[classic86]

With just few more days to go for the 1st service, short of 250 Kms from 1000 KM target, I have decided to explore another spot called Manjeera Reservoir nearby.

Ride 2: Manjeera Reservoir

Distance Covered: ~110 kms

Duration: ~3 hours 30 minutes



Thoughts: Started the day at 6:00 AM on Hyderabad - Mumbai highway as planned and took a detour instead of the usual route as I was curious to explore new spots. That led me to a pristine and serene country side of Telangana that I didn't explore till date.





After few patchy roads, twists and turns at decent speeds, I got lost in a village where I was looked at more as an alien than a biker as I was determined to reach that spot that seemed untouched and closest to the reservoir. But I didn't realise that I will have to outrun street dogs that were somehow hell bent on taking a piece of my leg. Also, I had to go through really unknown and bad territories such as a twisting dirt canal bank where the margins are very narrow (I forgot taking pics of this beautiful canal bank as I was in a hurry to reach a place where I could find some tarmac ). Nonetheless, to my surprise the bike handled these bumpy and twisting stretches quite well and my 'adventure' ended soon as I reached the reservoir.

I guess my stars that day were not at their best as I soon realised that the reservoir is not open till 10 AM. So, instead of waiting for 2 hours to check the crocodile pond and the dam associated with the reservoir, I returned back. So, there goes another interesting adventure to the 'unknown'.

[DragonHawk]

Congrats on buying this beautiful machine. Have a safe ride !!

Originally Posted by classic86

Furthermore, being a person who values quality more than value, I couldn’t imagine myself owning Duke 390 for long as it oozed cheapness at every corner possible. Please don’t get me wrong but when I mean cheap, I’m talking about quality than affordability. For the price you pay for Duke 390, it’s top notch.

Man you have put it in a precise way and exactly this is what I wanted to convey. I have seen many people being judgmental and writing off this bike as made in China bike. But boy O boy this bike oozes with quality and comparing it with Duke is a grave mistake one is committing. I am say this because last weekend I had been to Benelli and took a TD of TNT300 and here are my first impressions.

+ve:
* Don`t be fooled by the images, see the bike in person and you will fall in love with it.
* As mentioned before TNT300 is a better bike interms of quality when compared with 390 and sits below to Z250.
* Exhaust note: well for me this is one of the USP of the bike. It just sounds meaty and punchy.
* I dont want to comment on braking as it was a short ride but I felt with dual front disks and single disk at the rear, braking should be precise.
* Relaxed riding posture makes your city and highway ride a comfortable one.

-ve:
* Pricey: 3.65 lakhs on road Bangalore, it will be too heavy for ones pocket.
* Lack of ABS will be felt and this is one area where it looses out to 390.
* In terms of handling TNT300 is not as precise as Duke and 390 is still the king.
* Quality of switches used could have been better.

Few pics from my end.






Bangalore price list, IMO Regn and handling charges Rs 11500 is bit too high.

[classic86]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

Congrats on buying this beautiful machine. Have a safe ride !!

-ve:
* Pricey: 3.65 lakhs on road Bangalore, it will be too heavy for ones pocket.
* Lack of ABS will be felt and this is one area where it looses out to 390.
* In terms of handling TNT300 is not as precise as Duke and 390 is still the king.
* Quality of switches used could have been better.

Bangalore price list, IMO Regn and handling charges Rs 11500 is bit too high.
Attachment 1384601

Thanks bro!

Agree with some of your negatives though handling needs to be tested. I have just switched the stock exhaust with IXIL and I can feel at least 3-5 kilos decrease in weight. So, seems to be handling and performing much better than earlier. Will update with pics soon.

[classic86]

Recently upgraded the stock exhaust to IXIL 55 exhaust after the 1st service.

https://youtu.be/Q7rWioyppC0

The idle sound is slightly misleading but you can feel the note more accurately at the end.

Attaching some voice recordings of IXIL 55 and stock exhaust accelerations to help you understand the difference better.

https://youtu.be/AdAZO1l4kCk

https://youtu.be/tAc-PhjLBuM

This bike is revving more freely now and lost at least 3-5 kilos in weight. Let me know if anyone wants to know more.

[classic86]

Last Sunday, had a good ride that was arranged by DSK Benelli from Hyderabad.

Five of us (2 owners riding a 300 and 600 GT and 3 showroom staff riding 600i, 600 GT and 300 respectively) started off from the showroom at 6:00 AM. Please ignore the humble boxer from the lot as it didn't come along with us :P


Drove straight up to the racing track at Leonia resort where we met fellow riders who were having quite a bit of fun on their Dukes, Ninjas and even a CD100 Yes! You heard it right, a CD 100, and the best part of today's visit was that a good looking gal was competing with the boys. Anyways, with my bike still running in, it was hard to keep up with the others while reaching the track but the bike felt stable although a bit too light for my liking at 100-110 kmph. Also, on our way to the track, we passed by a cool group of Harley owners (I guess as my entire focus was to keep up with the others in front). Seems like motorcycling in Hyderabad is not as dull as I thought.




