[Vikram8891]

Ignition.

I was maybe 3 years old when I first remember the image of a MotoGP race. I am not sure if it was in TV (unlikely that DD news would show clips of Moto GP back then) or a photo in a magazine but a rider going full tilt, knee grating against the road astounded me.


Back then my father used to ride a Bullet and I used to be perched on the tank as often as I could manage. I begged him to do what I had seen on the bike. Of course we never did that. To compensate for it I used to make believe that when I did a piggyback ride on my mother or father, they were motorcycles instead of conventional animals and take out engine sounds.

I was a slow learner. Very slow learner. When I was 6 it took me more than 2 months of practice to learn how to ride a bicycle without training wheels. But I knew I was one step closer to my ultimate goal. I have to admit though; it still astounds and intimidates me as to how one can balance these machines. It just feels wrong, but oh so right too!

And here we go…

I started riding a motorcycle at the age of 16. I cut my teeth on a 1998 old-school (gear on the right side) Bullet Machismo 350. My father was of the opinion that learning on this bike would give me the confidence needed for other lighter bikes. At that point my dream bike was the recently launched Karizma. It was frankly out of our budget. With a heavy heart I settled for a CBZ when the time came. Not that the first gen CBZ was a slouch and I realise that I was extremely fortunate to own one. Thanks Maa.


The difference between the Bullet and the CBZ opened my eyes to exactly what I wanted from a future heavy weight bike. I realized I am more of a naked bike guy than a cruiser guy. I did covet Harleys throughout the years but more on that later. The CBZ served me well through my student years and well into my first job where it made multiple runs from city to rural areas since I was in a sales profile. The engine did not die. Ever. Finally out of sheer boredom I decided to get a new bike. By now the CBZ had completed a little over 9 years with me and the Pulsars had grown into an aspirational brand. I would have loved to get the 220 without the fairing (I think it was called the 220 S) but that version was discontinued by Bajaj due to low sales. This is in 2013.


It was at this time that the NS 200 had been in the market for nearly a year and my choices were down to that or the Duke 200. With budget and looks being the deciding criteria I somehow settled for the NS. Yes, I felt the NS looked more proportional than the Duke. This is the first bike which gave me high speed confidence. The brakes were much superior to the CBZ, the ergonomics and switchgear quality were brilliant and the vibrations were less than the CBZ. I was happy!


3.5 years later I was getting into touring and the CS 400 was finally launched by Bajaj. I immediately got in line and picked up the first batch of the Dominar after multiple long test rides. This was in February 2017.

It is to be noted here that I did not wait for the long term reviews and was not worried about reliability concerns because of my positive experience with the NS. The Dominar got me into relaxed high speed touring. I also learnt how to counter steer on it. By now though, I knew that my next bike had to be something in the big leagues.


Well laid out plans…

I started saving and had my eyes firmly fixed on the most practical bike in the most practical category (as per me) – The Kawasaki Z650. It was perfect for my requirements. It was about 6 Lakhs on road in Gujarat, had a 650 cc engine which was just the right amount of power, decent looks and it was a Jap! Say what you want about them, but I feel in terms of refinement and reliability as well as ease of spare parts availability, these guys are leading the game.

So to achieve this goal, I set about depositing a substantial amount of money in a separate bank account. I decided never to touch this account and it was strictly for a new middle weight sports bike. I estimated that at the rate I was saving for the bike, it would take me the better part of 4 years to save up for a new Z650. A second hand/pre owned bike was never on the cards. Life - Yeah right!

The Monkey Wrench

2 years in I was on track but wanted to get my wife a better scooter with a bit of that X factor. Hence enter, the Burgman. The untouched bank account was my only fall back option and immediately it witnessed a shortfall of Rs 80,000. I knew this would add more time to my purchasing decision but I wanted a nice scooter for her and so took the plunge.

The World is smaller than we imagine.

I also changed jobs and was in a new company when I noticed a beautiful Honda F4i parked in our office parking one day. I was curious to know who it belonged to. But more than that it looked familiar. It was then that I connected the dots and realized I had read about this bike restoration a few months ago on TeamBhp itself! What were the odds of that? It “was” the same bike. Now, this thread was very detailed and the amount of time and effort the owner had put on even re painting the fairing to bring it back to factory spec made me a fan of his work. Still I had not seen the man yet and a bigger coincidence awaited me.

This dude comes and sits next to me in office and has an international spec helmet. I put 2 and 2 together and realized that he was the owner. Small world! So we start talking and he is an enthusiastic guy telling me how he hunted and got this bike in Rajasthan and all the while I’m thinking – “but why second hand man?” He himself explained that one can get fantastic examples if you know what you are looking for and can do a basic inspection of the bike. Over the next couple of months I warmed up to the idea and with the help of Bowman (his TeamBHP handle), I was able to zero down on some of the bikes which would suit me.

I was clear I did not want a fairing on the bike I got and most importantly in terms of safety, it had to have ABS.

