2022 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Update Incoming, Will Get A Single Exhaust

Hopefully, it should be considerably lighter than the twin pipe setup

Royal Enfield has some spicy treats for us in 2022. The company is touted to bring four completely new motorcycles as well as a handful of colour and feature updates to its existing models. Of the latter, it seems the 650 twins might receive a new exhaust system as seen on the pictured test mule of the Interceptor 650. 

• Royal Enfield Scram 411 Spotted Without Camo Ahead Of Launch
• Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, Continental GT 650 Anniversary Edition Prices Revealed
• Royal Enfield SG650 Concept Bobber Unveiled At 2021 EICMA

Yep, Royal Enfield seems to be working on a rather simple (and hopefully lighter) 2-1-1 exhaust layout for the 650s. The header pipes merge into the primary cat-con canister with the exhaust gases redirected to flow to the large cat-con box located between the engine and the rear wheel. Currently, the muffler looks pretty rudimentary, but is pretty short and stubby in comparison to the current pipes. 

While twin pipes certainly look cool, this new exhaust routing might just work out to be better for the Interceptor’s handling capabilities. Firstly, let’s hope that this setup weighs less than the twin pipes. Secondly, one particular issue that customers faced was just how wide the pipes were positioned. This became a small nuisance in traffic or even in tight parking spots, especially for those who didn’t quite grasp how wide the pipes actually were. 

Should we expect a small bump up in performance? We don’t think the 648cc parallel-twin engine is shy on performance. But hey, if Royal Enfield does manage to eke out better numbers from this new exhaust layout, then why would we complain? The key thing to note, however, would be whether the rumbly, distinctly British 270-degree crank sound would become better or more subdued.

Besides the exhaust, there were no other visible changes on the Interceptor 650. We can expect the same new exhaust layout to arrive on the Continental GT 650 as well. At the time of the Meteor 350’s launch, Royal Enfield had stated that the 650 twins would also get the Tripper pod as an accessory. So far, no such thing has taken place and we figure the 2022 bike would have some answers for us on this front.

Image credit: @saranj234