but in a good way that feels planted and enhances confidence on road and even on gravel . The standard 85 / 15 percent road / gravel Metzeler Tourance tyres are a great choice for all round grip and durability . Of course , if you want to go further off-road a more knobbly tyre will be required . For more serious off-road I ’ d also consider a greater coverage bash plate as the stand switch ; a cooling hose and the header pipes look potentially vulnerable in rocks . The suspension up front has stout 50mm USD Marzocchi forks with 135mm of axle travel , and they perform well . Their action is generally capable and comfortable , giving a fairly planted ride . The rear suspension is fully adjustable , listed as having 45mm of shaft travel , which I guess equates to a similar amount of travel as the front and it works well . For normal riding there was no bottoming front or rear and both ends sat up in the stroke quite well . Overall , the suspension does the job quite well and doesn ’ t hold the bike back , but doesn ’ t have the most sophisticated feel either . But , then , what bike priced under $ 10k does ? The brakes are good and have ABS , which cannot be switched off . The stopping feel is a little wooden and not particularly strong , but the upside of this was the ABS not being too intrusive on gravel with reasonable stopping still possible on a loose surface . So , on balance the brakes are decent . There are two 320mm discs up front with twin piston calipers and a single 260mm rear disc with a single piston caliper .
NAILED IT Physically , the Benelli is full size with a
34 KIWI RIDER