Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Ride Review | Cheaper than a Triumph Speed 400!

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

Hi everyone! Few people have mentioned me not explaining the price at the start of the video - due to a quirk of the programme I was on I filmed the introduction and riding impressions BEFORE the prices were confirmed and announced. That only happened at the launch event the evening after we'd ridden/recorded. This is all explained in the outro section of the vid (18:52 onwards) but I didn't want to mess with the chronology of the recording so kept the original intro. Hope that makes sense and sorry for any confusion! Thanks! /Dan

[@ianhalliwell8604]

Perhaps the weight difference you keep on mentioning is because RE make their bikes out of metal and not so much plastic. Dare i say it looks better built and a more grown up bike all round. Being a big guy the Triumph is just to small for me so will never be on my radar.

[@vanhanothai4090]

Been looking at upgrading and I've watched several reviews for this bike. 1st one that I've seen that's not a complete Royal Enfield Fan boy... Don't get me wrong I'm totally a Royal Enfield fan, just nice to get a somewhat unbiased review. Still getting one. As a smaller rider this is perfect

[@michaeljameslawrence2965]

This is one of the few bikes I would go for. Thanks for the review and shedding ore light on this bike. I think it looks better than the Triumph 400 range, maybe you could do a review of that mid range bike too. The price tag too is where Royal Enfield exceed. Ride safe, god bless you bikes.

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

Hi! I rode the Speed 400 on the launch earlier in the year - vid here kzbin.info/www/bejne/bH-mdI1rjpibisUsi=O6qOZgIna6rSVhHl

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

And Scrambler 400 X here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYiQmIVqr6mepKMsi=S6V3qF4khFm3are7 That was a little while ago though so would love to revisit off the back of riding this.

[@andymcm6902]

Interesting review. Cheers

[@srinathiyengar.mudgal]

Very nice DETAILED & TECHNICAL review. You covered all and was very informative on all topics, RIDABILITY &AGILITY . Thanks

[@lensmann100]

Nice review-honest points well made.

[@joedudz]

Really like the rugged design approach over the "pretty" Triumph look. Just seems more robust for day to day 365 riding. Better paint schemes wouldn't go amiss.

[@joedudz]

For the avoidance of doubt - the forks look great and the gold ones on the Triumph look cheesy.

[@jamescunninghamniven]

Its an intersting bike, as is the Triumph 400. Although foks are swooning over the 'affordable ' price of these bikes I would have to mention that as a second bike for town I have a 25 year old Honda CB500 which I picked up for £1400 and tidied up a bit. It out performs the current CB 500 range and also weighs in at 173kg wet.. Given the prohibitive cost of new bikes and the subsequent customisation of same I would always advise new riders to look about for older bargains, that won't cost you a kidney if you drop it.

[@shashimenon1000]

OK. Cant take it any more. Two points: 1. When are Brits going to stop saying- Hima- Layan (its not a layer hen!)...and start saying " Himaa...alayan" (abode of snow). See? An entirely different thing. And.... 2. Its a ' mongrel'...a roadster, semi off-roader green laner, sporty, blah blah. All of that, not entirely any! A ' Mongrel' and happy to be all and endearing. Its a Royal Enfield, new to it's times. I've ridden it in the worst riding conditions, torrential rain, unbelievably bad tarmac, moon scape sections, green lane, I'm 66 kg/166 cm/74 years. The Guerrilla 450 accomplished its purpose without breaking a sweat and left me feeling absolutely charmed. Getting one. Can hardly wait. Ridden all the RE bikes from 1969 onwards. Can't wait to have this one all to myself, warts and all....😂

[@arunmoh6418]

Saw the 0-160 kmph race of speed 400 vs guerilla 450. 450 outperformed every single time from start to finish.

[@-old-school-motorcyclesltd]

Very good review like that very well explained 👍 can I ask is your jacket a Merlin? nice that is !! 😊 may get one Regards phil

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

@@-old-school-motorcyclesltd Well spotted - it’s a Merlin Brody shirt, AA rated so decent protection levels for its type.

