DSK Benelli BN600i Review: Pesaresi Powerhouse

Performance and Efficiency

Even more than the design, signs of the BN being an all-new machine is more apparent in its engine. Whereas earlier Benellis have stuck with an inline three-cylinder engine in various capacities, the BN sports a liquid-cooled 600cc DOHC, fuel-injected, four-cylinder engine with four valves per cylinder. It produces 83PS of peak power at 11,500 rpm and a maximum torque figure of 52 Nm at 10,500 rpm. Notice the small gap between the rpms where the BN gets its maximum torque and power and you already will have an idea of how flexible the engine should be in real world riding.

And it is. Power starts flowing in early right from the get-go, and the BN has a linear pull to it from standstill. It is not as ferociously fast as middleweight superbikes but the upside here is that the BN is supremely tractable in traffic and at low speeds. You can comfortably cruise around town at 2500-3000 rpm, with that sonorous burble from the inline four warning lesser mortals to make way for you when the roads open.

But it is around the 4500 rpm mark that the BN600 changes character and transforms into a bellowing, snorting bull. The fuel injection still has some kinks, so the Benelli has a tendency to catch you unawares when it kicks into its powerband. From there onwards though, the mapping appears smooth enough, and the BN will rev happily all the way to the redline without a hiccup. It is one of the characteristics that have made inline fours the universal layout for supersports bikes the world over. Going faster will require some working of the gearbox though, and the Benelli will reward you heaps if you can keep it on the boil.

Braking duties on the Benelli BN600i are handled by four piston radial calipers clamping down on twin floating Brembo 320mm discs upfront, with a double piston caliper on a 260mm dia disc at the rear. The brakes are sharp and progressive, offering good feel without overly intimidating the rider. Thanks to the centralized weight distribution, even hard braking won’t unsettle the BN and it stops without a fuss every time you depress the brake levers.

Although we didn’t get a chance to test the fuel efficiency of the BN600i accurately, we expect it to give an average of around 20kmpl going by the distance it took us to empty the tank completely. With a fuel tank capacity of 15 litres, the bike should be able to do just around 290 kilometres before needing a tank up.

 

Ride and Handling

The BN600i rides on beefy 50mm upside down forks upfront while the rear is managed by the aforementioned asymmetrically mounted aluminium swingarm. Unlike the high-spec Marzocchis on the TNT, these don’t offer much in the way of adjustability except for preload at the rear monoshock. Not that they need to; we found the suspension of the BN to be much comfortably damped than the ones on the sportier TNT. The front suspension has a travel range of 120mm while the rear has a slightly wider travel of 123mm.

It is a good handler too, this Benelli. Aided by 120/70-ZR17 and 180/55-ZR17 Pirelli Angel GT sport touring tyres at front and rear respectively, the BN600i lunges into corners and holds its line without further input from the rider. The ample knee recesses under the large tank provide enough room to grip the bike, which is a boon for shorter riders like me. Unlike many other naked bikes, I didn’t find myself hanging on for dear life using only my forearms and the balls of my feet on the BN600i.

It is still a pretty heavy machine though, tipping the scales at 208 kg, so low speed maneuvers aren’t as dignified as when it is going fast in long, sweeping corners.

On the comfort side, the Benelli is a mixed bag. While the seat is better padded than most motorcycles of its ilk, there’s something about it that makes your bum ache after about an hour of continuous riding. Maybe it is too broad, forcing your thighs to splay outwards at an awkward angle even with those knee recesses, or maybe it is the curvature of the seat, I honestly don’t know.

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