Benelli is ready to upscale its line-up and attack the market with new and modern high-displacement motorcycles having engine displacements of 750cc and 899cc. Both of the bikes are of the street-fighter category.
After a string of low-to-mid engine capacity bike launches, Benelli with its new Chinese ownership, is in the process of readying new higher capacity motorcycles to take the fight to the big boys from Japan and Europe. After the reveal of the Leoncino Scrambler, Tornado 302 and TRK 502 last year, Benelli is believed to be busy in the process of bringing two new naked street bikes in the market to better appeal to European tastes. Here is a brief look at the two pronged attack from the Italian firm.
Benelli 750 Twin
The first of the new products to come out of the Benelli skunk-works is a 750cc naked roadster motorcycle which is powered by a 750cc parallel-twin engine. The two chain-driven overhead camshafts equipped engine is said to develop around a 100 horses. The design of the bike is also inspired by modern trends with more curves instead of sharp lines and cleaner features.
The Benelli 750 features a twin-tube type swingarm which is curved on the right-hand side to clear the exhaust under its steel trellis chassis, which is fast becoming a Benelli design norm. A bespoke single LCD screen provides all the instrumentation, including what appears to be RPM, speed, fuel, temperature, gear indicator and a clock.
Benelli 899 Triple
The second planned bike from Benelli will be a bigger displacement 899cc motorcycle which will also compete in the street naked market. The bike will be powered by the tried and tested 121 BHP power producing 899cc displacement three-cylinder motor. The bike is made up of a trellis frame chassis and uses a single radiator only instead of two on the current TNT 899 to bring down costs.
The Benelli 899 has the same fork and brakes as the new 750cc machine, and looks like it should be positioned between that bike and the existing, high-end TNT 1130, both in terms of performance and price. The new Benellis are expected to be launched in the market later this year, assuming they are able to pass the stringent Euro 4 emission norms on time.
