Benelli BN251 at EICMA 2014: Compact Street Fighter for India

Benelli, the Italian maker has showcased its naked street fighter at EICMA event in Milan, BN251. Manufacturing this street fighter bike, the maker has shown their great engineering work and talent to make it compact and affordable. Made for in-roads, its naked styling reminds us the BN302 model. This bike is designed and manufactured especially for Indian roads and compete with KTM Duke 200 Australian model.

This would be the first affordable Benelli bike in India and will definitely attract enthusiast riders. The BN251 is quite appealing in design quotient. Reminiscent of the KTM Duke 200, this new Benelli measures 2080mm long, 805mm wide and 1090mm high. But, wheelbase of 1385mm is wide enough than KTM’s. 130 mm ground clearance and 780 mm seat height make its compact bike. The Auto giant has tried to give it the feel of elder boy with side mounted exhaust and lengthened seat. This naked bike can hold 16.5 liters fuel in its tank.

Powering this India-bound Benelli motorcycle, 249cc liquid cooled engine is there with 4 stroke single-cylinder which is interlaced with 6-speed manual gearbox. It churns out 24.5 PS peak power revolving at 9000 RPM and makes 21 Nm of torque at 7000 RPM. Telescopic forks on front and monoshock on rear with double-sided swingarm mounted for suspension purpose. For breaking system, 280 mm four-piston caliper and 240 mm dual-piston caliper give the power to front and rear disc respectively for breaking reasons.

17-inch alloy wheels give the Street fighter a sound ride wrapped inside a front 110/70 tyre and rear 140/60 tyre. Benelli has made partnership with DSK Motors to make entry in Indian motorbike market. Both have come together and announced that they have plans to open around 20 dealerships and all Benelli motorcycles will assemble locally in India. The Italian manufacturer also announced its plan to bring 1600cc bike on Indian roads later.

It is said that BN251 street fighter will be the perfect one for making Company’s entry in Indian market. However, the price for this new Benelli has not been announced by Company officials, but it is expected that it would be very affordable and ideal in the segment of street fighter.