Royal Enfield’s 2024 Shotgun 650 cruiser offers SERIOUS value for money | MCN Review

#royalenfield #shotgun650 #cruiser

Chief Road Tester Michael Neeves has been Stateside to ride the 2024 Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 cruiser, and it’s safe to say he’s impressed! Read the full written review here: https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/enfield/shotgun-650/2024/

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Welcome to MCN and the launch of the Royal Enfield  shotgun 650 now before we set off from uh here at   the bike shed in La um let’s go have a little look  around it and see what makes it [Music] tick so  

Roy 11 Fields say that this bike’s been inspired  by other customized Royal enfields so it’s kind of   got a bit of everything it’s got a bit of custom  it’s got a bit of kind of bobber to it bit of a  

Mish mash of all styles really so it’s hard to  pigeon hole which is exactly what they want it’s   got mid pegs so let’s give you five things you  need to know about this bike so number one this  

Bike is based on the super meteor which cost £  7,300 so I’d imagine that the price of this bike   isn’t going to be too different which makes it  fantastic value Royal enfields uh always great   value bikes and they’re well put together and  they ride fantastically so that should be one  

Big tick number two it’s powered by a 650cc  parallel twin cylinder engine which has got   46 BHP that engine started life in the Interceptor  and the Continental uh 650 a multiple Award winner   when it comes to MCN group tests and and awards  fantastic engine it’s also A2 compliant number  

Three the chassis on this bike is based on the  super meteor um but it’s got a little bit racer   geometry so it’s got a smaller front wheel it’s  got upside down forks the wheel base is a little  

Bit smaller it kind of sits more on its nose  the rear is a little bit higher so it should   offer quite a sporty ride number four the quality  of this bike is superb so you know this bike’s  

Built down to a price I mean incidentally you can  have a blue one you can have a green one you can   have a white one or you can have a gray one um  but you’d never know that it is built down to a  

Price the quality is absolutely superb and to be  honest even if this bike was twice the amount you   can kind of accept it but as it is um it should  be very very affordable lots of nice attention  

To detail lovely switch gear nice clocks uh the  barend mirrors are optional it comes with normal   mirrors um and finally number five um this bike  has kind of been designed to be customized um and   that starts right from the minute you take it  from the dealer it comes with a twin seat the  

Standard um as you can see this is a single seat  but a subframe is bolted onto this bike which four   bolts it doubles up as a a rack which you can also  put a seat on it so when you get this bike from a  

Dealer it comes as a two-seater um and then just  with four bolts you can take the subframe off and   you can give it the kind of single seat look and  then if you wanted to go further you could get rid  

Of that mug guard chop it down make it look snazzy  um and then you got yourself a really nice custom   bike so that’s what makes this bike tick and now  what I reckon we should do is take it out for a ride

So we’ve been riding the shotgun 650 here in La  we’ve been riding there around the town we’ve been   riding there on the freeways and up in the the  mountains on the canyon roads and you know first  

Impressions of this bike when you look at it it’s  just like any cruisery retro you care to mention   it’s a lovely little thing it’s affordable we’ll  come on to the price later on but the longer I’ve  

Spent with the Royal mfield the more I realize  there’s more to it than initially meet the so you   know it’s a few bikes rolled into one it’s it’s a  custom bike it’s a cruiser and also it’s a it’s a  

Sports bike as well so you know we start with  the styling side of things and the custom side   of things you know there’s a reason that Royal  Enfield decided to launch this bike and the the  

Bike shed in La you know it’s all about the the  cool custom culture and um and you know the The   Styling of this bike itself comes from um Royal  enfields that have been modified you know over  

The past few years and uh it’s almost got kind  of factory fitted retro mod or Resto mod styling   um which you either love or you don’t um I think  it’s pretty cool so it ticks all the The Styling  

Bxs it’s it’s a really nice custom but it’s also  very cruisery I didn’t really know what to expect   when I was going to ride this I mean I’ve ridden  Royal enfields before but this has definitely got  

Kind of an American Cruiser feel and you know you  know riding on the highway back into downtown LA   it kind of feels really at home it’s got kind  of a a familiar cruisery kind of weight to it  

It’s 240 kilos so it’s not a light bike but it’s  kind of a reassuring weight it’s a weight that you   really think should be there doesn’t doesn’t deter  from the ride at all um in actual fact it kind of  

Gives it a nice kind of solidity the engine is  really relaxed when you’re cruising in and we   spend over 8 hours in the saddle on this bike and  it’s really comfortable that there’s lots of room  

For you I’m 6t lots of room for your legs your  your knees aren’t squashed up the seats really   really comfortable the bar position’s natural not  a lot of wind protection but you know what you   expect is a it’s a naked bike so it does the  cruising thing very well and that the engine  

It’s only got 46 BHP but it punches way above its  weight you never feel like you need more so when   you’re cruising the character of this bike is that  it’s got a lot of low-end grunt the power deliver  

Is very very smooth and you can just waft along  you know waft along is six gear there’s lots of   there’s lots of grunt you know you’re never up and  down the gears looking for the power there a nice  

It’s 270° crank it’s a nice bural from the engine  without being too vibby and you know it’s just   it’s just a joy to cruise on and you know you’re  riding down these freeways in LA and it’s like  

