DSK-Benelli has had a good run in the Indian market. Its range of 600cc bikes has received a warm response from performance buyers. The manufacturer showcased the Tornado 302 at the India Bike Week as well as the 2016 Auto Expo. The new bike will be the first full faired motorcycle from the Italian manufacturer for the Indian market. DSK Motowheels Chairman, Shirish Kulkarni, on speaking to Autocar, announced that the new 300cc bike would be launched around the festive season.
The Tornado 302 is the faired version of the TNT300 which has been on sale in the Indian market since 2015. The Tornado 302 was first showcased at the 2015 EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy in late 2015. The styling of the motorcycle is edgy and modern which will appeal to the youngsters. Talking about powerplant, the new Benelli Tornado 302 gets powered by a 300cc, liquid-cooled parallel-twin motor producing 36PS at 12,000rpm and 27Nm of peak torque at 9,000rpm. Power is transmitted to the rear-wheel via a 6-speed gearbox. Benelli claims that the Tornado 302 has a top speed of 170kmph which we believe is an overzealous figure and need to be tested to be verified.
The frame on the new supersports motorcycle is different from the TNT300. The Benelli 302 employs a newly designed trellis frame which is significantly lighter than the older frame and also improves the handling dynamics of the bike. Suspension duties are handled by USD front forks and a monoshock setup at the back while disc brakes provide anchorage and ABS will be standard. We expect the Benelli Tornado 302 to be priced around Rs 3 lakh (ex-showroom) and it will rival the likes of the Yamaha R3, Kawasaki Ninja 300 and the KTM RC390.
