Royal Enfield has responded to the most consistent criticism of its sportiest motorcycle, and priced the result below the original. We rode the new Guerrilla 450 Apex at its Australian media launch in Melbourne.
Photography: Tommaso Fossati and Matty Hayman
When Royal Enfield launched the Guerrilla 450 in Barcelona in 2024, I called it the sportiest Royal Enfield yet. Its throwable dynamics, punchy Sherpa single and youthful styling made a strong case for the modern small-capacity roadster, but one element seemed at odds with the brief: the tyres.
The original bike shipped with a block-pattern tread that belied its positioning as a canyon carver with zero off-road ambitions, and plenty of us in the press, locally and internationally, said as much at the time.
The new Guerrilla 450 Apex is Royal Enfield’s answer. The headline change is a set of road-biased Vredestein Centuro ST tyres in the same 120/70R17 front and 160/60R17 rear sizing, joined by lowered and repositioned aluminium handlebars for a more forward-leaning riding position, refined Street and Sport ride modes with mode retention across ignition cycles, and two new colours in Apex Red and Apex Black. Rim tapes, a sculpted rear seat cowl and a colour-coded front cowl round out the sportier look.
The surprise is the price. The Apex lands at $8390 rideaway, which makes it less expensive than the existing Smoke Silver ($8590) and Brava Blue ($8690) variants despite the new rubber and fresh paint. Read into that what you will, but it looks like Royal Enfield Australia is keen to accelerate sales of the Guerrilla, which shares its Sherpa platform with the Himalayan 450, the best-selling model in the brand’s local range.
The Australian launch took us from Docklands through to the Dandenong Ranges, which is exactly the sort of terrain this bike was built for: urban running followed by tight, flowing corners.
Video: 2026 Open Roads Rally Licola with Royal Enfield Australia
The fundamentals remain as compelling as they were in Barcelona. The 452cc liquid-cooled Sherpa single makes 29.4kW and 40Nm, and it remains a willing, characterful engine that pulls cleanly across the rev range through its six-speed gearbox with slipper clutch.
The chassis, with its 43mm Showa fork and linkage-type monoshock, is still the star of the show. This is a genuinely fun, accessible mini hooligan bike, and the revised riding position leans a bit further into that character.
The new tyres deliver a small but noticeable improvement in on-road grip over the original specification, particularly welcome on cold, damp winter roads through the hills. It’s a step in the right direction, and for the vast majority of Guerrilla customers it will be all the tyre they ever need.
But having ridden the bike hard through the twisties, I found myself wishing Royal Enfield had leaned further into the concept. If the point of the Apex is to accentuate the Guerrilla’s sporty status, why not fit genuinely grippy performance rubber? The Centuro STs feel like a fairly hard compound, which should translate to long tyre life, but the chassis is capable of faster cornering, more lean angle and harder braking than the tyres allow. There’s more in this bike, and a sticky set of tyres would find it.
That criticism deserves context. Guerrilla owners have always been free to fit whatever rubber they like, and everything on this motorcycle is built to a price point, a very compelling one at that.
At $8390 rideaway for a LAMS-approved roadster with ride-by-wire, dual-channel ABS, Showa suspension at both ends and a 4-inch Tripper TFT dash with Google Maps navigation, backed by a three-year unlimited kilometre warranty and three years of roadside assist, the value is evident. Cheaper than the bike it improves upon, the Apex is now clearly the pick of the Guerrilla range.
Editorial Director at infomoto.com.au. Loves Rally bikes.
