Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 Review : Is it worth the Hype?

[@bearded_wolverine3503]

This is on my radar for my first bike.

[@BikerTorque]

Pretty good first bike option.

[@_d--]

If i may, give the interceptor a try as first bike

[@thecreativecruiser]

and im going to get one~!!! you had me on the customisation comment!!

[@BikerTorque]

I can see you cruising around on one Chris.

[@EmpowerWave-ol2ol]

Great review thinking of getting one thanks.

[@BikerTorque]

Thanks, great to hear you enjoyed the video. Really good bike, take one for a test ride

[@geekylucas]

Ever since Lucas showed up Ross is on a first name basis with the staff at the burns ward. Get that man some ice.

[@BikerTorque]

Unfortunately this could be Lukas’ last video with us, 😂😂😂

[@Vengent1]

Finally found a competitor to the rebel 500 for my first bike

[@BikerTorque]

Haven’t ridden the Rebel 500 but can say the Shotgun would make a great first bike

[@Vengent1]

@BikerTorque going by looks the rebel wins but by specs the shotgun seems drastically better considering its a learner bike. And haven't ridden either bike yet so mainly going of looks and specs so currently they are equal. The green paint job on the shotgun does look cool

[@Legotruck82]

@@Vengent1 I have a 650GT as a first bike, any of the 650's are worth a look IMHO. Not too intimidating, but also not so slow you feel scared in traffic. Good sound too.

[@meirabatoijam2235]

Im from India 24 yo with no sources of income yet but i promise myself ill buy The ROYAL ENFIELD SHOTGUN 650 next year .. PERIODD

[@BikerTorque]

Great dream to have, hope it becomes a reality for you

[@RoadsOfOz]

Nothing wrong with heated grips and seats. Much more sensible mods than exhaust and indicators. I cannot understand why they did not use the same dash as what is found on the Himalayan. Especially as this bike would most likely be aimed at a younger rider.

[@BikerTorque]

lol, heated grips, spoken like a true GS rider Matty.

[@MTBrider26]

Royal Enfield are kicking huge goals and showing the 'mainstream' brands how to produce something people want. I would like to see them produce and open class version of the 650cc motor. Say up up around 70 to 75 HP and 60nm or more of torque. That would put them on closer footing with the big 4 brands. They have chosen to lock themselves into the LAMs market when they have an engine clearly capable of being open class and are for some reason excluding a massive potential customer base.

[@BikerTorque]

I hear what you are saying, but as it is the 650 engine is great and for the price I think it’s excellent value

[@iansmith237]

@@MTBrider26 I think what Royal Enfield is doing is more accurately put as "giving a segment of people what they want," and that's why they're doing so well. Maybe it's because there's such a wide variety of riders where I live (Michigan) that I see only a small percentage of Enfields on the road despite there being a dealership not far away. It's weird because I see a larger percentage of Ducati, BMW and Triumphs out there (and obviously significantly more of the big four and obviously Harleys). That's the great thing about motorcycles though, there's something for everyone and it's awesome that Royal Enfield has all but mastered their niche but from what I've experienced it's not as simple to say "the people want low powered, slightly heavy, stripped down, modern retro motorcycles."

[@MTBrider26]

There is no getting around the fact that the Super Meteor and the new Shotgun are some of the most expensive and least powerful Lams bikes on the market on a power to weight basis. The power to weight is lacking for a 240kg plus bike. Weight is the killer of power but hats off to their marketing team for their ability to convince people that it's ok to greatly increase weight but not increase power to match. Why can't the current 650 motor be tweaked to increase power to at least the limit of what is allowable for Lams. Suzuki and Kawasaki have no problems with getting their 650 twins to produce 50% plus greater power figures for open class riders and still offer the same motor in a low powered Lams option. It's really just a new tune and remap etc after all. Unless of course all the hype about it being an under stressed motor is just that, hype.

[@JohnTanner61]

Their main HUGE market is Asia not UK/USA/Oz I think they know where they sell the most and what those areas want.

[@iansmith237]

@@JohnTanner61 I definitely know that that's where their market is and that it is a huge market. It's still a bit of a stretch to make such a blanket statement as it's "what the people want," when it's really what many people want. It's like claiming that the people want nothing but Harley Davidsons based solely on living in the United States. Or only hanging out with sport bike riders and claiming that's all people want.

