WEBVTT

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- Good morning from sunny,
beautiful Los Angeles.

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Well, hoping it'll be sunny later.

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Steve DaSilva out here
on the new Royal Enfield

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Shotgun 650.

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Now this bike was teased at
ICMA a long, long time ago,

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but we're finally seeing it in
production guise, which is not

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that different from the
concept we already saw.

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I've ridden the bike, this is
based on the Super Meteor 650

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and I love that thing.

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In fact, I can't get it out

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of my head every time I ride my own bike.

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But what makes this one different?

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Is it just a Super Meteor
with a single seat,

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or is there a little more
special sauce going on here?

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Well, that's what we're here to find out.

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So when I say this bike is based on the

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Super Meteor, what does that mean?

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Well, the 650 engine comes from that,

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but it also comes from the Interceptor

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and the Continental GT.

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It's an engine we've known for
a while from Royal Enfield,

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and it's an engine
we've liked for a while.

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The transmission feels nice.

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The torque curve is just
great for city riding.

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It's a fun kit. But this
bike also borrows its

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frame from the Super Meteor.

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That single loop setup that
was built for that bike

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shows up again here, And that's
what makes you think, well,

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okay, I get it.

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This is just a single seat Super Meteor,

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but that's not quite right.

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For starters, the suspension
on this bike is totally

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different from the Super Meteor.

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It's still all Showa components,
so it's not, you know,

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some sort of revolution.

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But the actual design and
geometry is a departure.

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Those suspension adjustments combined

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with a shortened chain
actually reduce the wheel base

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of this bike compared to the Super Meteor,

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the Shotgun 650 is also
a total departure in the

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ergonomics department.

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One of the things that kind

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of threw me about the Super Meteor
was its forward controls.

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I got used to them by the
end of my time with the bike,

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but I never really got interested in them.

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They were never something I really loved

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and wanted to keep using.

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I figured they'd eventually
come out with a mid control kit

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for that bike, but I
haven't yet seen that.

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If it's out there, I certainly haven't

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seen where they're selling it.

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But instead, this bike,
the Shotgun seems to fill

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that niche,

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and that's not the only ergonomic change.

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The seat is higher, the bars are lower,

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Your feet are further back.

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Everything about this is
a little more aggressive.

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So what is the Shotgun
650 like to ride?

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You know, so many concept
bikes aren't really made

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with the idea that they're ever
going to go into production.

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They aren't made with ergonomics
considered or legality,

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and they're often a
little compromised once

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they get into the real world.

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But the Shotgun's not really like that.

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It was always intended
to be production ready.

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The concept was really more

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to see if anyone would actually buy it.

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So accordingly, the Shotgun is fun.

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I mean, it's a great engine. We knew that.

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But the ergonomics are, at least
to my sensibilities, a step

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above the Super Meteor.

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The mid controls are nice.

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The narrower bars take some
getting used to for me,

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but that's only because
I ride like I've been

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doing dirt for years.

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If you're more into street bikes,

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you'll feel right at home here.

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Plus, narrow bars are great
for getting through LA traffic.

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If I seem distracted. It's because
I've never done this before,

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but this is kind of a perfect
example of what the Shotgun

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is going to excel at.

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The 650 has the low end torque to kind

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of do the stop and go thing.

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It's narrow enough to fit between lanes.

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The rear rack, which
comes from the factory

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with a seat mounted to it,
you can pull that seat off

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and you can use that rear
rack for carrying groceries

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or getting your laptop to work.

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You know, 'cause you're gonna need a whole

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rear rack for your laptop.

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The thing is a style symbol.

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Sure, that's just meant to be a factory

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modified Super Meteor if we're
really boiling it down.

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But it doesn't compromise
on the practicality.

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The jury is out

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so far on whether it's more
comfortable than the Super Meteor.

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By this point in that ride,

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I was absolutely loving the thing

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and it wouldn't be another couple hours

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until my lower back
started to cry for help.

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And with this things
lean forward position,

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I could see it being equally

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uncomfortable in different ways.

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But that's also kind of what you expect

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with this style of bike.

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Enfield says it's cross
genre. It's completely unique.

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Most buyers are probably just
going to see it as a bobber,

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and that's fair.

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That's not, not what this is.

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You know, a cruiser
based single seat bike.

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Yeah, we call that a
bobber around these parts.

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But the geometry isn't quite a bobber.

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The riding experience is sportier.

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There's a little bit more of that

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Interceptor, Continental GT spirit here.

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My question is, are
buyers going to know that

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the bike doesn't visually tell
you what it's like to ride?

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It tells you that it's a bobber.

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Even with that second seat attached,

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it still looks like a bobber.

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It doesn't really display maybe

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unless you see the bike side by side,

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how different the geometry
is, how different it's going

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to feel to ride.

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This is the kind of bike

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that really benefits from a test ride.

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On the rare occasion, you can
get a test ride on anything.

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I will say perhaps it's
the hotel bed last night.

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Perhaps it's the specter

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of old age creeping up on me here at 27

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of God's own years old.

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But I can feel this in my
back a little more than

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I did the Super Meteor.

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That one took longer to get to me,

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and it was kind

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of unbearable on my
tailbone after a few hours.

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This one, I'm already feeling more with.

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Its leaned over riding
position and mid controls.

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Granted at nearly six feet,

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I'm probably taller than average.

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So the lean may not be
quite the same for someone

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of a shorter height, but
that's gonna be up to you

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and your ride to figure out.