Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 Design with Adrian Sellers
Photography by Tom Fossati, Matt Hayman and Ross Stanford
As the sun rose over the vibrant cityscape of Melbourne, a handful of select Australian motorcycle journalists and a couple of YouTubers like myself gathered with excitement for the local launch of Royal Enfield's latest bike, the Shotgun 650. I had the privilege of test-riding this much-anticipated motorcycle, experiencing firsthand the blend of heritage and modernism that defines this new offering.
The Shotgun 650 is an impressive machine but the highlight of the event was an exclusive interview with Adrian Sellers, the creative design lead behind the Shotgun 650. In an insightful conversation, Adrian delved into the creative journey, design philosophy, and design challenges that brought this motorcycle from concept to reality.
ROSS: Adrian, great to meet you. The Shotgun 650 is the latest bike in the 650 line up. What was the design brief?
ADRIAN: It was about doing something different. It was about respecting Royal Enfield’s history but not following in the same way that we had done with almost all of our previous models. It was about taking those elements that I guess had become identified with Royal Enfield, like the nacelle on the Classic, the frame loops and then putting them in a new context, creating a product for people who liked the idea of Royal Enfield but maybe for whom our current product range wasn't resonating with.
So yeah, it was an exciting brief. I mean it was a little bit of a daunting brief as well. It was do something different but not too different kind of a thing. But yeah, we're really happy with how it came together.
ROSS: I think most here at the launch agree that it looks great, very much a modern looking Royal Enfield. What is your favourite design element?
ADRIAN: I’m really happy with the proportions of the bike with the way the lines came out, through the different parts. How we able to line up, the top of the fender, going through the seat, the bottom of the tank with the bottom yolk here, just like that straight line running right through the bike. That was really important to maintain and it's easy to get that lost as you go through development and testing. And if you're not paying attention, those things can shift very easily.
I guess my other real favourite part is of course the nacelle. It's a really special part on the bike and the way it's integrated with the top and bottom yolks took quite a lot to get done. But again, it was one of those things where we said, no, this has to be done. So you can see it's still sort of integrated with the clocks, but at the same time the clocks aren't set into it. It's covering the forks but not really fully covering the forks because the cover is in fact the yolks. We've taken those elements that were part of the Classic, changed them around a bit, made them more visibly functional as well, but kept that same vibe of a shroud around the headlamp and integration of the clocks.
ROSS: One of the stand to features for me is those overlapping alloy wheels that look have a great blend of modernism and heritage. Were there any design challenges with those?
ADRIAN: We knew we wanted to keep the sort of alloy wheels going. We wanted to have those, the modern tubeless tyres, but at the same time we wanted to get this little vibe of spoke rims through it and so we went with the sort of overlapping pattern to those spokes that you could see. It was tough because getting an overlapping feeling while at the same time getting all your mould open and close to work properly, it's a bit of a challenge. But I think ultimately it worked out. It was a good thing to push for and we have our genuine accessories rims as well that came out really nicely with a bit sort of the same theme of this overlapping spoke idea, but at the same time a bit more premium with contrast cut on them.
ROSS: Yes agree those GMA rims look the goods. Now the bike is based on the Super Meteor. What’s new and what’s been kept from that bike?
ADRIAN: Very much so, but it's a completely different motorcycle. I think the only things that we have shared between the bikes are the mainframe and the centre packaging. So the basis of the motor, the packaging of the air box and battery and that sort of thing. Those stay the same and that allows us considerable cost savings and efficiencies.
Everything else is fresh, tank, fenders, side panels, exhausts exhaust run, engine covers, and the nacelle. The clocks have a different mount housing around them. The switch cubes are the same cast aluminium units but done in the gloss black rather than in the satin chrome that we had on the have on the Super Meteor. So there are elements that have been kept but all fresh, and all new treatments for the Shotgun.
ROSS: So you are promoting this bike as one that is made for customisation. If this was your bike, what’s the first mod you would make?
ADRIAN: Slam it and stretch it for sure. I'm a sucker for a sort of a long low kind of a bike and I think because of the way we have a very straight line through it, like I mentioned before, it really lends itself to just being dropped and stretched out a bit. You could you push the swing arm out a little bit. Maybe a slightly fatter tyre on the rear wheel, things like that just to make it a little bit more mean, a little more low would be quite cool. A little turbo on it, maybe.
ROSS: OK hold up, a turbo, interesting. So while we are talking about the power plant, the 650 engine has been around for quite a while now, any plans for an update?
ADRIAN: (with a wry smile and a laugh)….No.
I think hopefully you've noticed a bit of a different character to it on this bike as well as on the Super Meteor. Every time we do a new bike, we have to completely retune it and look at the motor again because the weights and tyre sizes. So it is fresh. It's not a rethink, but we try to keep it a little bit different for each bike.
ROSS: Yes it does definitely feel different to my Continental GT and also the Interceptor. So what’s else is coming up for Royal Enfield this year?
ADRIAN: Lot’s of stuff. Look, we're building out our lineup. You've seen it for the last couple years and we're continuing to do that. About 10 years ago we put together a plan and we've been executing it ever since. So more to come, more exciting stuff to come.
ROSS: Yeah. Cool. So what else have you got coming up?
ADRIAN: I appreciate the try.
