Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 20, 2013 The author liked the Benelli, with the exception of its snatchy pickup from closed throttle. pre-production prototype of the Benelli BN600 showed that this is very far from being deficient in grunt, and has a pretty comfortable riding position for someone of my 5'11"stature. The 31.4-inch height of the well-shaped seat is well chosen, with minimal but adequate passenger space in spite of the underseat silencers. There's also two well-designed grab handles set into the rear of the seat squab. The wide taper-section steel handlebar has pulled-back grips that deliver a fairly upright but still relaxed stance, with the front brake lever five-way adjustable, but not its counterpart working the cable-operated clutch. The footpegs are set quite high, enough to be sure you won't rub your boots in exploiting the good grip of the Metzeler Sportec tires. Indeed, you feel you're sitting within the Benelli as an integrated part of the whole package, with your knees tucked in nicely to the flanks of the tank that's good for a range of around 150 miles. Such a stance is a key factor in promoting rider confidence, especially for novice riders - you feel at one with the bike, much more than on a sportier model where you're more perched on top. Thumb the starter button and the four-cylinder motor hums instantly into life, then settles to a melodic 1300 rpm idle. And the Chinese-made Benelli engine doesn't just have a pretty voice - it's got substance, too, pulling smoothly away from low revs with barely any use of the clutch. It really comes alive from 7000 revs upwards, and there's an extra kick of performance when the needle on the analog tach hits 9000 rpm. There's not a lot of low-down torque so if you want some acceleration to pass some traffic, you'll have to kick the Benelli down a couple of gears, in which case you'll be rewarded with quite zesty performance, and without any harsh patch of vibration felt through the pegs. P95 Though devoid of a counterbalancer, the Benelli is smooth and untiring to ride, with the engine's only downside its very abrupt pickup from a closed throttle, verging on the snatchy. This started out being tiresomely brusque, then downright annoying, because it may even mean you risk spinning up the rear tire if you're too aggressive with the throttle. This is exactly the same problem that all the Japanese manufacturers experienced at first when they began fuel-injecting their fours 15 years ago, and I'm sure the Chinese engineers will learn how to resolve this one way or the other - but they haven't yet. With that being said, shifting gears on the Benelli is absolutely faultless - completely on a par with anything made in Japan. Crisp, light and precise, it's a pleasure to use, and encourages you to work the gearbox a little to keep up the rpm that deliver useful performance en route to your future destination. The ratios seem a little closed up, as if Benelli QJ deliberately opted for a close-ratio transmission in order to enhance acceleration from a peakier, rev-hungry motor. Everything falls to hand on the BN600, as per the old cliché, with the just-right handlebar shape delivering good leverage for easy handling and top maneuverability - the key point of the Benelli's handling. Even with what felt like relatively conservative steering geometry (the actual

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