wet weight, with 11 litres of fuel on board. The Guerilla seems to have quite a low centre of gravity which helps make it feel light and manageable.

Adding a bit of ruggedness to the Guerrilla’s character are slightly knobby tyres. The tyre profile looked a bit flat across the tyre at a glance but the handling didn’t reflect that observation. I found the bike to be sure-footed and predictable, with an intuitive and easy-going ride.

Wide ‘bars give a commanding riding position alongside that low 780 mm seat. It’s a fairly narrow seat design, particularly at the tank. Comfort is good for 30 to 40 minute stretches, but you’d need to try the optional comfort seat out for regular long distances. However, the does add 22 mm to the seat height, and should stretch you out a little more and prove a boon for taller riders.

The round TFT dash is also an eye-catcher, although it could do with the accessory instrument cowl to clean up the gap between headlight and dash.

Royal Enfield offer phone syncing with onboard navigation, which is a cool little feature. I had a bit of look through the dash and tried to sync up my chronically connection shy Google Pixel 8 but had no luck. I don’t think this is a Guerrilla issue either, this smartphone refuses to connect to almost anything…

You will need the Royal Enfield app for that, but it’s quick and easy to download off the official app stores and signing up is also easy. It’d be nice if this wasn’t required at all, but I’m probably dreaming on that one in 2024.

There’s multiple display options, with a nice clear view of your speed, fuel level and gear selected. I’d prefer the indicator light to be top of dash, as at the bottom it’s easy to miss and not in my direct line of sight, but it’s a small criticism. I needed to look down the tiniest amount to see it. I did get some reflection off the dash at the very start of the day on the highway too, but that’ll come down to a pretty specific angle and time of day.

The one area I did thing could have been a little improved was the brakes, well the front brake. The rear is a big 270 mm rotor with single-pot caliper. The front in comparison is a single 310 mm disc with Bybre caliper and feel was a little wooden.

A bit more bite from different brake pads wouldn’t have gone astray here for me, although the argument could be made that for beginner riders the more forgiving set-up makes panicked mistakes a bit less likely.

The exhaust looks the business, but isn’t particularly loud. Clearly some weight could be saved adding a slip-on and getting rid of that well hidden collector. That’d be my plan anyway, if I could find anything that looked better…

I did manage to get a squeak out of the rear ABS on occasion too, with grip from the tyres good overall for the dry conditions, even in a bit of dirt and gravel. They are CEAT Gripp XL Rad Steel tyres for reference, in 120/70 front and 160/60 rear sizings.

Overall I think the Guerrilla 450 is a great addition to the Royal Enfield model line, and the LAMS category as a whole.

Bridging the gap between their 350s – for not that much more –  and the 650s, the Guerrilla offers a more modern and performance driven option, with some nice modern tech to boot.

That makes for a LAMS bike that’s plenty capable, and should even keep the right more experienced rider happy long term too as long as the don’t enter the deal with unrealistic expectations.

I reckon we’ll see a few more variants running the Sherpa engine in the not too distant future as Royal Enfield continue to go from strength to strength.

Head to the Royal Enfield Australia website for more info.

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Specifications

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Video

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Gallery