[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Benelli India has commenced the pre-bookings for its all-new adventure tourer, the Benelli TRK 251.

Benelli India commences pre-bookings of TRK 251
December 06, 2021 07:41

• The Benelli TRK 251 will be available in 3 colour options – Glossy White, Glossy Black and Glossy Grey
• The Benelli TRK 251 is available with 3-Year Unlimited Kilometre Warranty as Standard*
• Bookings can be done online and offline for Rs. 6,000

The bike is expected to be powered by a single-cylinder 250cc, four-stroke liquid-cooled engine with ~ 24.5 hp and 21 Nm of torque.

[karanddd]

I had no idea this bike was coming to India. It may be a very good option for those who find the Xpulse underpowered and the Himalayan heavy. Fingers crossed we get more sub 3 lakh sub 400 cc off-road or travel oriented motorcycles soon. Living in Nepal the past few months has me convinced of how abysmal our options are for such motorcycles in India.

[drt_rdr]

Specs here: https://india.benelli.com/product/trk-251

Dry weight: 164 kgs. Wet weight would be over 180. But the plus side is the huge 18 litre tank capacity.

It's also a high compression ratio engine, but with a 6 speed gearbox.

Road-bike like suspension stroke and ground clearance. Also, 17 inch rims and alloys.

This is a bigger CB200X.

[SoumenD]

Wow, didn't see this coming. The specs don't look that bad. This is exactly what people wanted CB200X to be with the CBR250R engine

Some points from online video/spec-sheet:

+Seat height of 800mm should help most Indians flat-foot.
+Massive 18 litre tank should help in touring.
+26PS/21.1NM & 6 speed gearbox should be good for cruising at 100-110kph.
-That orange console looks so spartan.
~Unladen weight of 164kgs(2kgs more than Adv 390?).
~The ground clearance of 170mm seems commuter-ish, so off the road might be a bit of a challenge.

Guess this can be a decent long distance tourer. But a lot depends on how this is priced.

https://youtu.be/TU6azkZFfyU

[UtkarshC]

Benelli India started accepting pre-bookings for the TRK 251 earlier this month. The company has now launched the quarter-litre motorcycle at Rs 2.51 lakh (ex-showroom).



Powering the Benelli TRK 251 is a 249cc, single-cylinder engine that makes 25.4 BHP @ 9,250 rpm and 21.1 Nm @ 8,000 rpm. It is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.

The TRK 251 has a ground clearance of 170 mm and its seat height is set at 800 mm. The motorcycle is 2,070 mm long and weighs 164 kg (unladen). Its wheelbase is 1,390 mm. As for the tank capacity, the TRK 251 can carry 18-litres of fuel.



Other features of the Benelli TRK 251 include a pair of USD front forks, a rear mono-shock, disc brakes at both ends, 17-inch alloy wheels, a fully digital instrument cluster, wide handlebar, windshield, LED headlamp and split seats.

The Benelli TRK 251 is available in 3 colour options - Glossy White, Glossy Black and Glossy Grey.

Link to Team-BHP News

[ebonho]

Most sources are saying 153 kg dry weight.

That looks like a fun bike for the mountains at a very decent price.

Cheers, Doc

[ebonho]

It looks really nice and the business for hardcore riding except for the old fashioned silencer. Decent price and specs too. And really lightweight with all the bodywork on at just 153 kilos. That's really nice.

A friend is picking it up. Waiting to hear more from him on how it rides. He used to ride a Yezdi in college and is essentially a born again biker wanting to go into the mountains with his wife for some touring.

Cheers, Doc

[drt_rdr]

The specs say it's basically a street bike with a beak. Keep us posted on your friend's experiences though.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by UtkarshC

The motorcycle is 2,070 mm long and weighs 164 kg (unladen)

Originally Posted by ebonho

Decent price and specs too. And really lightweight with all the bodywork on at just 153 kilos. A friend is picking it up.

It will be interesting to know your born again rider friends opinion on this bike Doc. Please do update his opinion here. The weight is quoted as 164 kgs though.

Thank you.

Cheers

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

The specs say it's basically a street bike with a beak. Keep us posted on your friend's experiences though.

So is every other "Adventure" sold in India. Including the KTM. Or the baby TVS-BMW.

Or the fat Himalayan that breaks in two.

Not mentioning the Impulse/Xpulse as this bike is for two up riding, and these bikes barely make (and keep) it to 90 with a single rider astride.

Cheers, Doc

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by ebonho

So is every other "Adventure" sold in India. Including the KTM. Or the baby TVS-BMW.

Or the fat Himalayan that breaks in two.

There's a clear difference in capability between those bikes and their roadgoing counterparts. At the very least, the ground clearance is higher, suspension is taller and less stiff, wheels and tyres can handle uneven ground in general better. All this is going to make your life easier compared to a street bike.

On the benelli though, everything appears to be in the same class as a street bike. The GC is actually lesser than the BS4 duke. It's even got street tyres on. If you buy the "Lord of Adventure" FZ25S for around 60% of that price, you probably won't be missing much in terms of basic capability compared to the benelli.

Anyway, I'm still interested to know how it rides.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

There's a clear difference in capability between those bikes and their roadgoing counterparts.

I'm surprised to hear you saying that.

I own and ride a Duke 390. And there is nothing the Adventure does better. Except maybe the tank range. The Adventure is a Duke on stilts. I can (and have) put similar all purpose rubber and be(en) as quick off road (probably quicker, but I'll let someone else attest to that), and way better on the tarmac than the Adventure. So don't know what capability the Adventure is meant to be having over its purpose built road twin?

In fact, the Duke is way lighter and a lot more connected, and much more fun to throw around. Ditto my 500. Both low and connected. The Adventure has a nice perch, but like all these bikes on stilts (2nd floor balcony view), its does not give me the same feel of the terrain.

