Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 Apex (2026 – ) review

Royal Enfield may be characterised by its retro bikes but the Guerrilla 450 and the Himalayan 450show ambition to expand the brand to a more youthful audience. The liquid-cooled Sherpa engine at the heart of both models is very much part and parcel of that, and a decidedly modern engine in both engineering and character. See also the monoshock rear end and app-enhanced circular TFT display, the latter running full-screen mapping when connected to your smartphone and a step above what Triumph offers on its 400s range. True, trad forks might look a bit old-fashioned against the upside-down ones used on the Triumph and others in the class but, even with that, the Guerrilla is a very modern Royal Enfield, the Apex trimmings just enhancing that further.

True, it’s no sports naked but moving the bars down by 56mm and forward by a similar amount makes for a subtle but important shift in focus from the more upright stance of the standard Guerrilla. The Apex remains as compact, light and chuckable as before and the sportier riding position remains comfortable without putting too much weight through your wrists on longer rides. You just have a bit more feel for what’s going on through the front wheel, and greater confidence reading the grip levels through the stickier Vredestein tyres included in the package.

If you like the idea of a Royal Enfield with this Sherpa engine and have ambitions to rack up the hard miles you’ll be better off with a Himalayan, the Guerrilla’s strengths more to city commuting and general razzing around. Perhaps more to the latter in the case of the Apex, the sportier manners making it fun beyond city limits when the roads get twisty. Best hope you won’t be doing many motorway miles to get there, given the obvious lack of weather protection and the like. Apex additions like the rear seat cowl obviously limit the fun to solo expeditions, but if you need to carry a pillion you can remove it easily enough and there’s an extensive accessories range of soft bags and luggage for the commute or longer trips as needs dictate.

An extra 50-odd cc over the otherwise similar single powering the Triumph 400s range gives the Guerrilla a useful edge in low-end flexibility, though it is also about 10kg heavier so it’s a give with one hand, take with the other situation. The Enfield motor is, perhaps, a little rougher around the edges than the Triumph equivalent but makes up for that with its unburstable enthusiasm and sense of toughness, characterised by the satisfyingly clunky action of its six-speed gearbox. 40 horsepower and 40Nm keep it well within A2 licence regs, and it delivers those numbers with real gusto. True, there are more powerful and refined bikes in this class nudging closer to that 47 horsepower limit. But the Apex is entertainingly responsive, and very accessible in its buzzy performance. The relative lack of weight overcomes the usual Enfield complaints of modest braking power, too. A pity the non-adjustable lever for the front brake is a bit of a stretch, though.

The blocky CEAT tyres on the standard Guerrilla were seemingly chosen as much for aesthetic reasons as they were their performance, and suit the pseudo scrambler vibe of that bike. But we appreciated the extra grip of the more road-focused Vredesteins included as part of the Apex package, these helping do justice to the more focused riding position and the encouragement this gives to grab the Guerrilla by the scruff of the neck. Sure, there are faster bikes out there. But the Apex feels fundamentally well sorted, with the predictable handling and grip the beginner riders it’s aimed at will really appreciate. The suspension is basic but well sorted, the forks chunky enough that their conventional configuration doesn’t feel any sort of limitation out on the road.

The standard Guerrilla 450 is very keenly priced, so the tiny £50 premium for the Apex seems a no-brainer for the better tyres alone. The Guerrilla also forms the backbone of Royal Enfield’s interesting Ready To Ride package, in which participating dealers work with accredited riding schools running the bikes on their training fleets to bundle everything you need to get your licence into a single monthly fee. Depending on your requirements this can include kit, training and your test, the cost then spread across the duration of the agreed finance term. True, it’s currently geographically limited to just three participating schools. But it’s a great idea for breaking down barriers and make motorcycling look all that more accessible, especially for younger riders.

The Sherpa engine at the heart of the Guerrilla and Himalayan ranges is still too new to the market to really have a sense of its reliability. But Royal Enfield has invested a lot in its design, and it’s built to perform in places where maintenance provision can still be pretty basic. This and the fundamental simplicity of the Apex’s engineering give us every confidence it’ll be as tough as you’d hope.

Royal Enfield’s three-year warranty is more generous than the industry norm, and a reassuring sign of faith in the reliability of the Sherpa engine platform. Once through its initial break-in service at 300 miles you’ll need to take your Guerrilla Apex into the dealer every 6,000 miles or annually, whichever comes first. At a more day-to-day level we appreciated the discreetly integrated centre stand for making regular home maintenance like cleaning and oiling the chain that bit easier.

Royal Enfield doesn’t really do fancy, but the back-to-basics vibe suits the Guerrilla very well indeed and is perfect for learning your riding craft. You of course get ABS and the ride-by-wire throttle offers a choice of Street and Sport rider modes, these rebranded from the previous Eco and Performance per the Apex’s sportier positioning. That’s about it mechanically and electronically but the Sherpa platform doesn’t forget modern conveniences, and the circular TFT display and Tripper system powering it are impressively feature rich. The app powering it seems to have improvedsince we last tried it on the Himalayan and, while you still have to leave your phone unlocked, having Google Maps powered navigation on a bike this basic is genuinely impressive.

The Guerrilla 450 was already an appealing combination of feisty looks and manners, perfectly geared towards new riders taking their first steps beyond CBT-level machines. If not as flashy as a Triumph Speed 400 there’s an appealing rawness about the Guerrilla that makes it huge fun to ride, the small but significant upgrades introduced for the Apex unlocking even more fun in the riding experience. Simple, tough and affordable it’s a perfect first bike.