Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 and Super Meteor 650: Are they really different?

Royal Enfield recently held the Motoverse event in Goa where they finally launched the much-anticipated Himalayan 450. However, the legendary motorcycle manufacturer had one big surprise in store.

Royal Enfield recently held the Motoverse event in Goa where they finally launched the much-anticipated Himalayan 450. However, the legendary motorcycle manufacturer had one big surprise in store. Royal Enfield took the opportunity to launch the Shotgun 650, an exclusive motorcycle that will be limited to just 25 units.

Currently, it is available to just 25 people who attended the event and the bike is priced at Rs 4.25 lakh, ex-showroom.

At first glance, the Shotgun looks very similar to the Super Meteor 650 and indeed, they share the same chassis and engine.

The two bikes, however, are extremely different, especially in terms of ergonomics and character.

The look-alikes

Starting off with the similarities between the Super Meteor and the Shotgun, as we have mentioned already, they use the same tubular steel, double cradle chassis.

This is the same platform as that of the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 as well. But the Super Meteor and the Shotgun are low-riding bikes geared towards the audience that loves cruisers, bobbers and the like.

Both the Shotgun as well as the Super Meteor use the same 648cc parallel-twin engine. Royal Enfield hasn’t announced the specifics; however, while the state of tune may change slightly, the power and torque figures may not stray too far off the Super Meteor’s output figures.

For context, the cruiser is capable of generating 47 hp of maximum power at 7,250 rpm and 52.3 Nm of peak torque at 5,650 rpm. These numbers are identical on the Continental GT and the Interceptor as well, although they are tuned differently when compared to the Super Meteor.

Then you have the braking mechanics which look identical to the Super Meteor: Discs at both ends complete with dual-channel ABS. And finally, you have some other parts like the instrument cluster along with the Tripper Navigation system as well as the switchgear that has been taken from the Super Meteor.

The big differences

Now we know both bikes are two completely different ones and that becomes apparent when you look at it for longer than a second. While the Shotgun rides low like the Super Meteor, you will find that the Shotgun is more of a roadster-slash-bobber, compared to the straight-up retro cruiser form of the Super Meteor.

The Shotgun gets a flat handlebar and mid-positioned footpegs. This completely changes the riding geometry from the laid-back style on the Super Meteor to the slightly more upright position on the Shotgun.

At the front, the headlamp is the same as the one on the Super Meteor, but the Shotgun gets some form of cowling around it, giving it a sportier look. This is also enhanced by the fact that the Shotgun gets bar-end mirrors. Further back, the obvious difference is the single seater, but a pillion seat can be mounted separately on the production bike (more on that later). If you look lower down, the next obvious difference is the pea-shooter silencers which should result in an incredible exhaust note.

Next, you have the wheel size. While the Super Meteor runs on a 19/16-inch front/rear combo, the Shotgun’s rims measure 18 inches on both sides. All of these changes have also resulted in a change in weight distribution, because of which Royal Enfield has had to revise the suspension and should be a lot less stiff. compared to the Super Meteor.

Finally, the biggest difference is something that you can’t really see unless you can measure using just your eyes. The Shotgun is a smaller bike compared to the Super Meteor. While the Super Meteor stands 2,260 mm long, 890 mm wide and 1,155 mm tall, the Shotgun measures 2,170 mm in length, 820 mm in width and 1,105 mm in height.

Additionally, the Super Meteor also has a larger 15.7-litre fuel tank as compared to the Shotgun’s 13.7 litres. All these changes may not seem like much but can be quite significant to the rider.

Launch expected next year

Now, the Shotgun 650 showcased at Motoverse 2023 is a factory custom motorcycle, and, hence, it comes with premium quality fit and finish levels as well as some special treatment such as the all-black engine parts, bar-end mirrors, single-seat, foot-peg brackets, etc.

The Shotgun is expected to go into production, however, and we could see a few changes in the bike. The paint scheme for example is most likely going to be exclusive on the current bike.

The Shotgun 650 is expected to be launched sometime next year and we could see a slightly lower price tag when they delete things like the Tripper Navigation system and bar-end mirrors that will be offered as optional extras.