[@timsatchell6713]

I think the Shot Gun in really nice. Except for RE's insistents on putting stupid silencers on all their 650s. Why can't they put a low slung 2 into 1 with a tucked in horizontal silencer like on the 350 Classic/Meteor. Give it a beautiful maroon paint job and it would hark back to my 59 Redich 700 Super Meteor. Check out the Maroon Meteor on Fuzzy Biker. Absolutely stunning. Gr8 threesome review BTW.

[@BikerTorque]

Agree a 2-1 would also look good

[@whatsstefon]

Top review. Interesting hearing three different opinions. Nice one!

[@BikerTorque]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@RichardWilliams-kf5vw]

I believe Hitchcocks in the UK sell a small tacho that you can put in place of the Tripper

[@BikerTorque]

That sounds like the go.

[@JohnTanner61]

Yes they do

[@dundabird3203]

I just think it's weird that a bike designed to be customized comes in so few interesting colours. This in the Classic 350 army green and I'm sold.

[@BikerTorque]

Yes it is surprising

[@rorywhelan2094]

New to this channel loved the interaction , what height is the young chap .. I’m 6’4 wondering if I’ll fit the shotgun ,keep up the ageism 😂

[@BikerTorque]

Hey Rory, thanks for stopping by, and happy to hear you like our channel. Lukas is just over 6’5”.

[@Muddr1nker]

I have the royal enfield intercepter 650 have been looking at the changing to the shotgun650

[@BikerTorque]

Both good bikes

[@tazyt3388]

It’s a tidy little unit needs a lift kit and knobbiest mate hehe great vid cheers

[@BikerTorque]

Knobbies would make for an interesting mid😂😂😂

[@5150show]

The shotgun looks cool

[@BikerTorque]

We agree.

[@johngault-9597]

Were you guys channeling Fleetwood Mac in the intro? If you were, cool..

[@BikerTorque]

Not sure we meant to, but glad you approve.

[@ebinkaraparambil9947]

I just want ask I am an experienced rider from India but lives in UK and looking forward to get my full bike licence in 2 months as I could use the direct access option. I used to ride Royal enfield classic 350 and 500, Thunderbird back home. I am looking forward to buy a motorbike here in UK and confused about shotgun 650 or go for bit more powerful one as used Triumph speed triple 1050. Please comment Thank you Ebin

[@BikerTorque]

Hi Ebin, personally I wouldn’t buy a Speed Triple, to top heavy and way to much power for the type of riding I do. The Street Triple on the other hand…tough choice and very different types of bikes. I’m probably a bit biased as I own 2 Royal Enfield’s, amongst others, but I’d go for the Shotgun

[@ebinkaraparambil9947]

Thank you for the reply. So you meant speed triple is not suitable for long rides or urban ride. Also I felt to taste the Triumph😊 but for a lean built person like me shot gun would be best right?

[@ChristopheDeBoeck]

+1 for heated grips!

[@BikerTorque]

Ok, so we agree it’s a sensible mod

[@TheWuseln]

How tall is Lucas? I'm thinking about testriding the Shotgun, but with me being 6"5' it's always a bit of an issue.

[@BikerTorque]

Lukas is also 6”5’. Best bet, take one for a ride to see how it feels

[@TheWuseln]

@@BikerTorque Thanks, will do. Greetings from the opposite side of the planet. 🤙

[@BikerTorque]

@@TheWuselnno problem, enjoy the test ride. Other side of the planet? Where abouts?

[@TheWuseln]

@@BikerTorque Germany

[@BikerTorque]

@@TheWuseln that really is the other side of the world.

[@phildubassin3263]

One customization : the seat in brown leather with the bike in steel grey…!

[@BikerTorque]

That would look pretty good.

[@ADingoTookMyDasco]

A pair of tasteful oval cruiser style hand guards would be better for Tegan than heated grips. They're much easier to install with just 1 mounting point at the mirror mount & deflect the wind from your fingers, which is 90% of the problem. I commute year round in Sydney & have hand guards fitted to all my bikes. I never need more than intermediate gloves, even on the coldest of Sydney mornings. And Lukas is right, the 650's need more power. A 1970 Triumph Bonneville 650 had almost 3 kW more power & didn't have oil cooling. Neither did the 1970 BSA Lightning 650 that had 4 kW more power. For a modern parallel twin it's shameful that they can't match twins that are over 50 years old & only just beat a DR650 on power & torque. I get that they're going for LAMS restrictions, but the styling appeals to old farts like me & some of us still like a spirited ride. If they made a version I'd be going to the RE showroom for more than just to look at the pretty motorcycles. And it's not impossible. The Ducati 600SL Pantah made almost 45 kW back in the 80's from an air cooled 600cc engine & it was fast enough for me when I owned one.

