Benelli Imperiale 400 BS6: All You Need To Know

Benelli’s retro roadster is now cleaner and pricier but it hasn’t lost steam

Benelli has begun its BS6 innings in India with the launch of the Imperiale 400 BS6. We quite liked the old-school motorcycle, in fact, it was our winner of the classic bike comparison we did last year. But since then, it received a massive price hike at the start of 2020 and now, the BS6 bike is even more costlier. So what is the Imperiale 400 all about?

Dearer With No New Features

When launched in 2019, the Imperiale’s price tag of Rs 1.69 lakh was par for the course. But with the price revision earlier this year and another one that took place for the BS6 bike, it now carries a sticker price of Rs 1.99 lakh, which is almost Rs 30,000 more than the original price of the bike. The fact that you aren’t getting any additional features for the extra premium is a hard pill to swallow. And if you were to opt for either the black or the delectable maroon-ish red colours, you would have to shell out Rs 2.11 lakh. 

Rivals Check

Now that all of the 350cc roadster motorcycles available in India are BS6 compliant, the Imperiale has become the costliest of the lot. Compared to the dual-channel variants of the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and the Jawa, the Imperiale is around Rs 30,000 and Rs 17,000 dearer. 

No Drop In Performance

The good bit about the Imperiale BS6 is that the 374cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine has not lost out on steam. The peak engine output of 21PS and 29Nm remains the same but these are made at slightly different rpms. The peak power arrives at 6000rpm (500rpm higher) and max torque is now generated at 3500rpm (1000 revs lower). This should give the Imperiale a better bottom-end punch to haul its 205kg heft (unchanged in BS6) and a wider powerband.

Mechanically Unchanged

No changes have been made to the cycle parts of the Imperiale 400. The heavy-duty double-cradle frame is connected to the 19-/18-inch spoke wheels by the same telescopic fork and swingarm arm with twin shocks. Braking hardware too remains the same with a 300mm rotor found on the front wheel while the rear has to make do with a 240mm disc. Dual-channel ABS is standard.