Source: Cycle World
Royal Enfield Managing Director Siddhartha Lal on the new Guerrilla. The teaser image is deliberately obscured by copy. (Royal Enfield/)Royal Enfield’s original Himalayan marked a steep change for a brand that was previously associated with relics from the 1950s. This year’s new liquid-cooled DOHC Himalayan 450 took another huge stride toward the mainstream, and Enfield is about to become even more relevant with the launch of the Guerrilla 450.Officially confirmed for a July 17 unveiling, the Guerrilla 450 is a spinoff from the Himalayan 450, sharing many of the same mechanical components. Although Enfield isn’t spilling many details yet, the model’s European type-approval details have been published and reveal what’s borrowed from the Himalayan and where the Guerrilla differs from its sister model.Royal Enfield’s new liquid-cooled 452cc Sherpa engine was first used in the 2024 Himalayan. (Blake Conner/)First up, there’s the engine. It’s exactly the same “Sherpa” 452cc DOHC single, with an identical state of tune to the Himalayan. The approval documents show the same output of 39.5 hp at 8,000 rpm and no change to the torque at 29.5 lb.-ft. at 5,500 rpm. The part number for the exhaust is also unaltered, confirming it’s the same component used on the Himalayan.Royal Enfield CEO B. Govindarajan with the new disguised Guerrilla. (Royal Enfield/)Teaser pictures released by Royal Enfield’s managing director, Siddhartha Lal, and CEO B. Govindarajan show the two men with the new bike, albeit with the “Guerrilla” logo plastered across them to obscure any details. These appear to show that the frame and even the tail bodywork section are shared with the Himalayan, as is the single round headlight. But by adopting shorter-travel suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels at each end instead of the 21-inch front, 17-inch rear wire-spoke units of the adventure model, the stance is substantially altered.The approval documents confirm the wheel sizes, showing the bike uses a 120/70-17 front tire instead of the Himalayan’s 90/90-21, and a 160/60-17 rear in place of its sister model’s 140/80-17. With a relatively short, non-inverted fork (where the Himalayan has a 43mm inverted unit) the Guerrilla’s wheelbase is reduced from 59.4 to 58.7 inches, while overall length is down from 90 to 84 inches. The bars are 0.7-inch narrower, and with no windscreen and less ground clearance, the Guerrilla’s height drops from 51.8 to 43.9 inches.Much of the chassis and engine components come straight off the Himalayan. (Royal Himalayan/)Those tighter dimensions are accompanied by a substantial weight reduction, dropping from 432 to 403 pounds including a 90 percent full tank of fuel. The extent of the reduction could be partly down to a smaller capacity fuel tank (the images show a more rounded design) than the Himalayan’s 4.5-gallon unit.With the Guerrilla 450, Royal Enfield will be going head-to-head with the likes of Triumph’s new Speed 400, which matches its 39.5 hp output and comes close to the Enfield’s torque with a peak of 27.7 lb.-ft., albeit 1,000 rpm higher at 6,500 rpm thanks to its 54cc capacity deficit (398cc compared to the RE’s 452cc). The Triumph is lighter too, at 375 pounds. KTM’s recently updated 390 Duke will also be a rival, though with 44 hp, its 399cc single is more powerful than either the Enfield or the Triumph. The related Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 shares the Duke’s mechanical parts but has styling more akin to the Royal Enfield.Like Triumph’s new Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X, Royal Enfield will add a roadster to the Sherpa family. (Triumph Motorcycles/)Where the Enfield is likely to have the edge over those rivals is price, though that’s a detail we won’t know until after the official launch on July 17.
Full Text:
Royal Enfield Managing Director Siddhartha Lal on the new Guerrilla. The teaser image is deliberately obscured by copy. (Royal Enfield/)
Royal Enfield’s original Himalayan marked a steep change for a brand that was previously associated with relics from the 1950s. This year’s new liquid-cooled DOHC Himalayan 450 took another huge stride toward the mainstream, and Enfield is about to become even more relevant with the launch of the Guerrilla 450.
Officially confirmed for a July 17 unveiling, the Guerrilla 450 is a spinoff from the Himalayan 450, sharing many of the same mechanical components. Although Enfield isn’t spilling many details yet, the model’s European type-approval details have been published and reveal what’s borrowed from the Himalayan and where the Guerrilla differs from its sister model.
Royal Enfield’s new liquid-cooled 452cc Sherpa engine was first used in the 2024 Himalayan. (Blake Conner/)
First up, there’s the engine. It’s exactly the same “Sherpa” 452cc DOHC single, with an identical state of tune to the Himalayan. The approval documents show the same output of 39.5 hp at 8,000 rpm and no change to the torque at 29.5 lb.-ft. at 5,500 rpm. The part number for the exhaust is also unaltered, confirming it’s the same component used on the Himalayan.
Royal Enfield CEO B. Govindarajan with the new disguised Guerrilla. (Royal Enfield/)
Teaser pictures released by Royal Enfield’s managing director, Siddhartha Lal, and CEO B. Govindarajan show the two men with the new bike, albeit with the “Guerrilla” logo plastered across them to obscure any details. These appear to show that the frame and even the tail bodywork section are shared with the Himalayan, as is the single round headlight. But by adopting shorter-travel suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels at each end instead of the 21-inch front, 17-inch rear wire-spoke units of the adventure model, the stance is substantially altered.
The approval documents confirm the wheel sizes, showing the bike uses a 120/70-17 front tire instead of the Himalayan’s 90/90-21, and a 160/60-17 rear in place of its sister model’s 140/80-17. With a relatively short, non-inverted fork (where the Himalayan has a 43mm inverted unit) the Guerrilla’s wheelbase is reduced from 59.4 to 58.7 inches, while overall length is down from 90 to 84 inches. The bars are 0.7-inch narrower, and with no windscreen and less ground clearance, the Guerrilla’s height drops from 51.8 to 43.9 inches.
Much of the chassis and engine components come straight off the Himalayan. (Royal Himalayan/)
Those tighter dimensions are accompanied by a substantial weight reduction, dropping from 432 to 403 pounds including a 90 percent full tank of fuel. The extent of the reduction could be partly down to a smaller capacity fuel tank (the images show a more rounded design) than the Himalayan’s 4.5-gallon unit.
With the Guerrilla 450, Royal Enfield will be going head-to-head with the likes of Triumph’s new Speed 400, which matches its 39.5 hp output and comes close to the Enfield’s torque with a peak of 27.7 lb.-ft., albeit 1,000 rpm higher at 6,500 rpm thanks to its 54cc capacity deficit (398cc compared to the RE’s 452cc). The Triumph is lighter too, at 375 pounds. KTM’s recently updated 390 Duke will also be a rival, though with 44 hp, its 399cc single is more powerful than either the Enfield or the Triumph. The related Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 shares the Duke’s mechanical parts but has styling more akin to the Royal Enfield.
Like Triumph’s new Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X, Royal Enfield will add a roadster to the Sherpa family. (Triumph Motorcycles/)
Where the Enfield is likely to have the edge over those rivals is price, though that’s a detail we won’t know until after the official launch on July 17.
