Absent now for more years than we can remember, the historic Italian brand of Benelli is returning to the United States. While it Is always the more brands the better, when it comes to consumer choices, this news is perhaps a mixed bag for motorcycle enthusiasts.
SSR Motorsports will be the official importer and distributer for the Qinjiang Group, bringing Benelli motorcycles and Keeway scooters to the USA. This part we like.
The caveat though is that our favorite machines from Benelli are not going to be making it stateside for now, as SSR will initially only bring the Benelli BN302 and Benelli BN600i, with MSRPs of $3,999, and $6,999 respectively.
You can’t fault SSR Motorsports for that decision, since the Benelli Tornado and Benelli TnT are long-in-the-tooth models, with an especially sordid history of reliability.
The more recently designed “Chinese” models not only are more fresh in the marketplace, supposedly more reliable, and certainly more affordable.
That being said, the Tornado and TnT are some of our most favorite machines ever, with their aggresively unique styling and and unique three-cylinder character.
We would welcome a more modern rebirth of the large-displacement Benelli models, though QG’s actions to-date likely mean those wishes are only pipe dreams. Le sigh.
Source: Dealer News
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