VOL. 50 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 20, 2013
P93
The BN600 entered production
for the Chinese market in 2012,
but has been uprated with better
components for sale in the rest of
the world.
hardware in Benelli's Pesaro factory to meet the demands of customers in more mature markets,
while remaining affordable.
So, the EVO version of the
BN600 being sold in Europe,
North America and Australasia
carries Brembo brakes, Marzocchi fork, and a Sachs shock, all
replacing the less effective but
also less costly Chinese-made
original components, but at only
a slight price increase.
When it goes on sale around
the world in November this year,
the BN600 will retail for just Euro
5890 ($7800) on the road in Italy, including 21 percent local tax,
against Euro 7660 ($10,100) for
the equivalent Honda CB600F
Hornet, both without ABS.
Indeed, it may seem surprising at first that the BN600 should
have a four-cylinder engine rather
than a three-cylinder 675cc one,
thus following a trend established
by the Triumph Daytona and later
followed by MV Agusta's F3. Surprising, because every Benelli
motorcycle produced since the
rebirth of the marque in 1997 under the Merloni family's control
has been a triple, like the existing
899 and 1130 range of models.
"Originally we worked on a
three-cylinder 675cc engine,"
admits Michelotti. "But our Chinese owners preferred instead
to attack the Japanese brands directly with a four-cylinder 600cc
model, using the engine format
which is proven to be the best for
this class. So, we stopped development of the 675 engine we had
designed because even though
the three is Benelli's trademark,
we wanted to compete with a
mainstream product, not a niche
segment one. It was easier to
develop because it's such an
established platform, and more
cost-effective to industrialize for
production via suppliers already
used to supplying four-cylinder
manufacturers."
So in developing the BN600,
Michelotti & Co. have designed
a relatively conventional 16-valve
four-cylinder wet sump power
unit with no balance shaft, and its
transverse in-line cylinders measuring 65 x 45.2 mm for a capac-
