2015 BENELLI BN302
RIDING IMPRESSION
P110
twin 37mm throttle bodies, the
Benelli's parallel-twin motor was
developed in Italy by Benelli's
R&D team led by chief engineer
Stefano Michelotti. It has the
same 65 x 45.2mm dimensions
as its four-cylinder sister, for a
capacity of exactly 300cc, and
carries a 180º crankshaft (so, one
up, one down, not two up like a
classic era Norton or Triumph)
with a single gear-driven coun-
terbalancer. This results in an
engine that turns out to be uncan-
nily smooth when you thumb the
starter and it booms immediately
into life, settling to a high 1600
rpm idle speed with a very individ-
ual audio soundtrack of a muted
but menacing drone emanating
from the catalyst-equipped Euro
3-legal two-into-one exhaust's
silencer exiting under your right
foot. There is absolutely zero
adverse vibration in either seat,
handlebar or footpegs, presum-
ably aided by the relatively small
'bar end balance weights.
This makes the Benelli untiring
and enjoyable to spend time on,
aided by the lightness and preci-
sion of the controls—the gear-
shift is Japanese quality, and the
clutch is light to operate with a
smooth pickup that'll make the
BN302 very entry-level friendly,
even if it's much more than just
a starter bike, with an output of
38bhp/28kW at 12,000 rpm,
the point at which the rev limiter
is set, and a reasonably meaty
amount of torque of 27Nm
delivered at 9,000 rpm. Fuel-
ing is excellent, a considerable
improvement on the BN600R I
rode two years ago, which had a
very jerky pickup from a closed
throttle, perhaps betraying QJ's
then-inexperience at throttle
mapping. That's history now on
the half-size twin, which has an
extremely flexible power delivery
with smooth and predictable
throttle response—the BN302
will pull wide open in sixth gear
from little more than idle speed
with zero transmission snatch,
though if you want to get a
move on, it's best to work that
sweet-action gearshift a little, in
which case you'll find that the
little Benelli's happy zone is from
5,000 rpm to just over that maxi-
mum torque peak. The 6,500
rpm in top gear equals 60 mph,
so top speed is probably around
12-spoke cast aluminum
wheels are a nice touch…