[@-old-school-motorcyclesltd]

@@midlifecrisismotorcyclist Very nice I have the shirt and jacket but not that I think they do that in Green aswell Il have s look cheers thought so lol 😂

[@Sunny-rf3bg]

The suspension is showa. So its quality

[@PAGallagher]

Nice detailed review! I'm looking forward to getting my leg over one of these. I know that looks are purely personally but, IMO, RE's choice of gaitered conventional forks is bang on as are the classically shaped engine casings, conventional looking headlight and round clock and relative lack of mumbo jumbo useless tech. Again, IMO, the the new Triumph 400's are excellent looking bikes but way too polished and tidy, for me, not like the completely undressed and minimalist single cylinder bikes I grew up on (BSA, AJS, Matchless, RE etc) ...... now you're talking! I think that 'old bu**ers', like me, will love that more honest look of a machine. Cheers, Phil (UK)

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

All fair, and a nice counterpoint to mine in the vid which I totally get. And the RE guys did make it clear this was a very deliberate choice, most likely to differentiate from the Triumph and others. I think I was probably just put off by the looks after the similar looking ones on the Interceptor but these are much better quality and, on the road, work a lot better. Anyway, as you'll have got from the vid I was a lot less bothered having actually ridden the bike, and that's what counts most of all, right?

[@aladinfox4098]

Right way up forks are easier to service maintain in places like India .

[@gordonsuddery4635]

No matter what you say i like Royal Enfield's 😅❤

[@deltabluesdavidraye]

I love them .But I will never ride a ride by wire bike.

[@skotty1962]

Personally not a fan of gold USD forks. Maybe it's my age. And none of the colours of the Guerrilla appeal to me much. Too bright and flashy. But aimed at a younger rider I guess. Though the new Himi is a possible next bike. 👍

[@specialcircs]

I agree about the forks, not a fan of gold anywhere on a bike tbh. But I like the white/blue combo on the Guerrilla, it's a bit different!

[@julianrose810]

Oh USD forks just a bit of bar room bragging for some I prefer conventional. Shrouded keeping them them away from dust, grit or whatever fly's up from the road.

[@fuglbird]

Don't worry. We have already seen the specifications and the introduction in Barcelona. We are here for your opinion. It's appreciated. Thank you! The Royal Enfields are reasonably priced in India and the UK but quite expensive in the EU compared to proper Japanese motorcycles. Here "New" models at the dealers are typically from 2019, 2020 or 2021. I hope to see some Brits or Indians riding Guerrillas here next summer.

[@hectorshouse7348]

It should be good looking like the Hunter…so not for me, it looks like a scram replacement

[@BikingChap]

If the suspension is half decent, because the front end on the Triumph sucks, then it should fly out of the showrooms.

[@johnstone7697]

Don't know what's so bad about the Triumph front end. I own one and it's fine for me, especially for the price. Anyway, I doubt the RE will be any better, and then there's the strange tires and the build quality to consider. The Himalayan is criticized for vibes all up and down the rev range which will likely be present in this machine. Triumph has them as well, but they're well quelled below about 65mph.

[@percentbigfoot]

​@@johnstone7697well the vibes are down to mapping and from the reviews thus far, it's not vibey and is excellent at handling because of suspension setup. It will eventually eat into Triumph's sale.

[@gojosatoru6040]

The showa suspension in the Himalayan is good ,the front end of guerrilla 450 is calibrated by showa as well,so need to ride one to understand it better

[@BikingChap]

@@johnstone7697 I had a deposit on a 400X, i thought it looked great and it had enough power to be fun, but a test ride turned me right off i found the front end horrible. So many better options out there for me.

[@johnstone7697]

@@percentbigfoot I guess we'll find out. I think the vibes come down to engine balance more than anything, and with the 50 extra cc you have more reciprocating weight in the piston to balance out. We shall see, but agreed it will be a competitor. Here in the US, I don't think it will matter as much as RE's distribution and support network isn't very good on this side of the pond. And they're pretty slow to provide products, so we probably won't even see this machine until sometime next year.

[@johnfountain8588]

5K British pounds They have advertised the price all over and I guess you missed that 😂😂😂

[@percentbigfoot]

Thought this started at around 4800.

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

@@johnfountain8588 Didn’t miss it - I recorded the intro and riding impressions before Royal Enfield announced the price but it’s there in the conclusion, which I re-recorded after.

[@johnfountain8588]

@@midlifecrisismotorcyclist They actually announced the prices on the initial intro over a week ago not that it matters LOL was a good review by you Thanks

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

@@johnfountain8588 It was a weird timetable where we rode the bikes and recorded our reviews and the prices were only revealed the evening after - everything has been on embargo since. Anyway, there in the vid conclusion if anybody has the stamina to make it to the end! 😀

[@b.kune.4073]

Looks more harmonic, than the Triumph gold, grey, black different details.

