Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 First Details

[Hugh Janus]

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.

Source

[boboneleg]

That's just a Himalayan with gay tyres fitted, the Triumph looks way more cool.

[Saul]

8 hours ago, boboneleg said:

That's just a Himalayan with gay tyres fitted, the Triumph looks way more cool.

I think Triumph has cornered the everyday small bike market with those 400's in the UK.  I had a close look at the new Himalayan a few days ago and from my point of view it is an ugly fucker from every angle, to heavy and to big.   I would be interested to see the new Guerilla in the flesh but I don't think it has a chance against the Speed 400 in terms of sales.  

[Buckster]

2 hours ago, Saul said:

I think Triumph has cornered the everyday small bike market with those 400's in the UK.  I had a close look at the new Himalayan a few days ago and from my point of view it is an ugly fucker from every angle, to heavy and to big.   I would be interested to see the new Guerilla in the flesh but I don't think it has a chance against the Speed 400 in terms of sales.  

Depends on the price.

[Saul]

13 minutes ago, Buckster said:

Depends on the price.

True but the Himalayan is priced on a par with the 400X, I don't see that RE can significantly undercut the Speed 400 with the Guerilla.  Also RE carries the stigma of Indian POS as Pete would have told us and I have heard it many times in the flesh.  Triumph not so much, as yet,  even though many are built out of the UK although that could change if they new 400 proves to be problematic.    For the record I do still like the Interceptor and old model Himalayan so I hopefully don't share that bias.

[Buckster]

5 minutes ago, Saul said:

True but the Himalayan is priced on a par with the 400X, I don't see that RE can significantly undercut the Speed 400 with the Guerilla.  Also RE carries the stigma of Indian POS as Pete would have told us and I have heard it many times in the flesh.  Triumph not so much, as yet,  even though many are built out of the UK although that could change if they new 400 proves to be problematic.    For the record I do still like the Interceptor and old model Himalayan so I hopefully don't share that bias.

If they can get the price under £4500 then it could sell, otherwise people will get the Triumph.

[Pedro]

1 hour ago, Saul said:

True but the Himalayan is priced on a par with the 400X, I don't see that RE can significantly undercut the Speed 400 with the Guerilla.  Also RE carries the stigma of Indian POS as Pete would have told us and I have heard it many times in the flesh.  Triumph not so much, as yet,  even though many are built out of the UK although that could change if they new 400 proves to be problematic.    For the record I do still like the Interceptor and old model Himalayan so I hopefully don't share that bias.

Apart from the 400, Triumphs sold in Europe are supposedly assembled in the UK. Parts are made all over the world, though.

[Saul]

1 hour ago, Pedro said:

Apart from the 400, Triumphs sold in Europe are supposedly assembled in the UK. Parts are made all over the world, though.

The last time I looked there were 3 Triumph factories in Thailand.  I don't know if they actually assemble bikes there or if they do to what markets they are supplied to.    Its was hinted they did sell Thai Bonnevilles in Britain, in the press here a few years ago. That may not have been accurate so what you say may very well be.  It's a moot point as to weather a British bike is british because it has been assembled here and to be honest I don't really care.  For me it's all about quality and reliability wherever its built.  Of the three Honda's in our household two of them were assembled in Italy.  There are plenty of Nissans assembled here with one hell of alot of French parts, does that make them Japanese, French or British?  

As to the original point I think RE have a steep task to outsell the small Triumphs, as Buck says it all depends on price.   They won't do it on looks IMHO.    People love Triumphs here, me included.  

[Buckster]

14 minutes ago, Saul said:

The last time I looked there were 3 Triumph factories in Thailand.  I don't know if they actually assemble bikes there or if they do to what markets they are supplied to.    Its was hinted they did sell Thai Bonnevilles in Britain, in the press here a few years ago. That may not have been accurate so what you say may very well be.  It's a moot point as to weather a British bike is british because it has been assembled here and to be honest I don't really care.  For me it's all about quality and reliability wherever its built.  Of the three Honda's in our household two of them were assembled in Italy.  There are plenty of Nissans assembled here with one hell of alot of French parts, does that make them Japanese, French or British?  

As to the original point I think RE have a steep task to outsell the small Triumphs, as Buck says it all depends on price.   They won't do it on looks IMHO.    People love Triumphs here, me included.  

Virtually everything is made in Thailand now and most assembly is done there now as well other that the Rocket, Daytona and Tiger Explorer which are assembled in the UK from parts made in Thailand. For some reason though all the cranks for all Triumphs worldwide are made in Hinckley.