The general manager from the showroom had a good blast on the 300 and 600 before jumping on other bikes from his friends at the track. He was a semi professional racer and seemed to have had a good amount of track experience. I didn't want to risk my day as I forgot my knee guards and my bike hasn't completed the run in yet.


So, me and the other guy owning a 600 GT decided to head out on a decent drive on one of the best looking and best laid highways around Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Karimnagar highway. It was scenic and perfect with hardly any traffic and we had good fun. The other guy on the 600GT had great reviews about the bike and he is whom I would probably call a 'professional tourer' as he had done a 65 day trip covering potentially the entire border of India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Here are some pics from the highway ride.








Once we decided to head back, he was nowhere in sight and I cruised around for a short while before hitting the city traffic. All in all a great day where I clocked ~160 kms on the Italian beauty, had my 1st visit to a race track and chugged along a lovely highway with a fellow Benellian. Looking for more fun soon.

Btw! I also shot this video of a kwacker going around the corner at the racing track. Hope you like it!

https://youtu.be/ts8xwxcYkkw

Note from Support - Post edited. Please do not mention high speed figures unless it was achieved on a closed road such as a race track. Please read the forum rules before posting any further.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by classic86

The other guy on the 600GT had great reviews about the bike and he is whom I would probably call a 'professional tourer' as he had done a 65 day trip covering potentially the entire border of India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. Here are some pics from the highway ride.

classic86 mate thanks for sharing your ownership experiences with us. Your Red Italian beauty looks stunning as ever. It's great to know that you are also sharing the feedback about Benelli TNT 600 GT which was rode by the other guy. Getting a first hand review feedback from an owner is really genuine and good. It is very often that we come across some "self proclaimed" experts calling these beauties from Benelli's as Chinese Bikes, Cheap Quality, Under-powered, not worth the money, and what not without actually seeing the bike in flesh leave alone riding it. I am glad to read your ownership review on Benelli 300 and also the other guys' feedback about the Benelli TNT 600 GT.

[classic86]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

classic86 mate thanks for sharing your ownership experiences with us. Your Red Italian beauty looks stunning as ever. It's great to know that you are also sharing the feedback about Benelli TNT 600 GT which was rode by the other guy. Getting a first hand review feedback from an owner is really genuine and good. It is very often that we come across some "self proclaimed" experts calling these beauties from Benelli's as Chinese Bikes, Cheap Quality, Under-powered, not worth the money, and what not without actually seeing the bike in flesh leave alone riding it. I am glad to read your ownership review on Benelli 300 and also the other guys' feedback about the Benelli TNT 600 GT.

Thanks buddy. What do you ride?

You can subscribe to the thread and I will continue posting my travelogues. Hope you like it!

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by classic86

Thanks buddy. What do you ride?

You can subscribe to the thread and I will continue posting my travelogues. Hope you like it!

Mate I really appreciate the effort you take in sharing your experience with all of us. I primarily ride RE motorcycles, I have 5 of them. Acquired RE Tbird500 just 9 months back and have been on the roll since. I am looking to buy an adventure tourer in the near future and the Benelli TNT 600 GT has caught my eye, I have seen it in flesh and have also sat on it to have a feel of the same. Your posts about the TNT 600 GT caught my attention.

[GKR9900]

Oh yeah! Brilliant ownership experience classic_86. Went through your review twice at xbhp and read it again here at Team bhp. What a great machine to own. You're indeed one lucky guy Ride safe brother.

I always thought that I was more of a car guy than a bike guy. Heck! My Fazer has only ran 9500 kms during her 4 years with me, while my Vento has already covered 23000 kms in the last 2 years. And ever since being a post graduate student, I thought that my biking days were over for good. Of course, being a petrol head I was still following up on the Dukes, RCs which were mesmerising machines at their respective price points. But, I never could imagine myself on one, as I felt that their character never synced with mine. May be if I were a few years younger, those power and acceleration figures might have made a big impact. But, over the years, one tends to realize that it's the riding experience that counts. And on that front, I feel that the TNT 300 makes a hell of a statement. The subtle,yet flared Italian looks, the plush,comfortable seats, those wide 160 section tires, and OMG! that sweet sweet exhaust note! Makes me go down on my knees every single time! I have always been a lover of faired motorcycles, but this naked has tugged on my heart strings like no other. Guess my passion for motorcycles got re-ignited by some Italian flare.

