Here’s How The Guerrilla 450 Made It Easy to Perform Stunts On A Royal Enfield Bike

We recently got an invite to the ‘GRRR Nights X Underground’ that happened in Pune on August 23, 2025. The one-day event was all about modified cars, and bikes, and more importantly, launch of the new colour of the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450, along with a stunt session. Being told to attend the event was music to my ears as I got to see some of the coolest custom bikes and cars, and not only witnessed professionals perform stunts but also tried some first-hand! The stunt riding took place in a dedicated stunt arena, and here’s how it went:

Briefing

It goes without saying that stunt riding is inherently dangerous, and has to be performed in a closed environment, not to mention wearing proper riding gear. Naturally, this was the first thing I was briefed about. I was asked to gear up fully with a helmet, a jacket, gloves, knee pads and riding boots. The next thing was to get comfortable with the bike and its dynamics. The Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 that was being used produces 40PS and 39Nm from its 452cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder motor. These numbers aren’t small by any means, and add in the fact that it comes with a ride-by-wire throttle, the Guerrilla can be a powerful but precise machine in capable hands.

The next thing in the briefing was about body positioning, how to operate the clutch and throttle for excellent control, and how to distribute the bike’s weight on your legs. The instructor asked me to operate the clutch and the front brake only by the index and middle fingers and keep the remaining fingers on the handlebar for better grip, as the bike might jump and slip out from beneath you when performing stunts with a loose grip. Also, I was asked to put all my weight on the front end for better traction while the rear wheel spins.

Time to burn rubber

After the briefing session, I was escorted to an area where the stunt bikes were parked and asked to pick one. As I glanced at the options, the bike that caught my eye was the one draped in the ‘Shadow Ash’ colour scheme - launched at the event itself.

After inspecting the bike, I turned it on and took it for a short spin to get a feel of the bike, as well as the arena where I was going to attempt stunts. Despite having a 184kg kerb weight, the bike feels nimble and easy to manoeuvre around. More importantly, I also had the physical advantage of being a 6-feet tall person, and hence I was able to flat-foot the 780mm tall seat easily.  The next thing I did was an attempt to perform a burnout. The throttle inputs have to be smooth to prevent accidental jerks.

I got into the correct position to do a burnout i.e., loading the front wheel with all my weight and holding the front brake to prevent the bike from moving around when on the throttle. I started gradually applying the throttle. 

Since this was a new experience, I was varying the rpm a lot. At one point, I lost control of the clutch, and all the 40 horses made the bike surge ahead - I ended up popping an unintentional (small) wheelie. While for a moment I felt cool, it was immediately followed by an embarrassing stall. After multiple attempts, I got the hang of it, it wasn’t as hard as it looked.

The key to a perfect burnout is keeping the front end loaded and applying the throttle at a constant rpm. Once you get the basics right, it's a piece of cake, and will definitely make you cool in front of a crowd. Though you’re sacrificing tyre life, you can’t put a price on impressing your friends. After this small victory, I was ready for the next stunt – the dreaded ‘Donut’. While the burnout is an easy one, adding motion to it makes things a lot more complicated.

For a donut, you start by performing a burnout and then adding a slight lean to the bike, letting it slip out a bit in a controlled spin. I tried to execute the same, but I failed a couple of times, as most of us as road riders are not used to letting the bike slide out. It made me a bit nervous at first, but with some practice I was able to perform a half-donut, but I wasn’t satisfied with one. Afterall, who wants a half-donut!? I was determined to get this right, so with a few more tries, I was eventually able to perform a full 360-degree donut. 

What did I learn?

Deliberately losing grip to perform these stunts made me comfortable with the idea of the rear slipping. As road riders, we’re always used to having enough grip, so when the roads get slippery, it feels unnatural to us. This unusual feeling eventually ends up creating the perfect moment to make mistakes. By learning to let the rear slip and perform controlled slides, I got to have a deeper insight of how the bike behaves when things get slippery. This has helped me connect with the bike better, and these learnings will definitely come to use while riding in the rains, especially the notorious wet concrete my commutes involve.  All in all, stunt riding is a dangerous activity but can be a joyful experience if done under supervision and in enclosed spaces, making you better riders.