More Powerful Benelli 802S Coming

[Admin]

Benelli’s 752S replacement the 802S is lighter, has more engine capacity and makes 20 more horsepower. (Benelli/)

You’d struggle to spot the difference between the upcoming 799cc Benelli roadster that will likely be called the 802S in production form, and the current 752S. However, new type-approval documents filed in China show a surprisingly large power increase and weight reduction accompanies the additional displacement.

The existing 752S’s name comes from its 750cc-plus capacity (actually 754cc) with the final “2″ representing the twin-cylinder engine. It’s a good-looking machine in a Ducati Monster-ish way, and undeniably affordable thanks to Chinese manufacturing behind the Italian badge. However, its engine is essentially the old 1,130cc Benelli triple with one cylinder lopped off, and lacks some character and performance. Power tops out at 75 hp, roughly on a par with the Yamaha MT-07 that’s arguably its closest rival, but at around 500 pounds including fuel, it’s a full 100 pounds heavier than the 406-pound Yamaha.

The new approval documents show that the next-generation version of the bike, currently code-named BJ800-B, gets a 45cc capacity increase to 799cc, but a disproportionately large power hike to 95 hp from that change.

While that increase is more than you might expect, the engine has the pedigree to achieve it. In the old Tornado 1130, the three-cylinder version was rated at 140 hp, and when Benelli first showed the prototype of the twin—way back in 2006 when the firm revealed the prototype Due 756 naked bike that would never make it to production—it claimed it was good for 100 hp. While emissions rules have become a lot stricter since then, technology has improved and with the addition of a slightly larger capacity, the type-approved 95 hp should be well within reach.

Perhaps even more significant than the extra power is the diet that the Benelli naked bike has undertaken. From the single photo accompanying the approval paperwork, it’s hard to see many visual changes compared to the current 752S, but the bike’s certified curb weight is vastly reduced, dropping from 503 pounds to 459 pounds. Still substantially more than a Yamaha MT-07, but combined with the power boost, the lighter weight should make the new Benelli a more sprightly proposition than the current version.

It’s something of a mystery where those pounds have been lost. The updated bike’s wheels are new, with a more simple five-spoke design than the split-spoke versions of the 752S, and close inspection reveals tweaks to components including the chain guard and the swingarm-mounted license-plate bracket. Those changes alone don’t come close to accounting for the bike’s drastically lower weight, so it’s likely that a subtle but significant alteration has been made elsewhere, perhaps by changing the thickness of steel used in the frame or the materials used for the tank and seat unit.

The 50mm Marzocchi fork appears unchanged, along with the Brembo brakes, but there appear to be new control pods on the bars and the vestigial wind deflector atop the instruments is gone, perhaps indicating a revision to the dashboard’s LCD display itself.

The new 799cc version of Benelli’s parallel-twin engine isn’t going to be reserved only for the “S” roadster. The same engine, in lower-powered 87 hp form, has also been type-approved for an updated version of the Leoncino 800 that’s yet to be officially released. It’s also due to appear in an adventure bike from Benelli’s sister brand, QJMotor, which is making a push into the European market later this year. Benelli’s own TRK800, which was launched last year with the old 75 hp, 752cc version of the engine, is also surely in line to get the bigger engine once in mass production.

View the full article

Edited August 29, 2022 by Stu