First ride: Benelli BN600R

It’s easy for some people to demonise smaller marques such as Benelli, simply because they don’t follow the same ‘patterns’ as the big volume players like the Japanese, Harley-Davidson, KTM and even Ducati.

Some promised models don’t make it to fruition, there are production delays, and some of the marketing may be a little quirky – but the motorcycle market would, quite frankly, be bland without the likes of Benelli and Bimota to make up the numbers. They play a critical role in “keeping the bastards” honest.

Benelli has been through its ups and downs over the years, and had its critics, but since 2005 it has been forging a steady, deliberate, balanced path back to being a successful company under the ownership of Chinese giant QJ.

The GFC was all about just maintaining a steady footing, but since then the gates have been opened with a flurry of new models, and the latest bike to come out of Italy – Benelli is still, for all practical intents and purposes, an ‘Italian’ company --   is the naked BN600R machine, which is also available in LAMS configuration as the BN600S with lower-spec suspension and brakes.

BN600R IN BIKE SHOWROOM

The $9900 BN600R houses a four-cylinder engine, which is perhaps the first surprise from a company which has traditionally been playing the three-cylinder card. The engine first made an appearance in the radical hub-steered Quattro in 2008, utilised as a fully stressed member in the chassis. That model didn’t see the light of the day, but the engine wasn’t going to be shelved as well – with the BN600R one of the bikes it’s found a permanent home in, with more still to come, including the 600GT touring bike (here).

For me, the BN600R is a bike you’d probably buy more with your head rather than your heart. It presents a perfectly creditable argument: it’s stable, willing, competent, sensible, versatile and practical, and doesn’t disappoint at any major level for a 10K bike.

For those new to the motorcycle caper, it simply makes oodles of sense, and for experienced and big-bore riders wanting to downsize it also presents a commendable case – an affordable Italian bike for the masses. It’s agile as well, which even makes it more of a buy and keep proposition. And it looks like a big-bike too, so it has the presence to match the performance.

I’d put the BN600R in a similar bracket to the Suzuki’s GSR750, which was one of the bikes that took part in our massive middleweight nakedbike comparo in Tasmania last year. The GSR750 didn’t miss a beat the whole time, and was probably one of the picks when the intensity dropped a couple of notches on the final day.

The BN600R is a bit like that with its natural and easy disposition and beautifully slick and easy-shifting gearbox – but conveys a more macho image than the GSR750 with the underseat exhaust pipes and the trick looking swingarm. The pipes emit quite a fruity snarl, too.

The BN600R’s engine is steady as she goes, and certainly doesn’t appear to be overstretched with the modest 11,500rpm power peak – for a four-cylinder machine. There’s no doubt Benelli could eke more out of the powerplant but that may come later.

Even with the smaller peak, the engine’s overall user-friendliness is compromised by a fairly soft bottom end. It doesn’t start stretching its legs until about 4000rpm, and then there’s another small awakening about 8000rpm en route to the 11,000rpm redline. Benelli claims peak power of 82hp (60kW) at 11,500rpm, and peak torque of 52Nm at 10,500rpm. That’s not a huge gap between the two peaks, which is always a key indicator of how flexible a powerplant is.

The fuelling is via four, 38mm throttle bodies, and it runs a Delphi ignition. It has two catalytic converters, and is Euro 3 compliant.

The throttle response isn’t aggressive, so the BN600R doesn’t intimidate in the slightest. The only lack of maturity is the slight snap off a closed throttle, which is noticeable rather than being a major annoyance. There’s also a little bit of fluffiness in the bottom end, but that soon clears as the BN600R works its way up to speed.

The BN600R we rode is a pre-production model, but we’re told the bikes that are now arriving in Australia have shorter gearing and revised mapping, which should remove – or at least partially undo – some of the issues identified above. There’s also a softer seat and minor updates to the finish on the production models. The seat on the pre-production model starts to grow some teeth after about 50 minutes.

Triumph’s Street Triple is an example of a bike which has fairly short gearing, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. As it stands, the BN600R sits on 4600rpm at 100km/h.

Fuel economy is first-rate, and the Benelli averaged 5.2lt/100km in one outing, with a decent-sized pillion on the bike for the whole journey.

That pillion ride was over some fairly rough terrain in the Victorian bush, and the 208kg BN600R was right on top of its game – even with the extra weight. It is quite tactile, holds a tight line, the Brembo brakes are excellent (there’s no ABS), and the Sachs shock didn’t even begin to fatigue under the increased pressure.

The shock absorber is adjustable for compression and preload (both easily accessible), and mounts directly to the swingarm without a linkage. It’s certainly not an overly refined set-up, but it works extremely well – maybe the ultra-stiff 50mm Marzocchi forks keep the whole plot on a more even footing. The 50mm upside-down Marzocchi is non-adjustable. Travel is 120mm (front) and 123mm respectively.

In contrast to the BN600R, the BN600S LAMS version ($8990) has Benelli-branded suspension and brakes in place of the Marzocchi/Sachs suspension and Brembo.

The chassis on the BN600R is completed by the steel trestle frame (there’s also an aluminium-alloy sub frame), and overall it’s a very well balanced machine – one where you can tuck your knees into the recesses of the tank and really put the Metzeler Sportec M5 tyres to work.

There’s never any second-guessing about how the BN600R is going to execute its duties, and it’s that predictable, proper conduct which makes it such a sweet little machine to take for a country fang.

Overall, the BN600R doesn’t come with a lot of rough and tumble, but there’s simply nothing underwhelming about it – save for probably a lack of bite at the top end in the engine. That will only unsettle a few, as the bike offers quality Italian-developed craftsmanship and is defined by practicality and convenience, with enough left in the tank to please in a variety of other situations – there’s even oodles of room to tie down luggage for a longer trip, and even pillions get a fair go. It’s a fearless little bike which simply gets the job done – and it could quickly become Benelli’s poster bike in Australia.