Facelifted Benelli Imperiale 400 to to take on Royal Enfield Classic 350/500

Benelli launched the all-new TRK 502 series in the Indian market yesterday. The Italian brand has announced to launch a slew of mid-range motorcycles in the Indian market in the near future. After the TRK 502, Benelli is planning to launch the all-new Imperiale cruiser and the retro-styled Leoncino 500 twins. Of these, the Benelli Imperiale 400 will take on directly against the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and Classic 500 in the Indian market. In total, Benelli has announced to launch five all-new products in the Indian market in the coming times.

The TRK 502 is very aggressively priced in the Indian market at Rs. 5 lakh. We expect that the Imperiale 400, which is powered by a single-cylinder engine will be priced much lower to take on the Royal Enfield Classic range motorcycles. The Imperial 400 gets the pure vintage and retro looks and takes inspiration from the Benelli-MotoBi products that were available back in the 1950s.

Benelli first showcased the Imperiale 400 at the 2017 EICMA show. It gets a double-cradle, steel tubular frame and a teardrop shaped fuel tank with rubber grip to get that classic look. It also gets modern bits like split seats and digital screen in the instrument cluster.

The Benelli Imperiale 400 is powered by an air-cooled, single-cylinder, fuel-injected engine. The 373cc engine produces a maximum of 20.4 PS at 5,500 rpm and a peak of 28 Nm at 3,500 rpm. It gets a five-speed transmission. Both the wheels of the Imperiale 400 get the disc brake, and the dual-channel ABS is offered as standard. Benelli offers a 300mm disc brake at the front with twin-callipers while the rear wheel gets a 240mm disc brake.

Benelli will offer the Imperiale 400 in three colours – black, red and silver. There is 41mm telescopic front suspension with 110 mm of travel, and the rear gets twin-shock absorbers with 65mm travel. The twin-shock absorbers will keep the Benelli Imperiale close to the retro image while keeping the cost of the motorcycle competitive. Benelli has designed the bike by giving a lot of attention to the details. It gets a lot of chrome around the body that makes it look very premium. Talking about the wheels, the Imperiale 400 rides on the 19-inch front tyre and 18-inch rear tyre. Both the wheels are spoked rims, which means that the tyres are not tubeless. Even the Royal Enfield Classic range offers spoked non-tubeless tyres.

The Royal Enfield Classic series is the best selling bike above the 300cc segment in the Indian market. The Classic 350 is the best-selling bike of the brand, and it will not be easy to compete with the iconic Classic 350, especially in India. Royal Enfield has also started offering ABS and will launch new ABS-equipped models before it becomes mandatory on two-wheelers from the 1st April. All the motorcycles that get powered by the 125cc or a larger capacity engine will have to offer ABS as a necessary feature in the Indian market. The Benelli 400 is expected to be priced aggressively to take on the Royal Enfield bikes.