2020 Benelli 302R Anniversary Edition Unveiled In China

It could be launched in India after the bike’s BS6 update

• Benelli teased the upcoming bike a couple of days ago.
• It receives some snazzy new paint schemes.
• Mechanicals remain unchanged but the engine has been updated to meet latest emission norms.

After teasing it a couple of days ago, Benelli has finally unveiled the 2020 302R in China, and it’s an Anniversary edition. This is good news because the model is sold in India as well -- or at least it was, until BS6 norms came into effect. Nevertheless, the 302R is expected to receive a BS6 update sometime soon, meaning that we too could get the Anniversary edition here in India.

It sports some snazzy new paint schemes, with two of the options even offering the trellis frame finished in an almost fluorescent shade of yellow-green. There’s also a Kawasaki rip-off green and black colour option, and a red and black scheme which we think looks the best of the lot. We’ll be honest, we aren’t entirely sure what anniversary this edition is celebrating, since the brand turns 90 next year and not this year. Nevertheless, the fresh colours should give the bike a little mid-life recharge.

Aside from the new colours and graphics, the 302R remains mechanically unchanged, so it’s still held together by the same trellis frame suspended on an upside down fork and monoshock. There are twin petal discs up front and a single one at the rear, and dual-channel ABS is standard.

Benelli continues to use the same 300cc parallel-twin motor to power the 302R, but this engine has been updated to meet latest emission norms. The updates most likely include revised fuel-injection maps and perhaps an additional catalytic converter in the exhaust system. This has result in marginally lower engine output - the BS4 motor churned out 38.79PS and 26.5Nm, but the brochure for this Anniversary edition mentions 35.35PS and 27Nm. Kerb weight has also gone up by 6kg and now stands at 204kg. All this indicates that the bike probably meets BS6 emission norms, so we could see an official India launch sometime soon at around Rs 3.20 lakh (ex-showroom).