ROAD NEWS
NEW LEARNER-LEGAL BENELLIS ON THE WAY
Benelli is the original Sino-Italian brand to make landfall in New Zealand , and after a relatively quiet period , it is back in the headlines with two new models confirmed to be heading our way . Set to go head-to-head against Honda ’ s freshly revised CBR500R , Benelli ’ s 500cc range gains a modern-looking sports bike option in the form of the Tornado 500 . This fully-faired sporty bike not only looks hot to trot , it ’ s got some great equipment as part of its build package . Powering the Tornado 500 is Benelli ’ s 500cc parallel-twin engine which is now Euro 5 + emissions compliant . The engine features wetsump lubrication , a wet clutch , and a six-speed gearbox with chain final drive . Despite the strangling nature of emissions regs , Benelli is claiming a maximum power output of 47.6hp at 8500rpm and peak torque of 46Nm at 6000rpm which will be plenty for LAMS class riders looking to get their thrills . The chassis should also leave little on the table . The frame is an appropriately Italian steel trellis design , while the suspension system comprises a
41mm Marzocchi upside-down fork at the front with spring preload , compression and rebound hydraulic brake adjustment . At the rear is a central adjustable monoshock on the swingarm , which Benellis says ensures a smooth and controlled ride . Pulling the 17-inch aluminium alloy wheels to a halt is a set of twin Brembo four-pot monobloc brakes with 320mm discs at the front matched to a 260mm single piston unit at the back with the mandatory ABS backing it all up . Benelli is claiming a kerb weight of 186kg for the Tornado 500 , which is lighter than the Honda CBR500R , so it should match up well against the other bikes in its class . While Benelli ’ s TRK502 brought the brand into the country when it came to the dirt it definitely sits more on the road-going side of the adventure class . Benelli ’ s new BXX 300 gives the brand a far more dirty-worthy option that is set to jump into the battle against yet another Honda , the CRF300 Rally . However , it isn ’ t a pure dual sport machine like the Honda . It ’ s actually somewhere in between the full adventure TRK and that .
22 KIWI RIDER