Lazy, boring, and impractical.
Three things I want absolutely nothing to do with when riding a motorcycle, and three things I tend to associate with cruisers. Now, before you Harley die-hards come at me with pitchforks, hear me out.
I live in Metro Manila, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, and a city with some of the heaviest traffic on the face of this blue Earth. As such, a low-slung cruiser with a wide turning radius and massive engine simply doesn’t make sense to me. And given the fact that I ride on a near-daily basis, a light and nimble scooter, as well as a sporty and engaging naked sportbike, seem like the perfect duo of bikes for me.
There’s a place for cruisers anywhere in the world. Here in the Philippines, the wide open freeways are the perfect proving ground for massive cruisers, especially on fine Sunday mornings when traffic’s incredibly light. But in tight city traffic and twisty mountain roads? Maybe not so much.
And so, when Royal Enfield invited me to test out the new Shotgun 650 on the twisty mountain roads of Real, Quezon, I must admit that I wasn’t too hot about it. Nonetheless, I thought to myself, why not? After all, I just turned 30, and maybe it was time for me to develop a more mature taste in motorcycles. Plus, it’s a new bike and a bunch of my friends were gonna be there, so I might as well make the most of the trip, right?
And as the bike was revealed, it became clear that this thing wasn’t your ordinary cruiser, and it wasn’t just any other Royal Enfield, either.
This thing’s pretty big on customization, with a wide selection of official Royal Enfield accessories and upgrades. You can slap on engine guards, auxiliary lights, and a bunch of luggage and turn it into a laid-back tourer. You can swap out the wheels and tires, and fit a lower handlebar and turn it into a sporty canyon carver. Or, you can leave it as is, and gradually add your own upgrades and accessories as you see fit. Really, the sky’s the limit.
And when time came to swing a leg over it and take it for a spin, I must say that this thing changed the way I think about cruisers.
Lazy, boring, and impractical. Three things that, surprisingly, do not define the Shotgun 650. Let me explain why.
Lazy
Having ridden other Enfield cruisers like the Classic 350 and Super Meteor 650 in the past, I was expecting the Shotgun 650 to feel similar. And while it retains the same heavy-feeling build quality like many other Royal Enfields, the Shotgun is actually surprisingly nimble. And I think it all boils down to the ergonomics.
You see, when compared to the Super Meteor 650, the Shotgun is far sportier thanks to its mid-mounted controls and lower handlebar. It puts you in a slightly hunched over stance, giving you a good field of view of what’s ahead of you. The mid controls, in particular, allow you to grip the tank with your knees a little better, giving you some leverage to take corners at a higher speed than you normally would on a bike like this. In fact, I might’ve gotten a bit too carried away, as the demo bike assigned to me had run out of footpeg feelers by the time I got back to the resort.
Boring
So yeah, the Shotgun 650 definitely isn’t boring, especially when you’ve got a practically empty mountain road all to yourself. Its air-cooled 270-degree parallel-twin engine sings a beautiful song, making all the right gurgles and crackles.
It has just enough power and torque to get you up to a spirited pace, but not enough to get you in trouble, either. It feels very similar in performance to smaller bikes—think the Honda Rebel 500 or Kawasaki Eliminator, so it could very well be a beginner-friendly bike.
Impractical
And when it comes to practicality, well, as I mentioned earlier, the Shotgun 650 comes with a wide selection of upgrades and accessories, all of which serve one purpose or another. Whether it’s for protection, comfort, performance, practicality, or looks, there are endless ways to personalize this thing.
Heck, it even comes with an optional pillion seat for folks looking to ride two-up. All this adds up to a pretty versatile machine, if you ask me.
Now, I don’t think the Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 has done enough to make me consider owning a cruiser, but it sure has made me look at cruisers from a different perspective. The years I’ve spent riding have almost always been around performance-oriented machines; liter-class superbikes, hyper-naked bikes, sport-tourers, and adventure bikes. And I must admit that I didn’t really pay attention to cruisers because I thought they were lazy, boring, and not that good at doing anything.
But the Shotgun 650 made me realize that it doesn’t always have to be about performance. Sure, if I joined a group ride with R1s, CBRs, and Panigales with this thing, I’d be left in the dust, all alone, and probably bored as hell. But with the right company and on the right roads, this thing is actually pretty fun.
So, would I ever consider owning a bike like the Royal Enfield Shotgun 650? Maybe not now. But perhaps in a decade or so, I’ll have one sitting in my garage.
