Covers have been taken off the new top-of-the-range Benelli Leoncino 800 at EICMA 2019. A range which also includes a 250cc and a 500cc bike, the Leoncino 800 made its debut in concept form at the same venue last year. Rivalling similarly-styled motorcycles from Triumph and Ducati, the Leoncino could even go on sale in India next year.
Powering the Leoncino 800 is a 754 cc parallel twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 8-valve (4 valves per cylinder, DOHC motor that produces 81.6 hp of peak power at 9,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 67 Nm (6.8 kgm) at 6,500 rpm. The engine is paired with a 6-speed gearbox. The Benelli Leoncino 800 is built around a tubular truss frame and the styling hasn’t strayed too far from the concept which we saw last year.
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The Lion of Pesaro motif sits on the front fender and illumination all around comes from LEDs. The bike is equipped with a 15-litre fuel tank and is followed by a single-piece, step-up saddle with a ribbed pattern on the seat cover. Unlike the concept motorcycle, the Leoncino 800 uses conventionally placed blinkers and licence places, as opposed to the tyre-hugger mounted number plate and blinkers on the concept bike.
The bike will come fitted with a cross-spoke wheel design which enables the installation of tubeless tyres to the motorcycle. Other key features include a TFT instrument console and in the suspension department, the Leoncino 800 gets 50 mm Marzocchi upside-down front forks and central mono-shock at the back.
Braking is courtesy of Brembo and includes 320 mm semi-floating double front discs with four-piston radial monobloc callipers and a 260 mm single rear disc with a double-piston calliper. The 17-inch wheels are wrapped in 120/70-17 front and 180/55-17 rear tyres. The bikemaker has confirmed that this motorcycle will be in dealerships internationally around mid-2020. Expect the bike to land on our shores a few months after that.