Benelli TRK range: All You Need To Know

After breaking off ties with the DSK Group, Benelli recently found a new India partner in the form of Mahavir Group in Hyderabad. Their new roadmap includes some exciting motorcycles coming to India via the CKD route. They include the Leoncino, the Imperiale and the TRK series. Of these, Benelli plans to get the TRK models here by next year. Here’s 5 things you need to know about the TRK series.

The range:

Benelli plans to bring not one but three of the TRK adventure tourer range of bikes. You will have the TRK 502, a more off-road-focussed TRK 502 X, and a smaller baby TRK in the form of the TRK 251. While all the bikes look the same, the TRK 502 gets spoked wheels, knobbier tyres and a high-mounted exhaust.

Design and features:

The TRK 502 looks big and imposing. ADV-esque features come in the form of a beak below the headlamp, tall windscreen, knuckle guards, fork covers and a large grab rail cum luggage rack. It gets twin headlamps with LED DRL’s, LED tail lamps and turn indicators and an analogue digital instrument cluster. The instrument cluster has a basic layout and shows engine revs, speed, fuel level and gear position. Not just the TRK 502 but the off-road focussed TRK 502 X miss out on bear claw footpegs - a staple for off road bikes. Instead they make do with rubber footpegs. In terms of size, the TRK 502 sizes up to the Kawasaki Versys 650. It stands tall at 1235mm height and 2170mm length. It also gets a 20-litre fuel tank. The bike is sold internationally in white, grey and red colour options, which we expect to make way here as well.

Engine:

Powering the TRK 502 is a 499cc liquid-cooled parallel twin motor. It is an oversquare motor that makes 47.6PS at 8500rpm and 45Nm at 5000rpm. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a short ratio six-speed transmission. On paper, the power output seems okay but when you consider the fact that the bike weighs a whopping 235kg (kerb), expect performance to be a tad underwhelming. Hopefully, the short-ratio gearbox should help the bike get off the line quicker.

Chassis and suspension:

Underneath that bodywork sits a steel trellis frame. Suspension setup includes front 50mm upside-down forks and a rear monoshock. It gets 17-inch alloys at both ends with spoked aluminium rims (19-front, 17-rear) as optional extras. The ones sold abroad get Pirelli Angel GT touring tyres and we expect the same ones to be made available here. Braking is via twin 320mm front discs and a single 260mm rear disc, augmented with dual channel ABS. The ABS can be switched off for off road riding. Despite the high kerb weight, the bike should be easy to manage at low speeds thanks to the low-for-an-ADV 800mm seat height. The seat is a split unit with a prominent step for the pillion.

Accessories:

While you can spec the Benelli TRK 502 with optional spoke aluminium rims from the more hardcore TRK 502 X, there are a few more accessories you can buy off the Benelli shelf to customise your bike. For touring, you can opt for the Givi luggage set that consists of two 33-litre side panniers and a 52-litre top box with associated mounting plates.

Pricing and competition:

We expect the TRK 502 to be priced around the Rs 5 lakh mark. At that price it competes with the BMW G 310 GS (Rs 3.49 lakh), Kawasaki Versys X-300 (Rs 4.69 lakh) and Kawasaki Versys 650 (Rs 6.69 lakh, all ex-showroom Delhi).

For that price, you get a substantially larger bike which should offer good touring comfort. While their build quality might not be upto BMW or Kawasaki levels, the bikes should offer good value when it comes to the price per cc equation.