Being in a film set you know you’re surrounded by  these huge trucks you’re almost rubbing shoulders   with with massive wheel nuts you’re you know going  through like a sea of Teslas it’s yeah it’s just   kind of magical really riding this bike in the  the California filter photograph kind of Madness  

Of this place so yeah it does it Tis the cruiser  box really really well but here’s the thing that’s   really surprising about this bike and you know  this bike doesn’t look like it really should be   kind of fun in a conventional sporty way but it  really really is Royal Enfield the new generation  

Royal mfield make beautiful handling bikes and  that goes from the the Interceptor 650 which is   a multiple MCN award-winning bike all the way  through to bike I’ve ridden recently which is   the you know the bullet 350 which is really basic  a bike which you don’t think is going to handle  

That well but they’ve all got this character where  they just roll into Corners beautifully regardless   of the shape of bike regardless of the wheel  size regardless of the spec of the suspension   it’s just put together absolutely beautiful and  it’s no surprise really because you know this  

Bike here has done countless laps of brunting Thor  where Royal enfield’s Technology Center is it’s   done countless times and laps at idiada which is a  Spanish testing facility it’s been on the UK roads  

And you know I don’t really want to mention the t  word but you know it’s a it’s a character that a   lot of triumphs have got and it’s no surprise  because a lot of the test team a lot of the  

Engineers come from hinley and this B has got this  similar character it’s really good fun and and to   show that off Royal Enfield were Keen to take  us up in the canyon roads up in the mountains  

Where again it’s like a film set you’re go through  these corners and you know you could be you think   of those 80s films like heart to heart and 18 and  Columbo you recognize all the all the canyon roads  

It’s amazing and and this bike is really good fun  it it rolls into Corners beautifully the you don’t   really feel the weight hasn’t got very long travel  suspension so it does crash over really big bumps  

But when you find some smooth tarmac the lighter  your inputs on the steering the the nicer and the   more flowing it feels and the handling matches the  power of the engine the engine doesn’t overall it   there’s always enough power between Corners to to  have fun the brakes fantastic the front Brak is  

Not not brilliant it’s only a a single disc setup  with a twin piston by caliper on the front the   rear it’s a 300 disc with a twin piston caliper  and that is strong you got to kind of recalibrate  

I like using the rear brake a lot and the rear  Brake’s quite sharp on this so you got to just   lighten your boot pressure and on a bike like this  using the rear brake really helps it suck into the  

Tarmac helps it turn and the whole whole riding  experience is lovely you know you can you can   just cruise on it or you can really take it by the  by the lapels and ride it hard through corners and  

It is a a lot of fun so it’s a custom bike it’s  a cruiser it’s a sports bike even though you’d   never think it but it’s also the best thing about  this bike is that it’s great value for money like  

All Royal enfields prices haven’t been announced  right now we’re at the end of 2023 as we record   this um but the price is going to be announced in  January when um this video is going to go live but  

I’m guessing that this bike’s based on the super  meteor 650 it’s got the same chassis albeit this   is a little bit sported geometry it’s got the  same engine so I would imagine price is going to  

Be similar super meteor cost about £ 7,300 so this  is going to be in the ballpark and you know it’s   a lot of bike for the money when you look around  this bike you’ll see that uh they haven’t really  

Skimped on the price and of of the components  the imagination and the the attention to detail   um and you know if this s was another couple of  grand you still really wouldn’t kind of raise an   eyebrow really so uh I mean let’s talk talk about  what it’s got a standard equipment includes a  

Center stand shower suspension a really nice Dash  LED lights Coke bottle grips th exhaust clamps am   Monza style fuel cap old school radial switches  and a turn BYT satnav gauge it comes in blue white   gray or green and those paint jobs have a real  nice quality feel about them and there are loads  

Of classy touches that include the enamel like  finish on The Rocker and engine covers the hand   handlebar clamp and the cast headlights around the  seat is really nicely stitched and the mug guards   and side panels are metal not plastic this bike  has got bar end mirrors which are an accessory  

And there are also 31 accessories available for  this bike also has really nice switch gear which   is really simple to use sturdy buttons uh and old  style rotary switches that operate the headlights  

And kill switch so to sum up our ride here in  Los Angeles on the shotgun 650 I’m I mean what a   bike it’s a bike that you go into without without  many expectations but it turns out it’s a really  

Enjoyable bike to ride slowly and just to cruise  on it’s got a really nice kind of a cruiser like   American likee character but it also turns into a  sports bike when you want to go and have a bit of  

Fun it’s also got some nice custom touches on  it you know this bik’s ripe for customization   as well because it hasn’t got a rear subframe  you can cut down the rib mug guard if you want  

To you you can put a loud pipe on it and you can  go the full bike shed and you know turn it into   whatever you want but best of all like all Royal  enfields as I said before is the value for money  

You know costing less than 8 Grand I’m hoping  um is a lot of bite for the money a lot of nice   detail touches and a bike that’s going to make  you feel good every time you ride on it so you  

Know that’s our few days spent with a shotgun 650  of Royal Enfield thoroughly enjoyed the bike um   and I think anyone who jumps on one will feel the  same way so thanks very much for watching I hope  

You enjoyed this video if you did please like  And subscribe and we’ll see you on the next one