Benelli India confirmed the arrival of its Leoncino range (Standard/Street, Trail, and Sport) of motorcycles earlier this year during the launch of its TRK 502 range. However, in a recent statement, it said that out of the three only the Standard/Street variant will be introduced.
Vikas Jhabakh, Managing Director, Benelli India, said, “At this moment, we are planning to launch only the street version. We will consider the Trail variant based on the feedback from the market.”
The Leoncino is an odd-looking motorcycle and perhaps wouldn’t be a suitable cup of tea for everyone. This could be one of the reasons why Benelli wants to see the response it gets for the Standard/Street variant. If things looked good, we would soon be getting the Trail variant as well. However, Benelli didn’t comment anything about the Sport edition of the bike.
Powering the Leoncino is a 500cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine that produces 47.6hp at 8,500rpm and 45Nm at 5,000rpm. These figures should be healthy enough to pull around 207kg (kerb weight) with ease. Also, the Trellis frame should enhance the handling of the motorcycle. The brakes at the front are 320mm dual rotors with four-piston calipers and at the back, there is a 260mm rotor with a single-piston caliper.
Regarding the price, we expect it to be somewhere in the range of Rs 3.5 to 4 lakh (ex-showroom). Since it borrows a number of parts from the TRK 502, this would allow Benelli to keep the costs in check.
What do you feel about the Benelli Leoncino?