Tyres are a consumable. The road tyres if were a hindrance can always be replaced by different rubber when they are done, or simply keep a second set (as many of us do).

I'm not comparing the Duke and the TRK here. They are in different price zones. But to say that the TRK is a road bike with a beak, while missing the fact that every other adventure in India is exactly the same, is what I commented on.

Personally, I do not buy into this specialized trip of road bike and adventure bike at all. A bike is a bike. Its what the rider does with it.

Cheers, Doc

P.S. The Yam, like all current gen anemic Yams (save for the R15) is 20 bhp and 20 Nm. The TRK is 26 bhp and 21 Nm. Yeah, I'll take the Benelli (between the 2).

[karanddd]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I'm surprised to hear you saying that.

I own and ride a Duke 390. And there is nothing the Adventure does better. Except maybe the tank range. The Adventure is a Duke on stilts. I can (and have) put similar all purpose rubber and be(en) as quick off road (probably quicker, but I'll let someone else attest to that), and way better on the tarmac than the Adventure. So don't know what capability the Adventure is meant to be having over its purpose built road twin?

My brother has a 2017 Duke 390 and it's a great bike but so uncomfortable on broken roads. One test ride of the ADV 390 convinced me of its superiority as a tourer, with longer suspension travel, more upright sitting posture, and just a more "spacious" feeling cockpit. That's what it does better.

I think it's fair to say that bikes like the new 200cc Honda or this don't offer anything over the regular road going versions because the suspension travel is exactly the same, and you're going to feel more or less equally comfortable on both. That is not true of the KTM or BMW adventure versions of their bikes.

Now of course any person can tour on any bike, but some do value comfort more. If manufacturers can offer more comfortable and broken road friendly versions of their road bikes, then that's great. The term "adventure" does not have to refer to trail or off-road riding.

Going anywhere in India on a bike is already an adventure, and if a bike can make that more easy or comfortable, then it deserves the tag, why not.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I'm surprised to hear you saying that...

And I can't believe we're still having this conversation even after 2 years of back and forth since the adv 390 released.

Here's a personal anecdote for whatever it's worth as well. I've been riding a roadgoing 150 and a dual purpose 150 for the last decade. I can tell you there's a definite difference in what I can comfortably do on the dual sport versus the roadbike, the key word here being "comfortably". I can still take my roadbike MOST of where the dualpurpose bike can go, and this is on road tyres. But the pace of the ride and number of things I need to worry about are what separate the two. I've dented the headpipe and busted my suspension trying to ride the roadbike at the same pace and over the same stuff as the dualpurpose, and I've been lucky to get out with only that.

Now, an adventure bike is not the same as my impulse or an xpulse. But it'll still do certain things objectively better than a roadbike.

I agree with you that roadbikes tend to feel more connected offroad. But that's a nice feeling only as long as you're riding on relatively flat dirt or gravel roads and things like that. Once the ground starts to become more uneven, rocks and ruts come into the picture, you start feeling a bit too connected... every little bump and jolt becomes amplified through the stiffer suspension and depending on your speed and the rebound characteristics of the unit, it might even buck you off the seat or pegs. You hesitate to take undulations at the same speeds, there's no question of bashing through rough terrain or bad roads, especially on 17\17 wheel setups. The 19\17 or 21\18 setups make a definite difference to how you go over uneven ground.

Even for everyday riding within the city, there's a very noticeable difference in terms of how you go over humps and ditches. You pick and bad road or a set of humps and go over them on a duke versus something like a much softer sprung G310GS with the larger front wheel, and see which one does it better.

I'm not comparing the Duke and the TRK here. They are in different price zones. But to say that the TRK is a road bike with a beak, while missing the fact that every other adventure in India is exactly the same, is what I commented on.

If styling is the only thing that differentiates a roadbike from an adventure bike, why go for a benelli trk251 when you get other similarly specced roadbikes for lesser?

It's only the benelli that appears to be more or less a roadbike. All the others mentioned earlier offer definite advantages over a roadbike.

Personally, I do not buy into this specialized trip of road bike and adventure bike at all. A bike is a bike. Its what the rider does with it.

Me neither. This is why I attempt to take my bonestock 150 cc roadbike everywhere. But I'm also aware of its limitations. In the end, I think it's not just what the rider does with it, it's how the rider wants to do what he does with it that matters.

P.S. The Yam, like all current gen anemic Yams (save for the R15) is 20 bhp and 20 Nm. The TRK is 26 bhp and 21 Nm. Yeah, I'll take the Benelli (between the 2).

You see people underestimating the Yamaha along these lines all the time. It's the real world performance that matters though and I don't think it's far behind in terms of engine capability. Media reports of acceleration tests put it within spitting distance of the gixxer and duke 250s. If you take it at face value, that's very respectable performance for 20 bhp. But we don't know how the benelli performs yet, especially considering it's 10 kgs heavier than the FZ.

[ebonho]

All valid points Karan and Dirt Rider. I don't have any particular dog in this fight coz I'm a pure cyclist and this is a friend's choice.

A friend who's 54 now and plans to tour with his wife. Surely will not be dirt rodding or rallying on this.

And not very tall either so the size and saddle height too works great.

Happy riding.

Cheers, Doc

P.S. Just to put some perspective on to the ground clearance stats which young riders tend to get very intense about. Generations of Indian riders, rallyists and the Indian Army (and the British Army before) have been trail and mountain riding on the Bullet.

With a ground clearance of 135 mm.

On terrain which bears no passing resemblance to the roads and tunnels that crisscross India today.

Our man has ridden a Yezdi as his last bike. For him this will be a space age superbike. Fret not.