New Benelli Motorcycle Teased; Could It Be The Leoncino?

The Leoncino will be the manufacturer’s most affordable mid-displacement motorcycle in India 

Update: We have ridden the Leoncino 500. You can read the complete road test review here. 

• The Benelli Leoncino shares its engine with the TRK 502s.
• It is expected to be priced around Rs 4.5 lakh (ex-showroom).
• Benelli might skip the Trail variant of the Leoncino for India. 

Benelli has teased a new motorcycle on its social media channels. Although the teaser image doesn’t reveal much about the upcoming motorcycle, it did give us a small (or rather, an important) clue. The company is using #ReadyToRoar to promote its upcoming motorcycle, which we think is a nod to the Leoncino because Leoncino in Italian translates to Lion cub. Ha! We might have cracked the code, Benelli! 

As of now, there’s no confirmation about the launch date, but we expect the bike manufacturer to launch the Leoncino in the next couple of months. Internationally, the Leoncino is available in two variants - standard and the Trail. However, we expect Benelli to only bring the standard variant to our shores for the time being. 

Powering the Leoncino is the same 500cc, parallel-twin motor found on the TRK 502s. In these bikes, this motor produces 47.5PS and 46Nm. However, we expect the company to tune this engine a bit to match its scrambler character. 

The Benelli Leoncino sits on a tubular steel trellis frame and tips the scale at 207kg. Suspension duties are handled by a 50mm USD fork at the front and a monoshock at the rear. Braking hardware consists of a 320mm dual-disc setup at the front and a 260mm single disc at the rear. 

There’s no word on the price yet, but we expect the Leoncino to retail at around Rs 4.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).