Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 Review

One brand that went out all guns blazing in 2023 was Royal Enfield. And you know what they aren’t done, in fact Royal Enfield wants to start 2024 with a bang and have got us this - the Shotgun 650. I just love that name and I am sure many of you guys do as well, it’s the 4th iteration of the popular 650 twins platform and probably the most niche.

The Shotgun 650 is the first bobber bike from Royal Enfield and has undergone some changes in comparison to the Super Meteor 650. The rake angle is tighter, the rear suspension tuning has been altered and it gets revised ergonomics as well. On the visual front, the Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 sports an all-black treatment for a stealthy appeal. With all these updates, does the Shotgun 650 manage to hit the bullseye or not?

Design & Features

The biggest highlight of the Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 is its styling. It has the proper bobber essence in form and presence. The biggest visual difference is the new fuel tank that’s narrower and flows well with the overall styling. Even the headlight covers look nice, but the aluminium finish as seen on the concept was way too cool. RE designers have opted for a peashooter exhaust muffler as opposed to the thicker mufflers as seen on the Super Meteor and personally, I am not a big fan of them. The floating saddle is a cool addition and in its single-seat avatar, the Shotgun 650 does look appealing and managed to grab a lot of attention from onlookers during the shoot.

The other big difference is the all-back treatment on the bobber. The handle bar, switchgear cubes, fuel filler cap and even the exhaust muffler are draped in black to give it a stealthy appearance. The engine case and the headcovers sport a gloss black finish and even the RE logo is different. I think the best part about the Shotgun’s styling is the fact that despite being based on the Super Meteor 650, it looks so distinctive.

Another aspect of the bobber which is really impressive is the quality level on the bike. Panel gaps are tight, the weld quality is good and the overall finish levels of the motorcycle are noteworthy. In terms of features, there isn’t much to speak about. You get a semi-digital instrument console as seen on the Super Meteor 650 and Tripper turn-by-turn navigation comes as standard. While the console has a decent amount of information, it looks a bit dated on the bobber offering.

Performance

This is the same engine as seen on the other 650 cc bikes (46.8 bhp, 52.3 Nm) from Royal Enfield, which means power and torque output is similar on all four bikes. I love this 650 cc engine as the wave of torque it delivers with that 270 degree crank is just incredible. No matter what gear you’re in, the bottom-end is so strong that it will pull you through.

What I noticed first was that acceleration isn’t particularly quicker than the Super Meteor 650 against my expectations and that’s down to the weight (240 kg), there is just one kg difference between the two motorcycles. I feel being a bobber, the Shotgun should have offered more thrill and oomph, something you easily experience on the Continental GT 650 and the Interceptor 650.

The strong low and mid-range torque means that riding around the city is easy and the throttle response is crisp and on point. The clutch action can feel a bit heavy in stop and go traffic, but the 6-speed transmission performs flawlessly. During the city ride, I encountered some heavy traffic and I could feel the engine warmth on my legs. Now it wasn’t uncomfortably hot, but you could feel the engine heat, despite the ambient temperature being under 30 °C.

Fuel Efficiency

Royal Enfield claims a real world mileage of 22 kmpl, but I think it’s a very conservative figure and one can extract around 23-27 kmpl by riding calmly. Compared to the Super Meteor 650 (15.7 litres), the Shotgun has a smaller fuel tank (13.8 litres) and that means lesser range when touring.

Ride, Handling & Braking

The main frame is similar to that of the Super Meteor 650 but RE engineers have made the rake tighter (25.3°) and this has resulted in the wheelbase being shorter (1,465 mm, 35 mm less than Super Meteor) on the Shotgun. The other big change are the wheels, the bobber opts for a 18-17 inch setup (front - 100/90-18, rear - 150/70-R17), while the cruiser sports a 19-16 inch setup.

These updates have resulted in the Shotgun being so much fun around corners. In fact, you can scrape the pegs rather easily when riding fast. The best bit though is how nimble it feels filtering through traffic as the front end offers you a great mix of stability and agility. I feel it’s high time that the Interceptor and the Continental GT 650 get the Showa USD fork as it will improve their handling dynamics massively.

The ground clearance is 5 mm more than the Super Meteor, but it’s still 34 mm less than the Interceptor 650. Having said that, the bike never scraped on the many speed breakers I rode over during the shoot. Suspension hardware is similar to that of the cruiser, but the rear suspension travel is down by 10 mm. The drop in real suspension travel can be attributed to getting the stance of the bike proper given that it’s a bobber.

Despite the suspension travel being lower, the Shotgun offers a better ride quality than the Super Meteor. It’s down to two things: first is the way you sit on the bike, since the riding posture is upright, your tailbone doesn’t get loaded, and that’s why the jolts aren’t that painful. Second aspect is that the spring rates are different, thereby they are able to soak the bumps better despite the shorter travel. Having said that, the suspension is setup on the stiffer end, so you better be careful on potholes and broken roads.

The braking setup too has been carried forward from its cruiser sibling and in terms of bite, feedback and sheer stopping power, the disc brakes do a great job. However under hard braking, the rear tyre did slide a bit on a few occasions.

Verdict

The Shotgun 650 is a brave attempt by Royal Enfield as the bobber market hardly exists in India and most sales will be garnered via exports. The USP of the Shotgun in my opinion is its styling and how a rider can customise the bike based on their needs.

While the Interceptor 650 is a chill roadster, the Conti GT 650 is a sporty cafe racer and the Super Meteor is a comfortable cruiser, the purpose of the Shotgun is a bit unclear. Being a bobber, it doesn’t have the same rebellious attitude and performance that one associates with this genre of motorcycles.

Having said that, it does look smashing and plasters a smile on your face with its agility and handling. So if you want to make a statement and you’re fine with the above shortcomings, then I say, pull the trigger!