Lighter And More Powerful Benelli Leoncino 800 Coming Soon

The pre-production bike was first unveiled in 2019 but seems to have become yet another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic

Chinese approval documents of the Benelli Leoncino 800, a bike that was unveiled in 2019 but is yet to be launched anywhere, have just leaked online. The documents suggest Benelli is finally planning to launch the bike in China, probably followed by other markets.

The leaked documents reveal that the upcoming Leoncino 800 will employ a bigger 799cc, twin-cylinder engine instead of the 754cc motor from the Benelli 752 S showcased earlier. Consequently, the power output will also increase to 89PS, 8PS more than before. This motor could eventually make its way into the TRK lineup too, resulting in a more powerful TRK800. 

Along with this, the new Leoncino 800 will tip the scale at 209kg, 6kg less than before, thus improving its power-to-weight ratio. It’s safe to say that if the previous iteration would’ve been fun to ride, the new bike will be even more impressive. 

Rest of the motorcycle is expected to remain unchanged. But Benelli could very well give it fresh clothes to help it keep up with modern times.

We expect the Leoncino 800 to officially break cover at the 2021 edition of EICMA, provided COVID-19 doesn’t play spoilsport. The Leoncino 800 could make its way to India later too, since it is already Euro-5 compliant.