2024 Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 review – Cruiser, custom and unlikely sportsbike in one

At its world launch in California, Royal Enfield were keen to demonstrate how the Shotgun 650 is more than just a cruiser and has the minerals to fire through the twisty canyon roads in the hills north of LA. It’s through these seemingly endless switchbacks where it shows off its sporty side.

New generation Royal Enfields are neutral handling, surefooted and roll effortlessly into corners. Developed, engineered and tested by many an ex-Triumph employee, the Indian-built Shotgun 650 has the easy, balanced feel of a Hinckley machine. It too, has pounded endless laps of Bruntingthorpe Proving ground at their Leicestershire Technology Centre, around their Idiada test base in Spain and on the road. It’s a machine that looks like it’ll trip over its own shoelaces at speed, but never does.

The steel backbone chassis is based on the Super Meteor 650 cruiser’s, albeit with sportier-sized wheels and steering geometry. Upside down Showa Separate Function Big Piston Forks and twin shocks give a clue to the Shotgun 650’s intentions and while it’s a hefty 240kg, crashes over big bumps and will easily graze its mid-mounted pegs, it carries its weight beautifully and shines on smooth, winding tarmac. Caress the bars with light inputs and it floats from corner to corner with little effort, using the engine’s low-down grunt and smooth power to maintain momentum.

Ceat tyres (100/90 x 18 front, 150/70 x 17) have all the dry grip you need (we haven’t tested it in the rain) and while the single front disc and twin-piston Bybre caliper set-up won’t set the world alight, the rear with its 300mm disc/twin piston caliper, has monstrous power. If you’re used to giving it big footfuls of rear brake, you’ll need to introduce some finesse to your braking.

Like the chassis, the Shotgun 650’s air-oil cooled parallel twin-cylinder engine is the same as the Super Meteor 650’s and the one that’s wowed us before in the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. Producing 46bhp@7250rpm and 39lb-ft@5650rpm of torque, it’s perkier than its modest power figures might suggest, thrives on its low-end grunt, has a smooth throttle response and just the right amount of character without, being too vibey.

Out of the crate there’s nothing cheap feeling about the Shotgun 650, despite its affordable price tag. Its blue, white, grey or green paintjobs are quality, and classy touches include the enamel-like finish on the rocker and engine covers, handlebar clamp and cast headlight surround.

The seat is nicely stitched and the mudguards and side panels are metal, not plastic. It’s too early to say how reliable it will be but looking at our Owners’ Reviews of the almost-identical Super Meteor 650 and the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT twins, which have the same engine, it’s a mixed bag.

Many have found their Royal Enfields to be trouble-free with minimal corrosion and good build quality for the price and for some the opposite, so buyer beware.

As a mid-pegged custom cruiser, the Shotgun 650 doesn’t have any direct rivals, but compared to retros from the big brands it’s affordable and great value for money, which is why the new-generation Royal Enfield have been such a success. Claimed fuel consumption is a 62mpg, which isn’t as good as it could be for a 650 in such a light state of tune and short, 3000-mile service intervals.

Other models in a similar market sector include the Honda Rebel 500, which uses the firm's well-used parallel-twin engine in a small cruiser chassis and the Kawasaki Vulcan 650, which does likewise with the engine from the Ninja, Z and Versys 650s.

Royal Enfield's own Super Meteor 650 and Interceptor 650 are also rivals, being based on the same platform, and the incoming Moto Morini Calibro does a very similar job, too, although we've not ridden one yet.

The Shotgun 650 is a cruiser and a scratcher, with styling inspired by the custom world. Royal Enfield teased it as the ‘SG650’ prototype at the 2021 EICMA motorcycle show, with its mix of old school ‘restomod’ styled bodywork and modern upside-down forks.

It’s sold as a two-seater, but the pillion seat can be removed to reveal a rack, or the whole rear subframe can be quickly unbolted with four screws for a bobber-style, single-seat set up. From there you could go full ‘Bike Shed’ and cut down the mudguard, fit a loud pipe, or wherever your turn-ups take you.

Standard equipment includes a centre stand, Showa suspension, a classy dash, LED lights, coke bottle grips, finned exhaust clamps and a Monza stye fuel cap. The dash is a classy analogue/digital mix of old and new. Separate gauge is a turn-by-turn Google sat nav that links to a smartphone via Bluetooth. Neat switchgear is sturdy, simple and easy to use with button to scroll through dash. Old school-style rotary switches operate headlights and kill switch.