Benelli Imperiale 400: Everything You Need To Know

We list down five important points that will give you a complete lowdown on the upcoming Imperiale 400

[UPDATE : Benelli Imperiale 400 has been launched in India, head here for pricing and other details]

The Benelli Imperiale 400 will finally make its way to India on 25 October. Deliveries are expected to commence around Diwali. The Italian brand had cited a couple of restrictions that stalled the motorcycle’s arrival to the country. With that out of the way, we can finally look forward to the bike’s arrival. And to bring you up to date, we list down five important points that will give you a complete lowdown on everything there is to know about the Imperiale 400.

To undergo heavy localisation:

Benelli and its Indian partners will resort to heavy localisation in a bid to price the Imperiale 400 competitively. It’s one of the reasons that can be attributed to the launch delay. Bringing in the bike via the CKD route would lower prices while procuring various parts locally would hopefully enable the brand to price the bike around the Rs 2 lakh mark.   

Likely to get a future-proof engine:

Benelli has also been working on making its bikes comply with the strict BS6 emission norms that will kick in from April 2020. It’s one of the primary reasons for its India launch getting delayed. On the bright side though, we can expect the Imperiale’s 373.5cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder motor to be easier on the environment. The international-spec bike, for instance, makes 21PS at 5500rpm and 29Nm at 3500rpm, mated to a 5-speed transmission. A super torquey motor, we’d say. However, the India-spec model may lose out on performance thanks to the BS6 regulations. 

Underpinnings:

The Imperiale 400 draws its roots from iconic British motorcycles. Consequently, it features a tubular double cradle frame with a 41mm telescopic front fork and twin shock absorbers at the rear. It even gets 19-inch front and 18-inch rear spoked wheels befitting its retro character.

Features a neo-retro design:

The Imperiale 400 ticks all the right boxes for classic motorcycle enthusiasts. It gets a circular headlamp, curvy fuel tank, spoke rims, twin-pod instrument cluster, split flat seats and clear lens indicators. The exhaust, much like the Classic 350, is a peashooter-style end can. There are a couple of modern elements added to the mix, including a digital display in an otherwise analogue instrument console.

Expected price:

We can expect the Italian brand to price the Imperiale 400 between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 2.3 lakh (ex-showroom). Once launched, it will go up against the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and the resurrected Jawa.