Chasing a Bandit

I was pretty sure that I wanted something big and comfy. I was not going to get into a super sports segment or any sort of RR. To be honest I am not fit enough to handle those. The ergonomics are maximized for providing total control on the limit but my limits are severely restricted. A Suzuki Bandit would have been the best thing to get. It’s a 4 cylinder 1200 cc behemoth with a long and beautiful seat. Not to mention it has impeccable touring credentials. Now I knew that the ones within my budget would be from 2010 or before and the chances of them having ABS would be low, specially the ones in India. I did come across a Bandit on the TeamBHP classifieds but it was sold out. It didn’t have ABS anyway but was very well maintained and was a 2010 version if I remember correctly.

All the other bandits I came across were demanding hefty prices and none of them had ABS (I know this is getting repetitive).

Return of the coveting for a Harley

The image of a biker riding down into the sunset – blah, blah, blah you know the story and the image and you know that at some point you may have wanted to be that guy. I have no qualms in admitting that I was loving that image more than the reality of owning and living with a Harley. In my budget at that time – 3 Lakhs, there were loads of sports bikes in the market. Decade old R1s, the odd Bandit (drool), some well-maintained F4is, some grey market FZ 07s, a few FZ 1000s, Benellis, Kawasakis and of course a bunch of Harleys. All within Gujarat or Mumbai. All within reach.
The Harleys it was then! Nose-dived right in to buy a Harley, saw a few examples and even considered a Superlow. Test rode it and realized that the name doesn’t do justice to how low the bike actually is. I realized that I would go flying off the bike if I were to hit a minor rough patch at triple digit speeds. Also it didn’t have ABS. I knew that going in but still wanted to check it out. It was owned by a lady who had now moved on to an Indian Scout and the bike was well maintained. I’ll give her credit for that. However I realized that with something with this much shove, I would definitely need ABS and hence firmly added this criteria for all future bikes I would check out.


I also came across a HD Iron 883 which was in my budget and probably had ABS. It had some performance upgrades done to it and looked good. Not more than 4 years old too. I never got around to getting a look at it in person because I got the first hand ownership review from BHPian Bowman. He had sold off his Harley and got his current F4i. As per him, and none of us intend to bash Harley owners here, it just wasn’t worth it. The brakes were not good enough to handle the power, the stock suspension had very little travel and the bike just wasn’t a very good highway tourer. I would still have to spend a bunch of money to make it more comfortable and dare I say more practical. I pretty much made up my mind to skip a Harley at this stage.

Kwacker Twins

Honestly, ask anyone getting into the big bike category and this will be probably be the first bike they would recommend. The Kawasakis have decent reliability, (yes I have read threads on the issues faced in some bikes) smooth engines and are not very intimidating to ride. The Ninja 650 is a very good sports tourer and the Z650 is a lovely street naked and honestly I did look for this actively. I got a few leads on Z650s for sale. In fact, 5 year old Ninja 650s are available for an asking price of just around 3 Lakhs. Quite a few of them in the used market as well. This is also when I started searching for Kawasaki dealerships/service centres in Gujarat. Big and unpleasant surprise, it seems in the past year Kawasaki closed shop and left. Nothing showed in the Kawasaki Dealer locator for Gujarat. Last I was aware there were 2 dealerships, one in Surat and another in Ahmedabad. So this pretty much meant that in order to procure parts or get a service done the nearest authorized centre was in Mumbai.

To expand my searches from run of the mill buy and sell websites, Bowman also added me to a couple of Facebook classified pages where Indian superbike owners buy, sell and exchange bikes. This was frankly a revelation for me since pretty much everyday these pages were updated with innumerable bikes. Heck I even saw a H2 on it for sale!

These pages also gave a newbie like me some reference in terms of prices which are asked and the reaction to those prices in the comments gave me an idea of what was hot and what was not. Frankly I avoided taking into account the trolls and the hilarious low ballers but within a week I could see that certain bikes and accessories were coveted whereas certain brands were just ignored. Strangely enough it was a very unlikely brand which caught my attention simply because I kept seeing so many examples of it. Yes, it was the Benelli.


Italy to India via China?

Now I am not someone who has ridden a lot of imports/inline 4s/parallel twins or v-twins, but I have read about these a lot and the few things I read about the 600 series from the Benelli were not at all encouraging. Every review said that the bike is underpowered and the torque develops at crazy high RPMs. The bike without fuel weighs in at 230 kilos. The service is crap and the spare parts cost a bomb. Service frequency is high and brakes only look massive but don’t have the necessary stopping power. The only positive was the sound and bragging rights of owning an inline 4.

Yeah, I knew all of this. Still there were 2 for sale listed in my city, so why not have a look? The biggest reason was that both these were mid 2017 examples with less than 10000 kms on the clock and had ABS. The third one (in Ahmedabad) was the GT version with panniers at a mouth watering price.

It was also well maintained and was owned by a pair of brothers who had upgraded to a Multistrada and were hence willing to sell the GT. I test rode that too and it was a lovely big bike with a massive 27 litres tank (yes, 27 litres). The downside was that I was misinformed that it was an ABS version. It wasn’t and had it had ABS, I would have closed the deal on it.

