Founded in 1911, Benelli is arguably Italy’s longest running motorcycle manufacturer – albeit not one which has managed continuous production. One of the most advanced bike makers in the pre-war era, it continued to innovate in the ‘50s and ‘60s but fell on hard times as Japanese companies muscled in on their territory.
Argentinian industrialist Alejandro de Tomaso bought the brand in 1971 and brought out some sensational motorcycles, including the six-cylinder Benelli Sei, but it wasn’t enough and the company went to the wall in the 1980s.
Revivals came and went, including a high profile period under Indesit owner Andrea Merloni from the late 1990s, but for the past 20 years Benelli has been owned by China’s giant Qianjiang Motorcycle company, with design, development and marketing activities carried out at the Benelli QJ headquarters in the company’s original home of Pesaro, Italy, while the bikes are assembled in China.
And, so far, it’s been a
success story. Benellis are regularly among the biggest selling motorcycles in
their ‘home’ country, with the TRK702 being Italy’s best selling model last
year.
And now the rejuvenated Benelli is planning
to make waves over here with a couple of 125s which look to combine high specs
with low prices. Called the BKX125 and BKX125S, they’re a pair of learner legal
adventure bikes with the full quota of power allowed under A1 licence laws and
proportions that should go down well with bigger framed riders.
Learner legal adventure bikes are something of a rarity in themselves, while the £3199 starting price is £100 cheaper than Honda’s ultra utilitarian CB125F, for example.
That entry level model is the BKX125S, which
has 17” cast alloy wheels for more of a street focus and urban warrior style,
while the £3499 BKX125 rides on taller suspension and has a bigger, 19”, spoked
front wheel for more presence and traditional ADV ergonomics.
Both bikes feature the same new liquid-cooled
125cc, four-valve, single-cylinder engine, which Benelli says has been designed
to deliver as much excitement as they could manage within the learner limits.
It’s claimed to produce bang on the allowed 11kW (around 15bhp) at 9500rpm,
while delivering a healthy (for a 125) 12Nm of torque at 7000rpm.
The Italian styled machines certainly look distinctive,
and the spec is decent for this price of bike, especially on the ADV variant.
Both machines have a USB charging socket and indicators neatly faired into the
hand guards, while the off-road orientated BKX125 gets fully adjustable, long
travel, 41mm front forks, and an engine bash plate. With suspension travel
increased by 30mm, the BKX125 has a tall 860mm seat height (40mm more than the
S version) and while this may be slightly off-putting for some rookie riders,
it will be welcomed by many taller riders – who often find 125s too small and
spindly for their tastes.
There’s not a lot of competition in the 125cc
adventure bike market. None of the mainstream manufacturers have an offering in
the class, leaving the field open to less well-known brands.
We rode the Rieju Aventura 125 a few years
ago and left impressed, but the Spanish bike is £500 more expensive and something
of a rarity in the UK, where it has a limited dealer network. Sinnis’ £3599 Terrain is another
contender with a good spec, albeit with less power and a less evocative name than
the Benelli.
It all makes these Benellis interesting machines, which once again demonstrate the advances which have made by Chinese manufacturers in the past few years. They’re imported to the UK by renowned distributor MotoGB, which means that there should be solid aftersales support for when they hit UK showrooms in the next few months.
