Royal Enfield has taken the sensible step of flipping its Super Meteor 650 retro cruiser and turning it into a more youthful and possibly easier to sell (in the UK anyway) mini-performance cruiser. Ryan Moloney reports:
Despite starting out life as a Super Meteor 650, there’s more going on than first meets the eye. The most notable change is the stance of the bike, and to achieve this Royal Enfield’s engineers have lowered the front and raised the back, with the Shotgun running 43mm Showa forks that are 33mm shorter than those found on its sibling. To help jack up the back and put more weight on the nose, the rear twin shocks are 20mm longer than those on the Super Meteor. Because of these changes, the bike’s geometry has changed quite drastically, and it features a shorter wheelbase of 1463mm and a steeper rake of 25.3 degrees – the Super Meteor has a more easy-going 27.6 degrees of rake and a wheelbase of 1500mm. The final piece of the geometry puzzle is more conventional and sporty wheel sizes, with an 18-inch front and 17-inch rear on the Shotgun, as opposed to a 19/16-inch combo on the Super Meteor.
The heart of the bike is pretty much the same as found on the other 650s, meaning an air- and oil-cooled SOHC 648cc parallel twin with four valves per cylinder. The 270-degree crank engine has performance figures that match its stablemate and the other 650s, with 46.4hp available at 7250rpm and 38.6lb-ft of torque at 5650rpm.
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The only other real change is the weight, and the Shotgun tips the scale at 239kg, which is still chunky but marginally lighter than the 241kg Super Meteor.
And how’s the build? It’s a question that comes up in the UK, basically with any bike not built in the UK (which is weird as we hardly build any bikes) but it’s worth mentioning. Royal Enfield has made huge strides recently, and while it’s not quite as well finished as something like a modern classic from Triumph, all the coatings, paint finishes, and fixings look very nicely put together. It’ll take a much longer and more strenuous test to see how they handle a UK winter, though.
To start this ride we had a couple of miles of traffic light bingo in Downtown LA, which gives me an hour or so to get to grips with the low-speed handling of the bike. First impressions are that it doesn’t feel like a 240kg bike. The seat is low (795mm), as is the centre of gravity, and it’s responsive enough in first and second gear to not feel sluggish when getting away from the lights. The bumps and lumps around town are a little bit jarring, but I find with all these sporty(ish) cruisers they’re set up on the firm side.
I am, however, liking the gearbox, which is backed up with a slip/assist clutch so the endless gear changes aren’t yet giving me any arm pump. It’s mid-set controls on the Shotgun, but they’re a little further forward than I’ve found on some other bikes. That does make the riding position quite comfortable, but I’m not sure they’ll last an afternoon of canyon carving in the mountains.
After a mountain-top lunch break, we slip off the freeway and on to the stunning Angeles Crest Highway. These are the roads that could make or break this bike. We start slow, as is sensible, and start to carry some more lean angle and begin to feel out the Ceat hoops. It doesn’t take long to get the thing decked out on both sides, and as the speed rises, every turn is that distinctive SSKKKRRRTTTTTCH as the hero blobs cry enough. Abusing the footpegs I might be, but I’m unable to fluster the little Shotgun. It’s a very sweet handling little cruiser. The bars kick a bit if you hit a bump mid-corner, but the rest of the bike doesn’t seem fazed by it, and it just tracks the line neatly and carries on unflustered. With 47bhp on tap, you are going to have to work hard to go fast, but the Shotgun seems to be up for it, and as long as you don’t mind carrying corner speed and trusting the chassis it’s more than up to shaking a tail feather on a twisty B-road.
Another point of note is the braking system. It’s all ByBre kit on the bike, with two-piston calipers front and rear; the front disc is 320mm and the rear 300mm. The rear brake is very sharp, great for around town and for tightening a line in a faster turn.
The front is much more progressive, but a fairly heavy squeeze will provide a surprising amount of stopping power should you need it. The limiting factor will be the tyres though, and I suspect most UK owners will ditch the OEM Ceat tyres within a few hundred miles and opt for something a little stickier.
The new bike will be starting at £6699 for the base model grey bike, rising to £6799 for the Plasma Blue and Green Drill bikes. The top-spec bike is the one you can see being ridden here and that comes in at £6899. To find a true rival for the Shotgun in the UK market we have to look to China (via Italy) and the Benelli 502C (£5499) and Japan with the Kawasaki Vulcan S (starting at £7299). Both are fairly close to the Shotgun on specs, and about right on the price.
To say the Shotgun is a pleasant surprise is a bit of an understatement, as it’s actually a very entertaining, great-looking and easy-to-ride bike. There are no modes to fuss with; no IMU to flummox; and just the bare minimum of ‘toys’ in the form of the Tripper navigation system to keep it feeling up-to-date. The comfort is okay for a couple of hours in the saddle, although with a 16-litre fuel tank, it’s not like you’ll be planning many big riding days.
There is also enough performance on tap to keep more experienced riders entertained, and enough tech to keep the kids happy. The best thing of all though, is it’s a Royal Enfield, and that means great value, and with it starting at £6699, the little Shotgun 650 really does feel like a performance cruiser for the masses.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the pegs didn’t last the canyon roads; it might be investing in some spares…
TECH SPEC
Engine: 648cc parallel-twin 270-degree crank, 4 stroke, air-/oil-cooled, SOHC
Power: 47bhp @ 7250rpm
Torque: 38lb-ft @ 5250rpm
Transmission: 6-speed
Frame: Steel, twin-spar tubular frame
Suspension: (F) 43mm Showa USD with 119mm travel (R) Twin-shock with 88mm travel
Brakes: (F) Single 320mm disc, two-piston caliper (R) Single 300 disc, one piston caliper
Wheels: (F) 100/90-18 (Tubeless) (R) 150/70-17 (Tubeless)
Fuel tank: 13.8 litres
Seat height: 795mm
Weight: 239kg (wet)
Contact: www.royalenfield.com
