Benelli ADV offered in India
 

Chinese made Benelli half liter adventure bikes will be invading India. They look great, but do not appear to be priced competitively, according to the article.
https://advrider.com/benelli-launche...02-x-in-india/

https://static.advrider.com/wp-conte...k2-750x563.jpg

Zontes
 

That bike recently arrived to Malaysia and got a lot of attention too. The number of people using it also seems to be increasing. But for me it's too big and heavy (210 kg). Thus not very nimble for lane splitting (very common in Malaysia).

Recently, there's another very handsome looking bike that just entered Malaysia market and it's the Zontes. One of the variant is the Zontes ZT310-T, adventure tourer. But, I'm not sure if Zontes will be introduced in India or not.

Some of the specs are:
Single 312cc Delphi Fuel injected
35 bhp at 9,500 RPM and 30 Nm of torque at 7,500 RPM.
Liquid & oil Cooled
6 speed
15.0 L Fuel tank
DOHC
Switchable Dual channel BOSCH ABS
Crash bar

Some other unique features of the bike is:
Keyless
LED Light all around including the buttons on the handlebar.
Electrically-adjustable windscreen
Aluminium alloy swingarm
Two seat heights – 830 mm and 795 mm
LCD Display
2 Driving modes ECO & Sport
Electronically opening of the fuel filler and seat lock.
Cool to the touch exhaust

From the looks of it, I like the design of this bike and the features it has. However I'll have to wait a few years to see its performance, reliability and after sale service. If positive, I'd like to upgrade my zong to the new zon ;)

Another Butt Muncher Wonder wannabe. See that fashion statement seat? Betcha it hurts like heck.

So the Benelli TRK502 and TRK502X are now available in the USA. The TRK502 is 88 pounds heavier than the Honda CB500X, and costs $700 less. It matches the CB500X in torque, horsepower, and redline values. However, the Benelli's torque hits a full 2000rpm lower in the rev range. (5000 vs 7000rpm)

While 88 pounds is a huge difference, also consider this: The Benelli comes with crash bars, a rear luggage rack, a rear hugger fender mounted to the swingarm, and handguards as standard equipment. That stuff is going to weigh at least 35-40 pounds. So the difference is really only about 50 pounds. Plus it's going to cost about $450 to equip a CB500X in the same manner - just for the parts. That doesn't count shipping nor the time cost to install all that junk. So already the Benelli is $1150 cheaper, and with shop rates pushing $95 an hour, it could easily be 3 hours of labor to install that stuff on a CB500X.

So, it seems rather competitive compared to the Honda. The RX4 (at $5500 delivered) is a better deal, and at 450 pounds including hard luggage is also the lightest of the three. It does vibrate more being a single, and it is also down 7 or 8 horsepower compared to the Honda and Benelli. But the horsepower difference seems to be a wash when you take the weight into account. 518 pounds for the Benelli vs 450 pounds for the RX4 (WITH factory hard bags and topcase!!) will negate any horsepower advantage the Benelli has. The RX4 weighs in considerably less than a similarly equipped CB500X as well.

The big draw for the benelli is going to be the dealer network though. A lot of people are put off by the lack of dealer presence for CSC. Benellis can get warranty repairs and service wherever SSR pitbikes are sold. It seems every third or fourth dealership has a bunch of SSR pitbikes out front these days. So even if you have to drive a long distance to find a Benelli dealer, you can get it repaired close to home. For a lot of people, that'll be worth the extra cost.

Charles.