sheet , but turn out to be a bit ‘ meh ’ to ride . Although a LAMS machine , the Benelli has a great engine . It ’ s silky smooth with a turbine-like power delivery and loads of torque . It has a nice distinctive burble not unlike a BMW Boxer and even the muffler design is reminiscent of the BMW . The TRK accelerates well up to about 7000rpm ( typical of most LAMS machines ), then builds revs slowly until the redline a little over 9000rpm . Peak power of 35kW is at 8500rpm and maximum torque is at 5000rpm . The tick to getting the best from the 502X is to keep the revs high in the lower gears , holding it near redline before changing up . If you short-shift through to sixth gear , it will then accelerate slowly in top gear ; not rocket science , but it does make a difference keeping it near 9000rpm . However , if you ’ re not so eager to threaten your licence the engine is still plenty quick enough and very torquey . It will happily pull away smoothly from
below 50km / h in top gear and cruise effortlessly at 120 . Over 160km / h was seen on the speedo in private testing ... The only down side is some vibration came through the machine despite that turbinelike power delivery . As a near new bike , I suspect tightening the engine mounts might resolve this . But , in all honesty , while the vibes were mildly apparent , they were soon accepted and forgotten , so not a big deal . All-in-all , this is a very good , exceptionally user-friendly , LAMS engine . For me it ’ s a joy to ride a bike without traction control for that moment when the tyres hit the gravel . There ’ s no stopping and fluffing around tapping buttons to make the engine drive in the loose ... just crack on with riding – happy days .
ITALIAN HANDLING The Benelli handles and steers very well . The turn-in is on the stable side of agile ,
KIWI RIDER 33