[@romeldias]

I will stick to calling it the wrong name because that's what I am used to? How British of you my friend! Its called learning if you acknowledge an error and move on with the native pronunciation? We are well past the colonial era right?

[@mikemaki7192]

People have accents, that includes everyone

[@romeldias]

@@mikemaki7192 Thats not an accent? Its the name of place and he actually says the name the right way in the video and follows it up by saying he will stick to the wrong pronunciation? Why?

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

​@@romeldias To-may-to, to-mah-to, let's call the whole thing off and all that! 😀In all seriousness, I realise the colonial thing does carry some serious emotional baggage and I wouldn't wish to belittle that. But I also think some allowance should be made for accent, just as I would do so were someone from out of town to mis-pronounce some of the weird placenames round where I live. I wouldn't take offence at that, though I appreciate most wouldn't be doing so in the context of a former colonial power so it's not as 'loaded' as this example. I've had this in videos before when I've been talking about car brands, especially Porsche. If you're honouring the German pronunciation you accent the second part of the name, which Americans err to as well. Brits tend to flatten it and, TBH, it sounds and feels pretentious in a local context here to do it 'correctly', which is of course a peculiarity of complex social norms only relevant here. And nobody outside of these shores could hope to understand! Your point is a fair one, though, and I appreciate you raising it. It's a discussion going way beyond mere motorcycles of course, but if we disagree hopefully we can do so in an agreeable manner respecting where the other is coming from. Thanks! /Dan ✌

[@romeldias]

@@midlifecrisismotorcyclist I get what you mean Dan...but I will just make one point - brands vs an actual place matter...brand fanboys or language/enunciation sticklers getting into a tizzy is one thing...so I get the argument about Porche and why that could be used here but the Himalayan brand is named after an actual place...so for instance if Triumph named a bike after Glasgow or London and people kept butchering the name, it would be offensive especially to the people from the region...hence pointing that out! Its easy when you understand the name - Him which means snow and the alaya which means - the place of ...hence the word is pronounced as him-alaya! Love from India

[@midlifecrisismotorcyclist]

@@romeldias What a fascinating conversation, and thanks for engaging on it! And you're right, it is different with a place name rather than just a brand, though Porsche is of course a family name as well and one with its own emotional baggage. To pick a timely example with place names, though, should I defer to the French pronunciation of Paris when talking about the Olympics and attempt to call it 'Parrrr-eeh' or stick to the Anglicised 'Par-iss'? If I attempted a French accent I think as many folk would be amused as they were offended! Tricky one, isn't it. Though, as we agree, it's a more 'loaded' question given the history of our two countries. To be fair there's a fair bit of history between Britain and France as well! Anyway, I think we agree more than we disagree so let's draw a line under it and celebrate Royal Enfield flourishing under Indian ownership, on the basis it seems a positive (and to me totally fascinating) reflection of the sometimes complicated relationship between our two countries and wider cultural/global shifts we're living through. I see the positive side of that embodied in the bikes, and people designing/building them both here and in India. Which is just one of the reasons I enjoy riding them - in that sense they are more than just machines!

[@deltabluesdavidraye]

No throttle cable so i will never ride one.What a shame to have ride by wire when it is absolutely unneccesary

[@arthurramm8664]

What has put you off ride by wire?

[@PaoloD2R2]

@@arthurramm8664 ignorance

[@Brettmotorcycles]

I think the speed 400 and x just look better, lighter, and less maintenance. I think this would be a good option for their new electric bike coming out in 2026 instead of the Himalayan

[@mattdog1982]

Less maintenance??? I'd say the same. Yes, service intervals will be longer on the triumph but the triumph parts will be expensive as when it breaks. Which both will😂

[@Brettmotorcycles]

@@mattdog1982 3000 miles compared to 10,000 not even close. Triumphs are premium products and I’m ok paying a little more for parts when the products are better. I have a SM and speed twin and triumph just makes better products

[@ianhalliwell8604]

Do you mean it's flimsily built, i agree

[@Brettmotorcycles]

@@ianhalliwell8604 RE is Trash and no one outside of India buys them unless they are broke. Their customers are mostly located in underdeveloped areas because that’s all they can afford.

[@williampeiper292]

The Speed maybe is lightly better quality construction but for my at least, is too small, Guerrilla looks "more motorbike".

[@cyborgscanner]

Was excited with this but it seems Triumph speed 400 is still the winner.

[@williammuir638]

Yet again RE come up trumps 😊 However a grown-up fuel tank is a must! Come on RE what were you thinking about? 1 1L no 15_18L yes!