Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 Review

Claimed to be inspired by the custom motorcycle scene in the country, the Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 is one of the coolest looking bobbers out there. It has this neo retro-modern charm that oozes through in spades and it is sure to turn heads wherever you go. It comes in four different colour schemes and let me tell you, all of them are quite stunning. 

The major contributor to that massive 240Kg number is the robust build quality - everything is made of metal and is heavy. The bike is also quite massive in its own right and reminds me of the older, heavier Royal Enfields that lived up to the brand’s ‘Built Like a Gun’ slogan. Based on the Supermeteor, the Shotgun feels similar but has a few differences like smaller wheels - 18in front and a 17in rear, smaller more streamlined fuel tank, and the retro style peashooter exhaust pipes jutting out on both sides. In my opinion, it looks much better than the Supermeteor and I’d love to have the Shotgun parked in my imaginary private office or a cafe I run just to admire it from time to time.

The 648CC parallel twin is a mill you will fall in love with when you experience it. It produces 47hp and 52nm of pure happiness and joy. You get a 0-100 figure of approximately 7 seconds and that is in line with what we’ve experienced from the other bikes from the RE stable that sport the mill. 

Most of the power is in the midrange and it is smooth and linear when you accelerate. It even sounds great, but with great power comes poor fuel efficiency. We got a measly 20kmpl with some heavy throttle use and it improves a little if you’re cautious, but with a small tank, you’d find yourself visiting the pump pretty often. 

The rack on the back that doubles up as a seat is quite a gimmick as it is a lot of effort to remove the bolts and the assembly to make it a single seater. Sure it’s very easy to remove the seat itself and expose the rack, but the unit itself looks a bit out of place and unfinished, so we’d leave the seat on if we had to.

While you sit nice and low on the Supermeteor, the Shotgun provides a more neutral seating position. The footpegs are around the middle like the Classic 350 and it doesn’t feel that awkward till you reach for the handlebar. That’s when the Shotgun makes you lean a bit forward and in doing so it makes sure your lower back absorbs all the bumps and undulations. Not a good thing at all if you have a pre-existing back condition like a minor slipped disc. If you’re taller than 5.10ft it might be a bit more comfortable to ride, otherwise you’re going to blow your back out. 

The 90mm of travel on the rear shocks sure makes you wish for more when you’re riding through pothole ridden roads in the city and the low ground clearance doesn’t help the cause either especially if you have a pillion on board. Another thing to note is the rear exhausts don’t allow you to squirrel through standing traffic as it makes the bike just too wide to get through and you end up feeling the frustration of the impatient bikers behind you. Pair that with the weight of the bike and it becomes apparent that it is a struggle to use everyday especially if you go through a lot of traffic and bad city roads.

It’s got the looks, it has the feel and it has a superb engine but what the Shotgun doesn’t seem to have is the practicality for the conditions in India. What it needs is a smooth road, no traffic and a strong back. If you got all three conditions covered, the Shotgun should be on your list. I’d still advise getting a feel for it and its lack of comfort before you sign the dotted line.