New V-4 for Benelli

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Qianjiang, parent company to Benelli and QJMotor, is working on a 90-degree V-4. (Qianjiang/)

Benelli’s parent company Qianjiang (that has owned the Italian company since 2005) is developing a new V-4 engine for future motorcycle models that could finally open the door to a high-performance Benelli for the first time since the demise of the Tornado 1130.

The engine has appeared in multiple patent applications published in China over the last few weeks, revealing it to be a 90-degree V-4 somewhere around the 1-liter mark, with chain-driven double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. While there are some general similarities between the engine’s design and that of Honda’s late-model VFR800 motor, it doesn’t appear to be a “clone.” In fact, the very existence of patent applications shows that the engine adopts ideas that haven’t been used in the past.

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Chain-driven double overhead cams and four valves per cylinder will be used on the new V-4. (Qianjiang/)

Most of the patents are related to mundane elements of the design—oil return feeds from the cylinder head, the lubrication of the transmission, and the way the timing-chain sprockets are mounted to the crankshaft—but the result of the multiple documents means we get a good look at the engine, both internally and externally. While not a radical design, it appears to be on par with other modern V-4s, even if the 90-degree angle means it’s not as compact as Aprilia’s RSV4 engine.

What we don’t learn from the patents is exactly what bike the engine is destined to power. Some of the drawings include the QJMotor logo on the ends of the cam covers, suggesting it will appear in at least one model in Qianjiang’s fast-growing QJMotor range. However, Qianjiang already shares its current engines across both the QJMotor and Benelli lineups, so it’s likely to appear under the Benelli banner eventually. Meanwhile, the QJMotor model range—which already includes more than 30 motorcycles, despite the brand being established less than three years ago—is starting to spread to international markets. This year the brand entered the US market for the first time, with California-based SSR Motorsports as its distributor and 11 models in the lineup, right up to the 754cc twin-cylinder SRT750X adventure bike.

QJMotor plans to enter the superbike market with this rebodied MV Agusta 1000. (QJMotor/)

The addition of a V-4 will help steer Qianjiang toward a goal of having every conceivable type of combustion engine in its motorcycle lineup. The company already makes singles, parallel-twins, V-twins, inline-triples, and inline-fours, ranging from 50cc to 900cc, and has plans to enter the superbike market in the near future. At the start of this year, its 1,000cc four-cylinder superbike project broke cover in the form of a rebodied MV Agusta Brutale 1000.

The company announced plans for a four-cylinder Benelli based on MV’s engine more than a year ago, too, but the future of the company’s deal with MV is unclear. KTM’s parent company, Pierer Industrie, took a substantial stake in MV Agusta late last year, and since it has a close relationship with Qianjiang’s Chinese rival CFMoto, it could create hurdles. Qianjiang’s middleweight parallel-twin adventure bike platform, the basis of the QJMotor SRT550 and Benelli TRK502, is intended to underpin MV Agusta’s Lucky Explorer 5.5, shown in 2021.

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It looks like MV Agusta’s Lucky Explorer 5.5 may never happen. KTM’s stake in MV Agusta and its relationship with CFMoto have put serious doubt on the progression of the project. (MV Agusta/)

However, all reference to the 554cc Lucky Explorer 5.5 has now disappeared from MV’s website. The larger, three-cylinder Lucky Explorer 9.5—using MV’s own triple—is still heading for production. The existence of a homegrown V-4 engine project means that QJMotor and Benelli aren’t completely reliant on the MV Agusta 1,000cc engine for future high-performance models if the deal between the companies falls through.

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