EICMA 2015 - New Benelli Tornado 302, Leoncino and TRK 502 launched

The 2015 EICMA show in Milan is all rave with new motorcycles, but we’re interested in the ones that will make their way to Indian shores. The Chinese-owned Italian company Benelli is making us drool over the unveil of their Leoncino, the Tornado 302 and the TRK 502. Here’s a little bit about them.

The Leoncino: Now you may say this looks like a Ducati Scrambler, well it kind of does but that just means their sticking to a classic design. A nice round headlight, flat handlebars, flat seat and an upswept exhaust with some off road tyres. The Benelli Leoncino has a 499.6cc parallel twin cylinder, liquid cooled engine at its heart which churns out 47.6PS of power and 45Nm of torque. It gets a conventional chain drive, a 6-speed transmission and will meet Euro 4 norms.

The Leoncino is built on a trellis frame, gets upside-down forks with 50mm travel in the front and a mono-shock with preload adjustment at the rear. The knobby tyres will definitely be a plus point while going off-roading with the front ones being 110/80- R19 in size while the rear is a fatter section 150/70 – R17. The braking is handled by double 320mm discs with 4-piston radial callipers at the front and a single 2602mm disc at the rear with ABS as a standard feature.

The Tornado 302: This is a motorcycle that makes sense for India. Plus we’ve heard that it is confirmed to come to India sometime in 2016. It can reach a claimed 170kmph and can be upgraded using Benelli performance parts.

We should see the final production version at the 2016 Auto Expo. The Tornado 302 is powered by an inline twin cylinder 4- stroke double overhead camshaft 300cc engine putting out 35.5PS at 12000rpm and 27Nm at 9000rpm. It gets a hydraulic clutch which is mated to a 6 speed gear box. It’s supported by a Trestle in steel tube frame and gets upside-down forks in the front and a swingarm mounted mono shock at the rear.

Coming to a stop is handled by twin 260mm discs in the front and a single 240mm disc at the rear. Connecting it to the ground are a set of Metzeler tyres which will be fitted on to 17inch wheels. The seat height of the Tornado is low slung at just 790mm which will be good for average height riders and its 14 litre fuel tank is sufficient enough.

The TRK 502: Benelli already have one off-road motorcycle in their stable and that’s the Amazonas Trek. They must have heard that the Indian market is eager to dive into the world of Adventure touring and so they’ve announced another model that’s going to join their line up – the TRK 502.

The TRK 502 is massive and looks like a blend of the Kawasaki Versys 1000 and the Triumph Tiger but we’re not complaining because this new design looks mean and will definitely clear a path for you. The TRK 502 is India’s answer for a medium capacity adventure touring motorcycle. It houses a 500cc in line twin cylinder 4-stroke engine that pumps out 47PS @8500rpm and 45Nm at 4500rpm. That’s more than enough in my books but at the end of the day, it will come down to the pricing.

It gets a hydraulic clutch which is connected to a 6speed gearbox and the front suspension is handled by 50mm upside-down forks and a 144mm rear shock absorber with adjustment for preload. The front suspension also has a 150mm stroke and the TRK 502 has a 20liter fuel tank capacity to add to its off-road credentials. Since touring is its main duty, Benelli will also supply a set of panniers with the TRK502 as accessories of course. Braking duties are handled by two 320mm discs at the front and a 260mm disc at the rear with twin-channel ABS.