A long waited launch in the quarter-litre space, Benelli India will be officially introducing the Benelli 302R in the country tomorrow. We first saw the bike at the EICMA Motor Show at Milan, Italy in 2015 and the model was also showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo. The bike is the first full faired offering from the manufacturer in India and will be attracting a host of customers that are looking to upgrade to a full faired model in the quarter-litre space. With the launch just hours away,
The Benelli 302R was first unveiled at the EICMA Motorcycle Show in Milan
The Benelli 302R holds special importance from the manufacturer as the bike is its first full faired offering globally in ages, and the first ever in India. The bike while sharing its underpinnings with the Benelli TNT 300, gets a slew of changes and the exterior looks nothing like the naked offering. The single headlamp cluster has been replaced by a split headlamp setup with rear view mirrors mounted on the visor, while the wide handlebar has been swapped for the more aggressive clip-on units. There is a new LED tail light unit with clear lens indicators and the bike completes the sporty look with a side mounted exhaust.
The Benelli 302R at the 2016 Auto Expo
The Benelli 302R is a full faired version of the TNT 300 naked motorcycle, but gets a lot of changes than just the additional fairing. The bike is distinctly different from the TNT 300 and gets an all-new Trellis frame that makes for 50:50 weight In fact, the Trellis frame is neatly incorporated across the side fairing. There's an all-new double sided swingarm and the foot pegs have been re-positioned for a more aggressive riding position. The dimensions stand at 2175 mm in length, 746 mm in width and 1146 mm in height, while the bike weighs 180kgs dry.
The Benelli 302R uses a new Trellis frame, while the engine is a 300 cc twin-pot unit
Power on the Benelli 302R continues to come from the BS-IV compliant 300 cc parallel-twin, liquid cooled engine borrowed from the TNT 300. The motor churns out about 38 bhp of power and 26.5 Nm of peak torque on the TNT, and is paired to a 6-speed gearbox. Expect to see similar power figures on the 302R as well, while the gear ratios on have been altered for improved power output.
The closest rival to the Benelli 302R is the Kawasaki Ninja 300
The Benelli 302R competes with the likes of the Kawasaki Ninja 300, KTM RC 390 and Yamaha YZF-R3. While the latter is not on sale at present and is yet to get the BS-IV upgrade, the RC 390 and Ninja 300 are feisty rivals to compete with. The Ninja 300 has a much higher price tag starting at Rs. 3.60 lakh, while the RC 390 boasts of more power while being almost a lakh cheaper at Rs. 2.34 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom Delhi). The 302R will get ABS as optional, the only bike apart from the RC to do so.
The Indian version get the Italian flag inspired red, white and green livery on the 302R
Bookings for the Benelli 302R have been open for a token amount of Rs. 10,000 since June this year. It will now be interesting to see how does Benelli India positions its latest offering that will appeal to a host of buyers looking to upgrade to a quarter-litre full faired offering. The Italian bike maker aims to capture this audience and an competitive price tag might just help in doing so.
We will be bring all the updates live from the launch event, so make sure to keep watching this space for all the details.
