Benelli has just launched the Leoncino 500 at Rs 4.79 lakh (ex-showroom, India). The scrambler-style motorcycle has been highly anticipated and was spied on road, yesterday. Internationally, the Leoncino 500 is available in three variants – the Standard, the Trail and the Sport. For now, we only get the Standard variant, which has been made available in two colour schemes – Steel Grey and Leoncino Red. Benelli has begun accepting bookings for the Leoncino 500 for an amount of Rs 10,000 on its website. The manufacturer is also offering a 5-year unlimited kilometer warranty on the motorcycle.
Powering the motorcycle is a 499.6cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected twin-cylinder motor that develops 47.5hp and 46Nm of torque. The engine sits within a tubular steel-trellis frame that’s suspended on a 50mm USD fork and pre-load adjustable monoshock. The Leoncino rides on 17-inch wheels at either end, and it goes without saying that it gets ABS as standard. Braking hardware includes a 320mm twin-disc setup (with four-piston calipers) at the front, and a 260mm disc (with a single-piston caliper) at the rear.
At Rs 4.79 lakh, the Leoncino is Rs 31,000 more affordable than the TRK502, which costs Rs 5.10 lakh after its recent price hike. While it has no direct rivals at the price point, its closest competition is the more expensive Ducati Scrambler Icon (Rs 7.89 lakh), although that bike brings much more power and badge value. There is also the Harley-Davidson Street 750 at Rs 5.25 lakh; it is a different style of motorcycle but produces similar performance figures.
(All prices, ex-showroom, India.)
Azaman Chothia
