Spy shots have emerged from southern Europe showing a new liquid-cooled 450 scrambler in the works from Royal Enfield. Believed to be called the Scram 450, the back to basics naked follows a 450 rally bike spotted in development back in August 2022 not far from their UK Technology Centre – suggesting the Indian brand is working on a range of bikes, using a new engine platform. Although a 450 single won’t be setting any speed records and is unlikely to produce any more than 44bhp, it would be the only liquid-cooled engine in the range – slotting in nicely between the current air/oil-cooled 350 singles and larger parallel-twin 650s.
Exactly when we might see the Scram in
dealers remains to be seen, but from the shots seen here it looks to be a while
away – fitted with no clocks and bulky handlebar clamps that appear to be far
from a final design. In fact, the final position of the upright bars could
still yet to be determined.
Sticking with the front end, the mystery
naked also gets a set of non-adjustable conventional front forks with a single
LED headlight wedged between the two blacked-out legs – something first seen on
an Enfield with the Super Meteor 650 cruiser. The indicators also appear to be
LED. With modest power on tap, there’s only a single front disc and two-piston
caliper up front, and the new engine is held in place by a blacked-out tubular
chassis – with a small bash plate at the base and chunky tyres to help with the
scrambler aesthetic.
Much like the rally machine seen before
it, the rear shock protrudes from the front of the slim swingarm and is mounted
up beneath the slim one-piece rider and pillion seat. This looks to be narrow
and should give even shorter riders a comfortable flat footing. Elsewhere, the
swing arm is partially covered on the right-hand side by stubby exhaust can,
which protrudes from a bulky collector box to be held in place by the pillion
peg.