Royal Enfield Shotgun 650: Roadtest review

Styling & Quality

Over the last few years, Royal Enfield has managed to make their motorcycles look extremely aspirational and drool-worthy. It has achieved this again with the Shotgun 650, thanks to the funky colour schemes. There are a lot of ‘custom’ words used to position this bike. While the bike has no relation to the actual custom motorcycle, it does get colours that represent the custom workshop market.

The Shotgun 650 is a single-seat motorcycle. This is why it gets a large rear fender, and just in front of it, a wide seat has been provided. The rest of the bits have been borrowed from the Super Meteor, including the quality aspect, which is quite well-finished.

Ergonomics & Comfort

The Shotgun is primarily a single-seat bike but our test bike had a pillion seat because we asked for it. A majority of the Indians need to own a bike that can transport people easily and RE knows that. So while the brand may position this as a Bobber, it knows that there’s a good revenue increase if it sells the pillion seat as an accessory.

Now, coming to the seating comfort, as you can see, the overall seating triangle is far more upright than the Super Meteor and it is supposed to be so because this is an urban bike. The handlebar is flat and not too narrow. The pegs are not entirely centre-set, but they also aren’t too far up ahead like the SM. However, this triangle allows me to have a super easy stance and to be honest, it reminds me of the seating comfort of the Classic 350. It may sound a bit controversial, but this is how the seating triangle will feel when RE makes a Classic 650 and launches one in 2026.

While doing the pillion test, getting on and off the bike was super easy. The pillion also had decent space. Even the comfort aspect of the cushioning was well taken care of. However, the seating triangle for the pillion felt unnatural even for shorter passengers.

Performance & Handling

Now, most of us know that the Super Meteor is a great motorcycle to own and ride. But there is one aspect that bothered many, and trust me, it bothered us too, and that was the ride quality. But with the Shotgun, is it any different, considering the fact that it is built on the same SM platform? Well, the answer is yes. The Shotgun has a better ride quality than the SM and this has been achieved by having a different spring rate for the suspension at the back. Plus, the rebound on the bike is much slower, and that allowed for a much softer ride setup. You also need to know that the seating mounting points on the Shotgun are different compared to the SM and as a result of that, you get to sit at a spot where the rebound damping feels the best.

In fact, the Shotgun doesn’t ride better than just the SM, but also the Interceptor. I own a 2022 INT and know how to deal with the ride, but the Shotgun scores big points here. Yes, it doesn’t churn out the best ride, but when compared with the RE 650cc family, it is the best.

Can the Shotgun become the best multicylinder motorcycle for Indian city conditions? Well, almost. There are a few things that work in Shotgun’s favour. Firstly, that upright riding angle is exactly what motorcyclists need if only urban riding is involved. Even though the rider will need to stretch a bit more than usual to reach the handlebar, that seating triangle is quite good. Such a triangle also allows for a commanding riding position – something that makes life easy in a city like Mumbai.

The one thing I liked the most about this bike in the city, is that the motorcycle blends in easily with the city traffic when you are doing 50-70kmph. You won’t feel the weight, nor will you have any issues steering the motorcycle. However, while riding at 20-30kmph, the front feels a bit weird. It takes some effort to point the motorcycle at the right place. While the footpegs are placed perfectly for riding conditions, they play a big spoilsport when moving the motorcycle – be it at the parking or trying to get the bike out of a congested spot.

Features & Technology

The Shotgun 650 is equipped with a semi-analogue/digital cluster along with tripper navigation. The suspension setup is from Showa – the front gets USD forks and at the rear, there are twin shocks with five-step preload adjust. The levers are adjustable and the headlight gets LED treatment. USB charging and dual-channel ABS come as standard.

Fuel Efficiency

Be it a scooter or a big multi-cylinder bike – we like to know the mileage of any motor vehicle. We put the Shotgun 650 to our city test and it returned 24kmpl. That means, with a fuel tank capacity of around 14 litres, the bike can ridden easily for 250km. On the highways, well, the number could change based on the average speed, acceleration behaviour, and also the amount of luggage on the bike.

Should you buy it?

I had the Shotgun for around two days and rode the bike for close to 200km. One thing is clear –the Shotgun 650 is a good city bike and I think that is what RE also wanted. Now, the Interceptor is quite old and it has its fair share of positives and negatives, and the Super Meteor makes sense only if you are spending a lot of time on the highway, where you don’t have to deal with poor city road conditions. The Continental GT, on the other hand, is quite sporty, and as a result of that, it doesn’t entice the Indian audience.

You should choose the SG if you are in the market for a multi-cylinder motorcycle that looks pretty good, has good performance, is easy to live with daily, and also has a decent ride quality. I have to tell you this, the Shotgun 650 is far more comfortable than any of the other RE 650s in the city.

Photography by Kaustubh Gandhi