potatobroxd Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I never knew benellis were sold in the UK. Just saw a picture of TRK502 and man do they look good. Looks almost like a multistrada at less than 1/3 the cost. Its cheaper than an R3 as well. Anyone thats ridden these bikes can tell me about their reliability and how nice (or terribly) it rides? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Just looked up the price of them and that's bloody cheap! Benelli was always an Italian exotic bike that cost a fair amount with servicing costs to suit! Reliability wise I can't really comment as I have never owned one! you hear people complaining of electrics but are they just tarring it with the same brush as early Ducati electrics? I wonder if they are trying to make some sort of come back and offering more affordable bikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBob Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 14 minutes ago, Stu said: Just looked up the price of them and that's bloody cheap! Benelli was always an Italian exotic bike that cost a fair amount with servicing costs to suit! Reliability wise I can't really comment as I have never owned one! you hear people complaining of electrics but are they just tarring it with the same brush as early Ducati electrics? I wonder if they are trying to make some sort of come back and offering more affordable bikes Benelli are now a Chinese company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Just now, KiwiBob said: Benelli are now a Chinese company. Hmmm! that explains the pricing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBob Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Stu said: Hmmm! that explains the pricing! Maybe but they do get decent reviews! https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/reviews/bikes/benelli/benelli-trk-502-bikesocial-review Edited November 5, 2021 by KiwiBob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Just now, KiwiBob said: Maybe but they do get decent reviews! Is that before Chinese ownership though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBob Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 1 minute ago, Stu said: Is that before Chinese ownership though Been Chinese since 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Just now, KiwiBob said: Been Chinese since 2005 Yeah just been looking at wiki All still designed in Italy but built in China! maybe they are using quality materials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Westerly Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Don't know how many dealers are around but the quality is supposed to be not bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Chinese can do quality if its paid for and checked. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mississippi Bullfrog Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 40 minutes ago, Bender said: Chinese can do quality if its paid for and checked. Very true. Some of the bits I've bought from suppliers there have been excellent. Delivery is slow but that's lot an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerontious Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Funniest thing I have ever seen. At a light controlled pass in northern Italy. Head of the queue was a brand new Benelli and a Brand new Panigale. Plus various other bikes. Everyone off there bikes as the countdown to a green light was minutes away. The entire crowd were paying huge attention to the Benelli and completely ignoring the Duck. Which I found hysterical. But not unusual. In Italy the attitudes are rather different. Ducks are seen as fairly banal. But anything else Italian - huge kudos. Even more so if the bike is a Triumph. They are Triumph mad!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper74 Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 (edited) Benelli .....?? Saw one of these at Squires Cafe at Sherburn Tin Helmet yesterday, Thursday, .... It has Royal Enfield / QJ China written all over it .. ... ???? £3699 on the road ..!!!! Looked absolutely lovely in the flesh .... Any thoughts chaps ?? Edited November 5, 2021 by Trooper74 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinlim Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I'm in the middle of my DAS and been searching for a middleweight and did consider a benelli. But for the great price and some great looking bikes there are too many compromises to be made Vs buying a Japanese bike that's got a few miles on it. The benelli I looked at was this https://www.benelli.co.uk/new-bikes/bike/2020-benelli-752s-586 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerontious Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I would suggest that if you are really looking for a Benelli (that isn’t a small capacity or new) then do your research. When Benelli were bought out, up to that point and, I believe for a few years afterwards they were exclusively built in Italy. At first the new owners made just 125/175/200s in China with the Benelli badge. But it didn’t take long before all production was ended in Italy. Though apparently that is still the design centre for all new models. To my mind it doesn’t really matter that they are made in China, what does matter is the quality of the steel and other materials as well as end of line Q.C. And then backup for after purchase. There is a difference between quick buck manufacturers and those in it for the long haul with a real concern for quality, reliability and reputation. It’s too easy to confuse the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatobroxd Posted November 6, 2021 Author Share Posted November 6, 2021 6 hours ago, Gerontious said: I would suggest that if you are really looking for a Benelli (that isn’t a small capacity or new) then do your research. When Benelli were bought out, up to that point and, I believe for a few years afterwards they were exclusively built in Italy. At first the new owners made just 125/175/200s in China with the Benelli badge. But it didn’t take long before all production was ended in Italy. Though apparently that is still the design centre for all new models. To my mind it doesn’t really matter that they are made in China, what does matter is the quality of the steel and other materials as well as end of line Q.C. And then backup for after purchase. There is a difference between quick buck manufacturers and those in it for the long haul with a real concern for quality, reliability and reputation. It’s too easy to confuse the two. Very good last point, some Xiaomi electronics i bought worked very well but the non-branded ones on ebay were absolutely horrendous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRH Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Ultimately owned by the Geely group which also controls Lotus Proton and Volvo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Deluxe Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 I have a Benelli Leoncino 500 Trail. Few complaints, really good bike. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Just now, Johnny Deluxe said: I have a Benelli Leoncino 500 Trail. Few complaints, really good bike. What's the complaints? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Deluxe Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 The headlight isn’t great. That’s about it really for negatives. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 21 minutes ago, Johnny Deluxe said: The headlight isn’t great. That’s about it really for negatives. The same can be said for a lot of other bikes so its not a massive downfall really 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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