The Himalayan 450 Could Be Lighter and Faster

Image courtesy: Bibin Benny Mathew

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is possibly the most anticipated and talked-about motorcycle these days. Hence, with every test run that it makes, we manage to observe something new, and this time, interestingly, it’s the stubby exhaust.

Unlike the current iteration, the Himalayan 450 test mule sports a short, stubby upswept exhaust much like the KTM 390 Adventure. The design itself looks like a more compact version of the current Himalayan’s stock full-length upswept exhaust. The new can is girthier, painted all black (even the heat shield) and ends just a few inches past the pillion footrest. The short length might affect its water wading capacity to a certain degree. That said, the obvious benefit to a smaller unit is weight savings. Interesting, isn’t it! However, we will need to wait a bit longer to know if this is just a test unit or something we will see on the final production version. But the wait keeps getting interesting with every passing week.

The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is likely to churn out 40PS and 40Nm from its liquid-cooled engine, which could be mated to a six-speed transmission as well. Its arrival is expected sometime by mid-2023 and it could be priced around Rs 2.75 lakh (ex-showroom) to compete with the likes of the KTM 390 Adventure and Hero 450 ADV.