Coming back to the 2 TNTs in Vadodara – both felt quite different and frankly I am glad that I got to ride 2 and realise that one was better suited to me and frankly the criteria was surprising. I rode the red one first and red is my favourite colour.

The license plate number on it also coincided with my month and day of birth! The owner though was a bit “lazy”. In our first meet, he couldn’t produce the keys of the bike. He said they were misplaced because he didn’t ride the bike all that much. No rear view mirrors as well and the bike was parked under a tree and left that way for at least a week. It was filthy and I felt sad at its state. On the positive side he told me that the bike had insurance and was within warranty. In the second meeting the owner had it washed and I was able to ride the bike. It felt good and as far as I could tell the 4 cylinders were firing well. I used a screw driver to listen to the valves. The bike had only run maybe 4000 kms in the past 1.5 years. Surprisingly the owner was touting this as a big reason for the price he was demanding. He did have the IXIL exhausts and frame sliders but we could not close a deal that day because we couldn’t agree on a price. In retrospect, I am glad that we didn’t. The bike was in warranty since the owner had the bike serviced at the dealership as per him but as I found out myself from the parivahan website, it did not have insurance. He said if he agreed to my price, I would have to take on the insurance bit myself. This was contradictory to what he said in the first meeting. I let this hang and in the meanwhile Bowman gave me a lead on another Benelli in Vadodara.

This bike belonged to a young kid who had priced the bike more optimistically than the red Benelli owner.

One look at the ad and I felt this was more out of reach for me. It was black and I did not really take to it. However I decided to give him a call and ask if the bike was still for sale. The kid sounded extremely lethargic on phone (seriously what’s up with you guys!), however he told me in the second telephone conversation that he was suffering from a bad case of food poisoning the day I called. We talked a bit where he gave me details like he had a new tyre put into the bike 500 kms ago and that the bike had run about 8000 kms. He had a bunch of other bikes and he was getting rid of a few of them. He had recently sold his Hayabusa and had put up a HD 48 for sale as well. This was the third bike. I said I was interested and gave him a stern and direct offer. I mean that was the best I could do and it was more than 25% less than what he had put it up for. He thought for a few seconds (or pretended to) and asked me to come down and see the bike and we could work around the price.

I visited him that weekend and found the bike came as advertised. It was clean and looked well maintained. At this point I think its best to let you all know what all I checked about the mechanicals of the bike before I finalized my decision. This pretty much is applicable to all the bikes I looked at:

• Tyre tread and condition. Also the wear pattern, if it is uneven, could indicate alignment issues. If it is worn out then bargain hard. A set costs 20K. Unused tyres become hard and will crack. It is not a good thing if someone says the bike isn’t ridden a lot.

• Stick a light and try to see inside the fuel tank for rust or any other unwanted residue. I easily checked this using my phone’s light. Rust or residue is bad. This happens a lot in bikes which are ridden less or have been fed adulterated fuel.

• Handlebar and chassis alignment. Took it over some water and checked that the tyre marks on the road were aligned.

• Screw driver to ear and the metal part to each individual cylinder. Just listening for something out of rhythm.

• On the test ride, leave the handlebars at low speed at an empty stretch to see if the bike stays straight.

• Brake pads bite. Brake lever play. The play is higher in all Benellis, but it should “not” be more than 50%. If it is, then new pads are needed. There may also be air in the system.

• ABS light should go off after 15 kmph and engine warning light should be looked at. Ideally there should be no warning lights in motion.

• Leave the bike idling for 2 mins or more and see if the radiator kicks in. In Benelli TNT 600, it is supposed to kick in after 95 degrees Celsius.

• Check basic electricals. In the first TNT I saw (red one) the headlight pass switch wasn’t working.

• The TNT 600i has its key position in a deep recess in the tank. This place collects all the dust grime and water and screws up the connection of the key. It needs to be kept clean.

• Owner history – I did some digging around in the owner’s social media page and saw when he had first uploaded pics and also the rides he had taken on it. It seemed well cared for and I never saw his friends riding it.

• Always clarify if the bike is under insurance. This is one thing I asked at the very end and found it had lapsed in one case. More bargaining power to you and if you ignore this, it is an expense.

• Finally and perhaps of paramount importance – do a “TON” of reading! Don’t just watch YouTube videos, Google things like their international reviews, ownership reviews, problems/issues faced. Reading the positive stuff is cool but you want to know if you can live with the issues the bike will potentially throw at you.

What I also liked the most was how nicely my wife and I were treated by the guy and his family. They were very courteous and the bloke produced all the paper work without me even asking. He also showed me the 2 spare keys which had not been used in addition to the main switchblade type key. I took 2 longish test rides, one alone and one with my wife. Surprisingly my wife found the rear seat more comfortable than my Dominar! My mother corroborated this too!

The bike had more expensive (as compared to the red Benelli) IXILs installed. This was later confirmed by the workshop guys as well. Still what really closed the deal for me was the feel of the bike.

Like I said earlier, I was so glad I got to ride 2 of these machines. The second Benelli felt much better connected to the road. The steering felt so much better than the previous one. Somehow, I cant really put a finger on it but this bike connected with me and no it wasn’t the exhaust sound only. The bike also seemed to have better bite from the front brakes. Though, eventually I had to get new brake pads.

