Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

27th on the grid out of 34 starters, less than a tenth of a second behind Stephane Chambon's factory Suzuki. In race one he pitted when he heard a strange noise from the engine, a precaution which earned him the gratitude and admiration of the team when it turned out the camshaft drive was breaking up, and the alertness of the man widely respected as the best development rider in the World Superbike paddock had saved one of the best of the team's relatively few engines, at that stage in the bike's evolution, from self-destructing. That was all the more disappointing because the Benelli had been fighting for a points finish when it pulled in and the same in race two, when Goddard slid off unhurt, after grounding the engine cases on a curb at one of the chicanes. Still, the new bike had performed more than respectfully on what was the public race-christening of the three-cylinder Tornado 900, and the unique sound of its glorious exhaust note trumpeted the news that Benelli was back - and committed to competing in the remaining rounds of the 2001 World Superbike series, prior to commencing series production of the street Tornado later this year. Two weeks later at Laguna Seca, another milestone in Benelli's comeback trail was reached, with Goddard scoring the Tornado's debut World Championship point with 15th place in race two, after improving to 21st in qualifying - ahead of both NCR Ducatis - and finishing 18th in race one, to show that the triple is now reliable, as well as getting quicker. Yes - Benelli really is back. Almost exactly two years after its launch at a glittering high-SOCiety party in an elegant hilltop villa above the historic Italian marque's Pesaro base, the Tornado 900 has now become a genuine points contender on the World Superbike grid. In doing so, the three-cylinder Superbike's public debut has not only confounded the critics who stamped the whole project as a rich man's toy, all glitter and no go, it's also brought a new sound of two-wheeled music to the Superbike paddock - the distinctive exhaust note of a racing triple which immediately stamps the Tornado with a mechanical character as unique as its radical styling by Englishman Adrian Morton. The man heading up the team responsible for creating the Tornado (whose name recalls the final model produced by the family before the De Tomaso takeover in 1972, a shortstroke gear-primary 650cc pushrod twin which was the Italian idea of how a British bike should have been, but never was!) is Benelli technical director Rosa, the former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari Fl race engineer who helped Eddie Lawson and John Kocinski turn the Cagiva 500 into a GP-winning motorcycle, and who was then responsible for two years for R&D on the MV Agusta F4 engine, before join- duction later this year, building 150 examples of the limited-edition, individually-numbered high-spec 900 Fl streetbike costing a projected $32,000 each. Though in theory these should already have been built first, in order to homologate the Tornado for racing before it could compete in a Superbike race, just as Aprilia did two years ago with its equally prototype short-stroke RSVI000SP, Benelli is effectively using this debut season as R&D testing for the street model, as well as the basis for hoped-for future World Superbike success. Happy to have another famous brand join the World Superbike circus, rival teams seem to have no complaint with this - well, unless the Benelli starts challenging for the rostrum. The Tornado first ran in public in the Isle of Man IT parade a year ago, since when Rosa says the bike has changed a great deal. "That was a heavy prototype halfway between a streetbike and a Superbike racer," he says, "on which we needed to test various mechanical solutions, as well as the aerodynamic ducting for our cooling system. The bike we are racing now is very different." So, the 898cc 12-valve Benelli Tornado three-cylinder engine has been revamped internally to deliver more power at higher revs, via even more radically ultra short-stroke dimensions of 88 x 49.5 mm, compared to the original Tornado of a year ago measuring 85.3 x 52.4mm. The 120-degree crankshaft throw has been retained, but instead of the bigbang TT bike, there's now a 240degree 1-3-2 firing order, with tworing forged ASso pistons delivering 13:1 compression (up from 11.8:1 on the 10M prototype) mounted on Pankl titanium connecting rods, still with cylinders canted forward slightly at ing Benelli in January 1997. In the four years since starting work on the Tornado 900 engine in July that year, Rosa and his 20-man development team have produced one of the most innovative Superbikes of the modern era - the first to take advantage of the 900cc threecylinder Superbike category, and a bike bristling with imaginative design fe8tures denoting original thought. But, why a triple? "We made a very careful analysis of the various options before committing funds to such a major investment," says Andrea Merloni, "and for several reasons the triple stood out. You can make a small, compact engine with good aerodynamics, plus it sounds great, and nobody else makes one for Superbike racing - at least not yet! And Ing. Rosa's team convinced us that, compared to a 750 four or a 1000cc twin, the triple was also the most effective choice for World Superbike." Benelli plans to start Tornado pro- The Tornado triple features a composite frame consisting of tubular steel spars that are glued Into the swingarm pivots and steering head with aircraft-grade epoxy. The Benelli has the longest swingarm of any current Superblke, the ultra-compact motor made this possible. This was done In an effort to get more traction from the rear tire, while utilizing the short 139Smm wheelbase. The 120-degree in-line threecylinder displaces S99cc with bore and stroke dimensions of 88 x 49.5. The EFI features a bank of three 55mm sand cast Dell'Orto throttle bodies with a single Formula One-style injector sitting above the throttle body. The clutch is a multi-plate dry slipper clutch, feeding power to a six-speed c_sette-type extractable transmission. cue I • n e _ S • AUGUST 15, 2001 15

• Cover