Is This Benelli’s Latest 350cc Naked Motorcycle?

Called the Chase 350, it has been launched by QJ Motors in China

• Parent company of Benelli, QJ Motors, has launched its 350cc naked motorcycle, the updated Chase 350.
• Gets a new LED headlamp and a 353cc engine.
• Costs Rs 26,999 Yuan (Rs 3.08 lakh).

QJ Motors seems to be really paying attention to its sub-400cc segment. A few days back, its 300cc cruiser, the SV300, was spotted at dealerships in China and now, the brand has launched its new 350cc naked bike, the Chase 350. It is priced at 26,999 Yuan (Rs 3.08 lakh) and could hit Indian shores, probably as a Benelli offering, since QJ Motors is Benelli’s parent company. Chances are slim, though, as there’s no info on whether the Chase meets BS6 norms. 

The ‘new’ Chase 350 isn’t really an all-new offering, though. It is essentially a QJ350 or the Benelli 350S that has been updated for 2021. The bike has more or less remained as is, except for the headlamp. The new round LED headlamp replaces the previous edgy unit. According to QJ Motors, several QJ350 owners had swapped the previous unit with a round one and it had gotten very famous among enthusiasts. Hence, the manufacturer updated the official bike itself. 

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Everything else has remained untouched. The bike employs a 353cc twin-cylinder motor that puts out 36.7PS and 31Nm. The motor is housed in a steel frame sprung on a USD fork and a monoshock, while braking duties are performed by twin 260mm discs at the front and a 240mm single disc at the rear. Along with this, the bike retains its TFT instrument cluster and backlit switchgear.

All of these bits make the QJ350 a rather interesting offering. If Benelli were to bring this to India and price it competitively like the BS6 Leoncino 500 and the Imperiale 400, this could surely do some serious damage to the KTM 390 Duke and the BMW G 310 R. Till then, one can make do with another affordable Chinese naked bike that was recently launched in India, the CFMoto 300NK.