I realized that this was the bike for me. One criteria which was very unlikely was the fact that this bike had been used by its owner. It wasn’t simply kept parked and I feel this was very important to my buying decision. I ended up paying exactly the same amount for a bike which had twice as much kms on the clock as what I would have paid for the one used half as much. But to me this made more sense. An added bonus was that this bike had insurance for another year as well. I got back and we agreed on a price. The good part was that this guy didn’t haggle too much. I gave him a price and he replied with a price which I was willing to stretch too and within 2 mins we had closed the deal. Done!


Unfortunately, there was a death in the family of the seller and this means we postponed the deal for a month. However, this gave me time to research on the bike and its potential issues. I saw videos of YouTuber Sriman Kotharu and a few other videos as well. I didn’t wanna look at the rosy ones only. I had seen many of these during my initial research period but this time I paid more attention and picked up tips like not filling the fuel tank to the brim because of the horrendous fuel overflow mechanism and the fact that this was one heavy bike. I knew I would need to get my back and legs strong if I wanted to ride this bike.

I had never imagined that I would be leaning towards a Benelli. Before purchasing a Dominar I had visited the Benelli showroom in late 2016 (DSK owned) in Vadodara and had a bitter experience with the sales person whom I interacted with. His snobbish attitude put me off and swore that I would never endorse this particular brand. Well, that changed!


I finally got my bike after making full payment from the owner on 4th of February this year. I had finally accomplished it, a proper sportsbike. My own! Riding it back to my place amidst the rush hour traffic had me “grinning like a kid on Christmas morning” – words said by my friend who accompanied me on another bike and made sure people didn’t get too close! One thing I immediately realized despite my extremely short ride that although very manageable, the bike is not meant to be in heavy traffic. I can see the experienced riders here going – Duh!

I knew I would love the bike and would ride it as much as I could over the next few weeks. I also know myself and hence I did not do an ownership review within a few weeks of getting the bike since I would be biased and keep on praising the bike. Thankfully over 4 months down and I can finally highlight the bad aspects along with the amazing ones on the bike.
I have ridden the bike every alternate day since I got it and every Saturday of the weekend. As of now I have accumulated over 4500 kms. I am sure I will learn a lot more as I ride it. If any of you read my Burgman review you would know I like my dessert after my veggies, so I will start with the negatives first:

The Negatives (decreasing order of importance):

• Brake lever play – The play in the lever is massive. Nearly 50% is play and the brakes start working after that. This happened after bleeding the brakes. It was more earlier. Has been vastly reduced by switching to EBC brake pads. Expensive but worth it.

• Weight – Let’s address the elephant in the room – quite literally. 230 kilos without fuel. I always tank up so you can imagine the weight without the rider. Yeah if this thing leans beyond control, best to let it down as gently as you can and then lift it.

• Spares – There is only one Service Centre in Gujarat and that is in Vadodara. This was told to me by the technicians working there. There are only 2 technicians for all the bikes that come in. Oh and yes the waiting time for spares and their costs is well….

• Tank Size - The GT gets 27 litres whereas the TNT gets only 15! Are you kidding me? I mean I know this is a street naked but come on.
• Fuel efficiency – No this is not me crying over the km per litre I get. That is within expectations but with the small tank I am visiting the fuel bunk so often! It gets irritating.

• Fuel overflow mechanism – I have to, strictly and sometimes sternly, tell the operators to leave space on the top. The overflow mechanism basically immediately leaks fuel all over the left side of the engine and onto the ground. Dangerous and embarrassing. Looks like the bike took a piss.

• Headlight – It looks out of place on such a huge bike and does a pathetic job too. Sometimes I feel it isn’t even on! High beam is just about ok for the city, which I don’t use out of empathy for other vehicles. The pass switch response time can be measured with a sand timer. Its that bad.

• Lack of Slipper Clutch – I have had a couple of heart in mouth moments because of this. I use a lot of engine braking. Dominar has spoilt me!

• Console – This bike’s fuel gauge should be researched upon by the top scientists of the world. The word inaccurate doesn’t do it any justice. Digital fuel gauges are always a pain but this one actually fluctuates with the revs. Once I revved up and it went to full bars and as soon as I decelerated, it disappeared! The showroom guys confirm that Benelli indeed has screwed up the fuel gauge in this bike.

• Mirrors – pure form over function. It has blind-spots the size of Jupiter. I have to move my head around to get over these.

• Switchgear – Pathetic. I remember my 2004 model CBZ had better quality switchgear than this bike’s. I mean, it may last but it feels very crude, almost agricultural.

The Positives (decreasing order of importance):

• Smoothness – By choice I have always owned slightly unrefined bikes. Vibrations have been a part and parcel. With this bike it feels strange to have 0 vibes till the end of the rev range. Strangely the only exception is right at the 6000 RPM mark. Anything below and above this is smooth.