[@BikerTorque]

I think that’s the thing though, RE have always said that it’s the mid capacity and learner segment that they are trying to hit, obviously works from a commercial perspective judging by the sales figures. And hand guards, good point.

[@pc5647]

Different thoughts … but Ross is right.

[@BikerTorque]

Regarding the power? Thanks, glad you agree. Great bike and definitely has enough power to have some real fun.

[@andrew6526]

Great review guy's 👍

[@BikerTorque]

Thanks! 👍 glad you enjoyed it

[@carpathiandevil]

As far as the no tachometer, lack of tft or modern gauges go, bobber style bikes are generally very minimalistic. Here in harley country ive even seen custom bobbers that are so minimalist, they dont even have front brakes, just rear. Even the triumph bobber only has the one gauge. Its kind of the bobbers thing to be fairly basic and stripped back.

[@BikerTorque]

Yeah, I get that, but this one feels a bit modern for a Royal Enfield. It is still pretty minimalistic. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and thanks for watching.

[@daniel777vitor]

what's his height?

[@BikerTorque]

Lukas is 6’5”

[@BDHO73]

There’s nothing wrong with heated grips!

[@BikerTorque]

lol, seriously you are all soft😂😂😂

[@thomasjefferson1457]

I like the overall look of the bike but there are few things I don't like. The name sounds silly and the paint scheme needs some work. The first thing I would do is paint the tank and side covers. Then I would rename it "The Classic 650"

[@BikerTorque]

It’s got a bit of a classic 650 vibe going on

[@amitchodankar1989]

❤

[@BikerTorque]

👍

[@Yelwas]

Beeline doesn't use Google maps, how can you not know that

[@BikerTorque]

I think you’ll find that Beeline DOES use Google maps for route planning. Thanks for watching.

[@Yelwas]

@@BikerTorque well you know best. 100% not in my country. I advise you to check in, Australia 🦘

[@deveous_dave]

Apart from RE not doing anything to give their antique 650 engines a breath of more power, its their colour ranges that bring them down for me. I do not think a single bike in the whole RE catalogue has a wow factor to look at. They are all just very bland looking imho. They are definitely moving forward with design, but need a little more visual wow factor.

[@BikerTorque]

I actually think overall the colour range in most bikes is great. The Orange Crush and Baker Express Interceptors are lovely. The Ventura Blue Continental GT rocks and the new Black and Gold Himalayan looks wonderful. But agree that they could have done a bit more with these new Shotgun models. As for the engine, having put over 30k kms on the various bikes in the 650 range, I’d say it’s just fine for me the way it is.

[@deveous_dave]

@BikerTorque I've found the 650 in my SM somewhat lacking. Currently having the S&S 865 kit and cam fitted at Yamaha World & Royal Enfield in Adelaide. Can't wait to get out and tour this summer with some extra umph. If you guys have anything coming up in Adelaide from August onwards, you're welcome to take it out for a test ride 😉

[@JohnTanner61]

@@deveous_dave How fast do you ride? I have no pobs getting up to 85mph and staying there and revs to the rev limiter in 2nd and 3rd pretty quick on my SM.

[@deveous_dave]

@JohnTanner61 well, the limiter is set pretty low. Our speed limit is 110kph (68mph) so when on the hwy about 120ish, and a little more during an overtake. I found it to be revving it's ringer out at those speeds, so fitted the RStech belt kit with hwy gearing. Its brought the revs down to a nicer level and actuallyfeels punchier when throttling on. Can't wait to get her back now to feel the extra kick from the 865.

[@MichaelMassie]

Ugliest bike RE has ever produced. Looks like they couldn’t decide whether they wanted a bobber or a cruiser. Not to mention the colorways and graphics are loud and hideous. I’ll stick with my Int650.

[@BikerTorque]

Can’t agree that it’s ugly, but yes the Interceptor is a fine looking machine. Everyone has different tastes I suppose.

[@elijahallison6710]

imo its the best in the looks department aside from the words royal enfield stamped in 10 diff places

[@BikerTorque]

Nothing like a bit of brand awareness