Benda Cruiser Concept Makes Its Official Debut

The bike was unveiled at an Asian Motor Show

• The Benda Cruiser is still in its concept stage. 
• It’s powered by a 680cc inline four-cylinder motor.
• Gets a slipper clutch, cruise control and ride-by-wire throttle.
• Weighs in at 215kg kerb.

Lately, there seems to be a paradigm shift in the way cruisers are being perceived. Yes, certain core elements still remain, like they’re still comfortable, burly and  pack massive engines, but their design has been evolving over the years. Two-wheeler manufacturers are now moving away from dated hog styling in a bid to attract a younger generation with more angular and futuristic designs. Case in point, the Benda Cruiser, a 680cc powerhouse that looks like it could feature in the next John Wick installment. 

It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. It’s sharp, angular and features knife-like tank extensions. The bike even features what appears to be a twin-spar frame which uses the engine as a stressed member. The swingarm too seems to be a cast unit. The turn indicators have most likely been incorporated into the tank extensions to keep things clean and tidy. Lighting seems to be all LED with a considerably large digital instrument console slapped in between the handlebars. 

But the best design detail in our opinion is the headlight that looks like it's inspired by a jet engine. Apparently the tiny inlets may work as a ram air intake in the production model. Oh right, did we forget to mention that the Benda Cruiser is still in its concept form? Nonetheless, we hope the folks at Benda stick to the same design with minor changes when the bike hits the production floor. 

What’s certain though is the powertrain, which is quite unique. The Benda  Cruiser is powered by a  680cc, liquid-cooled, inline four-cylinder motor that puts out 97PS at 12000rpm. Unfortunately, the bike’s torque output hasn’t been announced yet. What we do know is its feature list which includes a slipper clutch, cruise control and ride-by-wire throttle. And the entire package weighs in at 215kg, which is rather light for a cruiser of this stature. Benda has managed to pull this off with an all-aluminum body.

On the hardware side of things, the Benda Cruiser uses an upside-down fork, a monoshock, twin disc brakes upfront and a single disc at the rear. Admittedly, the cruiser is still some time away from going into production.  But once it does, it’ll surely give manufacturers like Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles a run for their money. 

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