• Brutal Acceleration – Post 8000 RPMs, if you are committed on the throttle, the shove is unexplainable. The bike is currently pumping out nearly 90 BHPs (courtesy IXIL) and the acceleration is so manic that you seriously cannot try this without a lot of open road. Trust me even after 4 months with it I am still not used to it.

• Responsive Throttle – immediate response to my throttle inputs. It almost feels like its ride by wire. Hard to explain. Maybe its just the power.

• Stability – High speed stability despite cross winds on the highway. Probably the weight.

• Ergonomics – It isn’t as comfortable as its touring oriented relative, the GT, still my torso is only leaned slightly forward. The footpegs are positioned slightly behind but it doesn’t put too much weight on my palms.

• Console – while it isn’t comprehensive by modern standards one thing that works in favour of being outdated is the analogue tachometer needle! I love seeing that needle in play. Even a short glance gives me a better idea than I get while looking at my Dominar’s digital rev counter.

• Comfort – The seat is decent sized despite being a split set up and is cushioned well. Even the pillion seat is better cushioned and my pillion riders have commented its better than my Dominar! Oh and the exhaust under the seat doesn’t heat up the pillion seat. Also the stepped design seat provides excellent support to my lower back, specially when accelerating hard.

• Easy to manage in city – By sportsbike standards it almost works in its favour that the power is in the high end of the rev range. This means I can ride it pretty easily in the city. I have even done 40kmph in 4th gear with no engine knocking. Not advisable though. I hate lugging any engine.

• Temperature Indicator – very useful as one should keep a mindful eye on this. In city this stays between 92-105. Normally it stays under 100 but in case I get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic it goes up. On the highways the engine temp stays under 95. Radiator kicks in above 95 degrees.

• Aesthetics – Subjective but I really like the clean rear end of the bike and the under seat exhausts. I know these aren’t modern but I dig the way they look. Paint quality seems better than average as well. Also I like that this bike looks bigger than it is. I am 6ft tall and 85 kgs. It suits my frame.

• Mileage – It gives me 18 kmpl in the city and about 20 on highway. Very good in my opinion.

• IXIL Exhaust – The previous owner put IXIL 60 exhausts (which cost Rs 60,000 as per the showroom) and these announce my arrival. It’s a big attention magnet even if I am doing 40 kmph. Sounds almost like an F1 car near the redline. Even when I roll off the throttle it cracks and pops.

• Bragging rights – A 600 cc inline 4. That’s it. I don’t use this much though.

I had prepared myself mentally for all the precautions I would have to take when taking care of such a powerful bike. It is in another league altogether when compared to all my previous machines and even my cars. This bike has to be used and since I love riding a lot it wont ever be left sitting waiting for the weekend just so I can do a breakfast run and feel happy about it. I will be taking it places and riding the heck out of it.

In 4 months I have already ridden it 50% of the kilometres the previous owner rode it in 18 months. In contrast I have seen many amazing litre class and above bikes on superbike meets and it feels sad to see that even after owning them for a few years, many haven’t even crossed 8000 kms. One common thing I see in all these bikes is massive amounts of rust on the disc plates. That is pretty much a dead giveaway that it is probably ridden once in a week or so. May not be the case in coastal cities but in a place like Vadodara – Ahmedabad where there is very little moisture, this usually happens due to lack of riding.

I have understood though that its best I learn some basic maintenance myself. I lube the chain every 2 tankfulls, that is about once every 400 – 450 kms. I also am aware that I shouldn’t half clutch this bike which is a habit with us Indian riders. I use the clutch only for shifting gears and in the rare occasion I get stuck in traffic since I only take the bike out in the city after 10 pm! All speed breakers are dealt with on the first gear without use of the clutch.


Basic Console

With a bike like this I don’t ever want to be caught dead pushing it to the pump. First it’s embarrassing and second it’s bad for the fuel pump as well. So I tank up every 200 kms and then reset the trip meter. I don’t rely on the fuel gauge at all. Since the bike gives me about 18 kmpl and it has a 15 Litre tank that comes to about 250 – 260 kms of range, but I like to play it safe. I am also wary enough to tell the attendant to not fill it to the absolute brim, since I know the overflow mechanism is located right above the engine block which is a fire hazard. I have experienced the overflow happen once. Thankfully I had only ridden the bike 2 kms so it wasn’t that hot.

I get loads of reactions on this bike. While a majority are people ahead of me craning their necks and trying to catch a glimpse of what is coming (inline 4 orchestra), every time I take it out, I will invariably get some nincompoop on a scooter or a 150 cc – 200 cc bike challenging me to a race. It is a mild annoyance and I always let them go, what is troubling is how much it happens and how aggressive these guys are. Some of them make it unsafe for me as they cut across my bike and in some cases are close enough to make me very nervous. In all of the above cases every single one of these morons has been without a helmet and shoes. The way I see it, if you are actually challenging someone to a street race, you in your mind have already lost to them since you think you aren’t faster than them.


The bike in itself is very fast. It’s just right for me. I feel quite intimidated by it even after 4 months of riding it. That actually stops me from being an overconfident jerk on the roads. There are some aspects which I wish I could get better at and I am working on them. Since I ride my Dominar daily, there are things like the LED headlight and the slipper clutch which I had been taking for granted. Their absence in the Benelli has made me realise their importance.