Hats off to you for having the courage to swim against the tide and owning this beauty. If everything goes according to plan("now where was that bank I was supposed to rob?!"), I'll be joining the club as well.

[classic86]

Just wanted to update you all about my riding experiences as it's been a while since i posted here. Got busy with life and hardly had time to ride.

But today I decided to buck the trend and head out with 2 other friends riding a Benelli 600GT and a CBR 150R respectively. Both of them are experienced lond distance tourers and were great company.

Distance: ~200 KMS (2 way)
Initial target location: Organic Dhaba on Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway. A must for all breakfast rides on this route
Final target location: Some distance further from the dhaba as we kept on extending our 10K bursts after the break multiple times

So, coming to the ride, today was a day of extremes. The only sane route was through the city for about 45-50 kms and then a beautiful stretch of highway in some really pleasant weather.

First, riding through the city I had a huge scare as I went over a thick stone size wooden log that was kept right at the middle of the road for some crazy reason (not so crazy on second thoughts as roads in Hyderabad now are terrible). Anyways, I was travelling at 50-60 kmph and assumed it to be a paper bag for some weird reason. Furthermore, there wasn't much room to swerve as I noticed it too late. Anyways, the moment I stepped on it, I felt a big thud and the front half of the bike flung into air and the only thing I could remember is I landed hard with the handle turned sideways and the left mirror turned backwards. Due to gods grace, I was able to balance it back in straighline and then pulled over to the side to check for damage. Initially, I thought I twisted the handle or the front rim at the worst having a broken wheel. But to my surprise, there was no damage and the front was as good as new. It was only later at the end of the ride that I noticed my knee gaurds scraped the tank on both the sides and and the scratch was much higher than the usual position where my knee guards are placed indicating the height I flung over the bike. Don't know how I hung on to the bike but just imagining how this could have been to someone with no gear in the night scares me to hell.

Anyways, continued the ride further being cautious initially to make sure there aren't any hairline cracks on the alloys that I could probably exaggerate. After riding for 20-30 kms and stopping for breakfast, checked the bike thoroughly and felt better to notice no impact. We drove further and hit almost the top speed capable of TNT 300 for the first time and came back home safe. For all doubting the quality of Benelli products, I can completely vouch for its quality after today's experience and I hope to see no major troubles at least till the warranty period is done. Enjoy the ride guys. This day felt like I was living on the edge.

[nkrishnap]

What exhaust is the GT running on? Slip on?

[classic86]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

What exhaust is the GT running on? Slip on?

Proformance Slip On. Amazing sound on that actually!

[Arch-Angel]

Originally Posted by classic86

Proformance Slip On. Amazing sound on that actually!

Congrats on your TNT 300 sir! I read your review on xbhp before seeing it here as well! I hope you could shed light on a few things for me.

*Your comments regarding heating of the bike in summer
*Grip and braking.
*Service interval (do you feel it is ok or is it too short?)

Also, is the proformance exhaust available for the tnt 300 too? (dealer offered only ixil slipon 13k/24k variants)

[classic86]

Originally Posted by Arch-Angel

Congrats on your TNT 300 sir! I read your review on xbhp before seeing it here as well! I hope you could shed light on a few things for me.

*Your comments regarding heating of the bike in summer
*Grip and braking.
*Service interval (do you feel it is ok or is it too short?)

Also, is the proformance exhaust available for the tnt 300 too? (dealer offered only ixil slipon 13k/24k variants)

Thank you sir! Glad to help on your doubts.

1. Quite manageable. Might be strange and new initially if you are upgrading from a 150 CC or mass market bike but definitely not an issue. Much better than KTM bikes in this class. Also, heating depends on your riding habits. If you are driving for long durations in the city and in traffic, then it might become more predominant but still manageable as I never saw the temperature go beyond 92 C. Only caution I could say is never ride a bike with a radiator with your shorts. Have the right gear always.

2. Front is amazing and rear stops well too. However, the feel of the rear can be less assuring than the front as the pedal seems to be lacking feedback. It's a bit mushy.

3. It is short and expensive at ~ Rs. 3000-4000 for every service. But please be noted that it is a proper twin cylinder bike unlike a KTM and the quality can be felt in the ride and feel of the machine. So, plan the costs accordingly and if everything fits in your budget (even if its a little stretch more than you could afford), the bike is worth every penny.

Hope the answers above help!

[Arch-Angel]

Originally Posted by classic86

the bike is worth every penny.

This says everything for me sir! Thanks a million! Keep munching those miles. I test drove one of these sometime back. Eargasmic exhaust note, relaxed posture and last but not the least, good amount of feedback from the bike itself makes me like the bike a lot!