The folks at Benelli are planning a strong return back in the Indian market. While Benelli officials did announce that the Leoncino is their next product for India, there will actually be two models for sale. Benelli claims that the Leoncino is a scrambler-style city motorcycle, and most definitely will be priced under INR 5 lakh ex-showroom considering the fact that the TRK 502 tourer has a INR 5 lakh ex-showroom price-tag.
Benelli will launch a more road-biased Leoncino 500 & a off-road friendly Leoncino 500 Trail variants in India. Both bikes may be split apart by a few extra bucks in the asking price. The primary difference between the two will be the spoked rims you see on the trail model. The pictures you see here are of the Leoncino 500 Trail while the standard version gets alloy wheels.
Features will include projector headlamp, LED DRLs, forged levers, USD front forks, rear monoshock, single-piece seat, wide handlebar, ABS, digital speedometer in retro design, grab rails for pillion, full-size exhaust, LED turn indicators, knobby tyres on the Trail version while road tyres for the standard model, LED tail lamps, ABS, rear tyre hugger with integrated number plate mount, and for a cheesy touch the bike will have a small lion insignia on the front mudguard.
Powering the Leoncino 500 will be the same engine we will see on the TRK 502. In fact, this engine will be seen across multiple new Benelli bike launches later this year. This engine is a 500cc, twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled motor producing 47.5 PS of power and 46 Nm of torque matched to a 6-speed gearbox. The Leoncino will have nearly 14L of fuel tank capacity.
Do you like the Benelli Leoncino 500? Now this bike will be expensive if someone compares it to the likes of Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, but for that, the Benelli brand is also preparing the Imperiale modern-classic motorcycle.