I recently had a scare when I downshifted a bit aggressively on a roundabout while leaning (rookie move, I know). The rear end of the bike totally stepped out as the tyre locked and I had to put my foot down to stop it from falling. Thankfully the bike got balanced and got back in line. The good thing is, all this happened when I was going slow. I have to re calibrate my riding style on it.

Another thing which was a thorn on my side was the weak feedback from the front brakes. I mean I had to squeeze the lever so much in order to get them to work. They did bite well but it just felt wrong. I took this opportunity to visit the service centre of Benelli and I have to admit it was a mixed experience. While the 2 technicians were extremely courteous and friendly, the number of bikes strewn across the workshop was scary. I saw 3 TNT 600is, all ABS versions in various states of being dismantled apart from 300s. One had the whole engine block missing, one didn’t have a tank and the other was missing the front end. However, I also saw that it seemed that 2 of these were accidental cases or in any case were quite badly maintained. Loads of scratches and distasteful mods on them.

I was expecting their labour to be expensive after they spent nearly an hour on the bike bleeding its brakes and test rode it for me and also encouraged me to ride it. It just came to Rs 200. I was carrying my own DOT 4 brake fluid though, so that should be called out. It did help the braking issue to an extent but I think I should upgrade to steel braided lines soon. Its funny though, one look at the bike and the massive dual disc brakes grab a lot of attention. One would think they would act the part too. I was a little apprehensive whether the ABS was working or not too (pure paranoia). So there was only one way to make sure it was. Find an empty road and hit the brakes hard. I did that and felt the brake lever vibrate. I could sense the ABS was working but it was kicking in way too soon. I also came across an old review from overdrive where the reviewer complained about brake fade within some time of riding the bike. He mentioned that both the ABS and non ABS variants were showing these symptoms. I guess this is a rather inconvenient character trait of the bike. I have recently upgraded to EBC brake pads which were a little pricey but have vastly reduced the lever play and made me much more confident in pushing the bike. The brakes bite like they should for a bike like this now.

I also visited the new Benelli showroom at the behest of the service technicians. It wasn’t as big as the previous showroom and only had 3 bikes on display – TNT 600i, 302r and the 300. The staff was courteous. One thing I noticed, the 302r has a much nicer and crisp looking console than the current gen TNT 600 which is pretty much unchanged since launch as far as I know.

Interesting Stuff:

• The bike doesn’t feel so heavy to push around using one’s legs when seated on the bike.

• I think the speedometer wire is connected to the rear wheel of the bike. Usually It’s the front wheel in most bikes. This is not confirmed but was in the case in the GT for sure.

• This is a 600 cc bike which is so big that it looks like a 1 litre bike. Where the other SBK manufacturers are trying to make their 1 litre bikes smaller so they appear less intimidating, Benelli went the other way.

• I realized that the lengths of the foot pegs are shockingly about as much as my middle finger. Still, till I had seen them I didn’t think anything about it. I don’t feel them wanting in anyway yet. I have “size 8” feet.

• My petrol pump attendant always asks me to do a rev bomb after he has filled up fuel. Its getting old now.

• I haven’t yet had the opportunity to take the bike to 6th gear. Not even once.
• The horn is quite good and strong but the least used feature of my bike perhaps. You can guess why.

Self-Introspection:

• I now don’t just look 4-5 cars ahead while riding now but way beyond that, nearly 8-10 car lengths ahead.

• I also save every month separately for tyres, oil, service and other consumables. Since I ride the bike every other day and ride it quite a bit on the weekends too, these things add up.

• I have nearly stopped half clutching. I know it’s a sure shot way to burn through the clutch. I never do it on the Benelli and this habit is now slowly extending to the Dominar as well.

• I am always aware that I am carrying massive momentum, even at low speeds. If I hit something even doing 40kmph because of the weight of the bike it will get amplified. For reference a Kawasaki Z650 weighs 190 kgs. This is 40 kilos heavier. 50 if you consider fuel.

• I still do not have the confidence to lean this behemoth over! Yes despite the sticky new Pirellis at the back.

Issues faced:

• Air in brakes – resolved simply by doing a brake bleed. Realised the stock brake pads were also worn out and changed them with EBC.

• Ignition and electricals not powering on – Sounds worse than it is but sometimes when I turn the key nothing happens. Jimmy it a little and its all good. Put some WD 40 in and it worked well for a while but I need to get the assembly opened and cleaned.

• Massive overheating – Got stuck in crazy Ahmedabad traffic and that too in peak summer afternoon. The temp hit 108 and even on the highway at decent speeds it did not come below 102. Faced massive vibes. Tried to cool it down by taking stops but it didn’t help much.

Upgrades done:

• Mobile charger and holder – Rs 1,000

• Ceramic coating for paint protection (5 years) – Rs. 5,000. Half the normal rate because the business owner is a friend.

• EBC brake pads for both front discs – Rs 8,000.

Modifications planned:

Headlight swap from the 899? I saw a 600 listed recently with the headlight of a 899 and it looked perfect. That is my only issue with the bike and I hope it can be done.

