Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Things to Know About Benelli 252R

Benelli has launched its all-new fully-faired 250cc motorcycle in China. The question is, will it come to India?

In recent times, India has not witnessed the launch of a motorcycle in the 250cc segment. Especially in the 250cc fully-faired segment, we have received no motorcycle in the past few months. However, India’s counterpart, China, has received an all-new fully-faired motorcycle; the Benelli 252R whose parent company is China’s Qianjiang Motors. So, is it coming to India soon? In our book of thoughts, it is a big no because the newly launched motorcycle offers a parallel-twin setup and sadly, in India; a parallel-twin 250cc segment simply does not exist at the moment. 

However, we expect Benelli to quickly launch the 302R in India, given that we have recently received a hot, fully-faired machine from TVS. Not to forget, the KTM RC 390 2022 is coming soon as well. Back to the 252R, it looks brilliant and, to be honest, the styling of the motorcycle is slightly inspired by the MV Agusta. For example, the front fairing styling is something we have earlier observed on numerous Agustas! The rest of the motorcycle looks analogous to its 302R sibling. 

In terms of performance, the Benelli 252R fails to impress us. Yes, it is a parallel-twin motorcycle which we like. However, the 26.5hp at 8,500rpm and 24.1Nm at 6,500rpm from the 249cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine does not sway us a bit. Although, we expect the motorcycle to make a sweet exhaust note because of its make. Not to forget, the engine is coupled with a slipped clutch and six-speed gearbox. 

Not much is available about the features of the motorcycle. However, in terms of hardware, the Benelli Tornado 252R (the full name is Tornado 252R) is equipped with 17-inch slicks on the front and rear. 37mm upside-down forks handle the suspension duties on the front whereas the rear features a monoshock unit. Moving on to the brakes, both sides are equipped with disc brakes. However, the diameter of the discs is not known at the moment. Although, the Tornado 252R is equipped with dual-channel ABS as standard for enhanced safety. 

The motorcycle’s availability in India is highly unlikely. However, if launched, it will carry a price tag of around 2.94 lakh and the Tornado 252R will take on the likes of Gixxer 250SF, Honda CBR250 and KTM RC 250.