Benelli Leoncino 500 Sport unveiled

A sports tourer, an adventure tourer, a scrambler, and now a cafe racer. Benelli Leoncino 500 based Leoncino 500 Sport has broken cover and the new cafe racer gets minor design tweaks and a marginally powerful engine

Benelli India has a total of three motorcycles on sale in the 500cc middle-weight class – Leoncino 500, TRK 502, and the TRK 502X. The Italian motorcycle maker has introduced another product in the lineup, the Benelli Leoncino 500 Sport in the international market.

As the name suggests, Benelli Leoncino 500 Sport is based on the Leoncino 500 scrambler, but sports cafe-racer-like styling. The single-piece handlebar has been replaced by clip-on and the exhaust sports a new stubby twin-barrel design. The motorcycle gets 17-inch spoke-wired wheels that have been borrowed from the adventure-tourer 502X.

The motorcycle also gets an arched visor that adds more to the cafe racer appeal. There is also a very utilitarian saddle bag on the Leoncino 500 Sport. With all the additional bits, the motorcycle has gained 2kg over the Leoncino 500 and the Sport weighs in at 198kg.

The engine a 499cc parallel-twin liquid-cooled motor, the same unit found all the 500cc Benelli’s sold in India. The motor is tuned to deliver 1Bhp and 1Nm over the Leoncino 500 and the Sport produces 48Bhp at 8,500rpm and peak torque of 47Nm at 5,500rpm. The cycle parts are the same as the Leoncino 500. For suspension, there are 50mm upside-down forks in the front and a mono-shock in the rear. The braking setup has been carried forward too, with 320mm twin disc in the front and a 260mm disc in the rear.

There is a very slim chance of Benelli introducing the Leoncino 500 Sport in the Indian market as the company already has a strong middle-weight lineup in India, but if launched, the Leoncino Sport 500 could directly rival the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650. However, Only time will tell if Benelli India plans on bringing the Leoncino 500 Sport or the BS6 Leoncino 250, or the new generation of the 302R fully-faired motorcycle first.

Also Read:

Benelli Leoncino 500 based sports tourer in the works

Benelli revises prices across model range

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