If you have stuck around till now, then first of all thank you. I know the above was dry, didn’t have nearly enough pics to balance out with the text and was clearly “a lot more of me” than the bike. Then I also wonder how someone who can buy something so impractical (for our market) can try to justify it by quoting numbers and saying I have absolutely “no regrets”. Honestly, I do feel that maybe I overpaid. I do worry about the maintenance aspect. I do realise that I could have gotten myself a very nice sedan sometime in the near future by not buying this bike. The Benelli is a pain to maneuver, intimidating and not very happy till I am revving its nuts off. My Dominar can probably do 80% of what the TNT does minus the hassle. There is no but in this paragraph.


But, there is a “but” in this one! But, I have never had clearer flashbacks of my thoughts and dreams from when I was a child till I rode and started taking care of the Benelli. I know I haven’t felt like this since I was 3 and that alone is worth the price and the wait.

[Odeen12]

Congratulations on your ride!! Superb write up. I love it.

Do upgrade the brake lines, it should help quite a bit. I don't know what brakes does the bike have, but a better Master Cylinder could sort out most of your issues.

Ride safe, have miles of fun on her!!

Cheers,
R

[Vikram8891]

Originally Posted by Odeen12

Congratulations on your ride!! Superb write up. I love it.

Do upgrade the brake lines, it should help quite a bit. I don't know what brakes does the bike have, but a better Master Cylinder could sort out most of your issues.

Ride safe, have miles of fun on her!!

Cheers,
R

Thanks Odeen. Yes, the brake lines are the next upgrade and if that also leaves me wanting, ultimately the master cylinder.

[GoBlue]

Congrats on the bike, Vikram8891!

The bike looks mean, and I'm sure sounds like it looks too. A 4-cylinder experience and refinement is on another level all-together and it would be super addictive.

Wishing you all the best for the purchase and have fun riding the bike!

[ethanhunt123]

Congratulations Vikram !

I am surprised to hear about the cost of the EBC pads - they are more expensive than the EBC pads for my Multistrada :O

Unfortunately you will face bad lighting issue in most superbikes in India which dont come with LED headlamps. Instead of trying to do some jugaad for 899 headlights - get proper aux lights on your bike. You can get them mounted on the front forks - much better solution.

[simeonovitch]

Originally Posted by Vikram8891

3.5 years later I was getting into touring and the CS 400 was finally launched by Bajaj. I immediately got in line and picked up the first batch of the Dominar after multiple long test rides. This was in February 2017.
Attachment 1888464
It is to be noted here that I did not wait for the long term reviews and was not worried about reliability concerns because of my positive experience with the NS. The Dominar got me into relaxed high speed touring. I also learnt how to counter steer on it. By now though, I knew that my next bike had to be something in the big leagues.
Attachment 1888463

Congrats on the Benelli mate. My mom was checking out a 600i the other day(yeah, she's a petrolhead as well), so it may be easier for me to convince her.

Anyways, my question is not about the 600i, but about the Dominar. Upgrading from the NS200, did you find the Dominar to be a big enough a leap?

I have an NS200 as well, but I just cant convince myself to make the jump to the RC390. I just dont think its big enough a leap.
However, as you have been there done that, maybe you could shed more light.
Do you regret having gone for the Domi? Do you feel you should've gotten the 6000i after the 200NS, and saved some time, and the extra dough?

[Vikram8891]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Congratulations Vikram !

I am surprised to hear about the cost of the EBC pads - they are more expensive than the EBC pads for my Multistrada :O

Unfortunately you will face bad lighting issue in most superbikes in India which dont come with LED headlamps. Instead of trying to do some jugaad for 899 headlights - get proper aux lights on your bike. You can get them mounted on the front forks - much better solution.

The official Benelli ones are Rs.12,000! Also the upgrade to the 899 headlamp is more for aesthetic appeal. I feel the 600 is a good looking bike apart from the front view. Notice that I did not put any pics from the front

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

Congrats on the Benelli mate. My mom was checking out a 600i the other day(yeah, she's a petrolhead as well), so it may be easier for me to convince her.

Anyways, my question is not about the 600i, but about the Dominar. Upgrading from the NS200, did you find the Dominar to be a big enough a leap?

I have an NS200 as well, but I just cant convince myself to make the jump to the RC390. I just dont think its big enough a leap.
However, as you have been there done that, maybe you could shed more light.
Do you regret having gone for the Domi? Do you feel you should've gotten the 6000i after the 200NS, and saved some time, and the extra dough?

This is not me justifying the decision I made, but I am absolutely certain I needed to fill the void between the NS and the 600 with a bike and it was the Dominar. It is a big step up from the NS. No doubts and no comparison. In fact as you will know the new Dominar is actually more powerful so there is a difference of roughly 15 BHPs now between the NS and Dominar (2019).

I learnt how to "not get intimidated" by a heavy bike and high speed cruising on the Dominar. Also you will actually feel the shove when you accelerate in the Dominar after riding the NS. Do one thing, ride your NS to the showroom and then take a ride on the new Dominar for preferably more than 5-6 kms.

