In October of 2019, Italian motorcycle brand Benelli launched their first retro-classic motorcycle, the Imperiale 400 at an introductory price of INR 1.69 lakh ex-showroom in India. Now, the introductory period on the bike has expired and the brand has hiked its price by INR 10,000 on its ex-showroom and the Imperiale 400 in silver colour now costs INR 1.79 lakh ex-showroom, the black colour scheme will be priced at INR 1.89 lakh ex-showroom.
The Benelli Imperiale 400 takes its inspiration from the historical Benelli-MotoBi range produced in the 1950s. For the Imperiale 400, Benelli has sought some classic features which reverb the vintage styling like a tear-drop shaped fuel tank, spoke wire rims in chrome, a round headlight with chrome surround, twin-pot analogue speedometer and tachometer with a small LCD display, chrome finished mirrors and various other chrome accentuated parts.
The engine on the Imperiale 400 is a BS4 emission compliant 373.5cc, single-cylinder, four-stroke, air-cooled engine with SOHC and the fuel delivery is via an electronic fuel injection system. The engine churns out a maximum power is 21PS @5500 RPM with peak torque of 29 Nm @ 4500 RPM. The Imperiale 400 gets a 5-speed gearbox with a wet multi-disc clutch. The brand is likely to introduce the BS6 compliant variant of the engine, soon, to keep in line with the Govt. of India’s new stringent BS6 emission standards that come to effect from 1st April 2020.
The Benelli Imperiale in reflection with the retro styling comes with a double cradle steel tubes and plates frame with 41mm diameter telescopic front forks and swingarm with double shock absorber on the rear. A classic chassis and suspension combination. Stopping power on the Imperiale 400 comes from a single 300mm disc with 2 pistons floating caliper on the front and a single 240 mm disc with a single-piston floating calliper with a dual-channel ABS as standard.
With the under-squared engine, retro styling and its price point the Benelli Imperiale 400 competes directly with the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and the Jawa Classic.