The upcoming Royal Enfield and Jawa rival could be the most affordable offering from Benelli and likely to be positioned below the TNT 300
Benelli likely to launch the much-awaited Imperiale 400 cruiser on 21st October in the country. The Italian (now Chinese owned) two-wheeler manufacturer has been working on the Imperiale 400 cruiser for a long time and thus the chances of introducing this cruiser is fairly high.
The Imperiale 400 is a retro-styled cruiser that will rival directly against the likes of the Royal Enfield and Jawa motorcycles. The upcoming cruiser gets an old school round-shaped halogen headlamp, a twin-pod analog instrument cluster, sprung split seats and a pea shooter exhaust muffler.
The motorcycle is powered by a 373.5cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder motor. The unit paired with a 5 speed gearbox is capable of producing about 19.7PS of peak power at 5500rpm and 28Nm of peak torque at 3500rpm. The motorcycle has a kerb weight of almost 200 kilograms so it would be a bit ambitious to expect an outstanding performance out of this engine but we do believe that the motor will be a BS-VI compliant unit.
The Imperiale 400 uses an old school double-cradle frame. The suspension duties are taken care by a telescopic unit at the front and a twin shock absorbers at the rear. The motorcycle uses a 19 inch spoke wheels at the front and an 18 inch spoke wheel at the rear.
The braking duties of the motorcycle are taken care by a 300 mm disc brake at the front and a 240mm disc brake at the rear. A dual-channel ABS is also offered as standard for the safety of the rider. The good news is that Benelli has been working hard towards achieving maximum localization with the Imperiale 400.
The Imperiale 400 will be Benelli’s most affordable offering for the Indian market. You can expect the upcoming cruiser to be priced in between Rs 2 to Rs 2.30 lakh (ex-showroom). Once launched the cruiser will rival directly against the likes of the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and the Jawa motorcycles.