Still it won't cure the itch of owning something as fast as the 600. The only thing it will do is allow you to hone your skills better so you can enjoy the 600 more.

[DH82 Tiger Moth]

Excellent and well written review right from how you got interested in the bike to ownership. Especially like your pros and cons of the bike towards the end. Very well described. Rare to find the humility you possess and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

[gauravanekar]

Enjoyed reading your write up. Thanks for that. I can understand the complete process of decision making and I get it. I may follow your footsteps soon albeit at a slower pace. I've sold my Pulsar AS200, I'm in cooling off period before the upgrade

[Vikram8891]

Originally Posted by DH82 Tiger Moth

Excellent and well written review right from how you got interested in the bike to ownership. Especially like your pros and cons of the bike towards the end. Very well described. Rare to find the humility you possess and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Thank you so much for reading it. One of my manu objectives in this write up was to highlight the good and bad about this bike. Strangely though it is very easily available in the pre owned market, I realised there aren't many "detailed ownership reviews" of it. Hope to change that in the near future. Please do ask anything pertaining to the bike and I will do my best to provide an answer.

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

Enjoyed reading your write up. Thanks for that. I can understand the complete process of decision making and I get it. I may follow your footsteps soon albeit at a slower pace. I've sold my Pulsar AS200, I'm in cooling off period before the upgrade

Thank you for reading. I did dedicate a major chunk to the decision making process since I hoped it would help someone else as well. Please feel free to ask anything pertaining to it.

[TorqueKnight]

Congrats Vikram. There are no substitutes to riding a bike. You chose a wise way of owning a pre-owned bike. And you are so lucky to get a well maintained bike like Benelli TNT 600i. You didn't chose her, it's the machine which chose you. Happy riding

[BowMan]

Congratulations on the ride and the write up Vikram. I knew you had been working on this for a long long time so it had to be a good one. But this exceeds my expectations. And am also glad to be part of our buying and ownership experience.

Let me know when you are planning the next mod on your Benelli. It is a completely another level of ownership experience when you start tinkering with your ride. That is what makes your ride YOURS. I will be waiting to hear what will it be? Will you go the headlights/auxiliary lights way or the brake lines or get the rims painted

You did mention to me few days back you miss the slipper clutch and it features in your write up as well. Why not google a technique called 'rev matching' and if you feel like that is the missing bit in your skill set practice it on some open roads.

[texmonster]

Awesome write-up! Have saved your used bike inspection tips. You've lived the dream of upgrading to a superbike , and given an account of how living with one feels like.

Just logged in to comment here (always feel lazy and read team-bhp without logging in)

[Asish_VK]

Hey there !

Superb superb write up . Especially the part where you explained the points and method of your inspection of the bike was awesome.

Congratulations on your purchase. Looks like a well maintained one

It may not look like a super bike , but boy does she sing ? Her exhaust note is pure eargasm

[Vikram8891]

Originally Posted by TorqueKnight

Congrats Vikram. There are no substitutes to riding a bike. You chose a wise way of owning a pre-owned bike. And you are so lucky to get a well maintained bike like Benelli TNT 600i. You didn't chose her, it's the machine which chose you. Happy riding

Thank TK! Honestly if it wasn't for fellow BHPian @BowMan I wouldnt't have taken this route. Yes, I do feel fortunate to have come across such a fine example. I think the way things went, you are probably correct, the bike chose me

Originally Posted by BowMan

Congratulations on the ride and the write up Vikram. I knew you had been working on this for a long long time so it had to be a good one. But this exceeds my expectations. And am also glad to be part of our buying and ownership experience.

Let me know when you are planning the next mod on your Benelli. It is a completely another level of ownership experience when you start tinkering with your ride. That is what makes your ride YOURS. I will be waiting to hear what will it be? Will you go the headlights/auxiliary lights way or the brake lines or get the rims painted

You did mention to me few days back you miss the slipper clutch and it features in your write up as well. Why not google a technique called 'rev matching' and if you feel like that is the missing bit in your skill set practice it on some open roads.

I can always depend on you to teach me something new! Yes rev matching it is then. For the mods, yes brake lines and that thought of maybe a tasty new colour for the alloys is on the cards too. Lastly thank you for going through the write up. Means a lot. Oh and I am waiting for your next write up on your new steed!

Originally Posted by texmonster

Awesome write-up! Have saved your used bike inspection tips. You've lived the dream of upgrading to a superbike , and given an account of how living with one feels like.

Just logged in to comment here (always feel lazy and read team-bhp without logging in)

I really appreciate the kind words texmonster! Please do reach out if you ever need to clarify anything, I definitely don't know it all but will surely find out and let you know.

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Hey there !

Superb superb write up . Especially the part where you explained the points and method of your inspection of the bike was awesome.

Congratulations on your purchase. Looks like a well maintained one

It may not look like a super bike , but boy does she sing ? Her exhaust note is pure eargasm

Thanks Asish. Yes the exhaust note is well pretty cool. If you come across any points which i can add to the list of points to be checked, do let me know.
It isnt quite a superbike but it is a superb bike