I just put a deposit down on a Benelli Leoncino Trail.

[ChopperCharles]

MWA-HAHAHAHA. Yeah, I know it's not the super cheap chinabike mantra, but damn it's a sexy machine and it ticks all the right boxes for me. They're ordering it today, and I intend to take possession Feb 19th. I've already ordered a slew of accessories from AliExpress for the bike. Saddlebags and brackets, rear rack, fender extenders, hand guards, and a flyscreen. All custom-fit parts made for the bike, no universal stuff.

I'm quite stoked about this. This is going to replace my 2017 Yamaha SCR950. The Benelli has the same horsepower, but weighs a hundred pounds less, and has 4" more rear suspension travel. (from 1.7" to 5.7"!) Plus it's just as good looking as the Yamaha.

Charles.

[JerryHawk250]

Awesome! :tup: I can't wait to see it.

[culcune]

Thanks for taking the plunge. Once you figure the bike out, hopefully for your sake, more people will order one; the more the merrier--you guys can bounce ideas off each other, and SSR will be willing to have parts around. Only good things can happen with multiple people owning a particular bike; look at the Hawk! :tup:

[ChopperCharles]

Well, the Leoncino has been out in the UK and Australia for a long time now (2017 I believe), as has the TRK502 (same motor). They've gotten rave reviews and have so far been reliable machines. I don't feel like I'm buying a complete unknown, like I did with the SSR/Italjet Buccaneer. It has some history already, so I don't mind spending a Honda price for it.

I know I could get a CB500F for the same general price... but the CB500 isn't a very good looking machine to me. It's the transformer style that kills it. Plus I find Honda motors over-refined to the point of being boring. The Leoncino has more torque, and the torque hits a full 2000 rpm lower than the CB500. Both redline at 8500 rpm and have a rev limiter at 9200rpm. I think the Leoncino is going to be a lot more fun. And it definitely looks better, and it's a modern scrambler, which is my favorite type of bike.

Anyhow, I'm rambling. I'm excited if you can't tell :)

Charles.

[culcune]

Well, the Leoncino has been out in the UK and Australia for a long time now (2017 I believe), as has the TRK502 (same motor). They've gotten rave reviews and have so far been reliable machines.

Anyhow, I'm rambling. I'm excited if you can't tell :)

Charles.

Your 'rambling' is understood :tup: I had posted a few YouTube videos on the other thread about the bike, if you recall, from UK and maybe one Australian. I only got good feelings from those video reviews, and they were all unrelated being different YouTubers with their own channels, so I know you are getting a great bike based on at least 4 different reviews. I do like the fact that Benelli is for all intent and purpose an Italian company (headquarters and design in Italy) who manufacture in China.

[mdschultz]

Well, the Leoncino has been out in the UK and Australia for a long time now (2017 I believe), as has the TRK502 (same motor). They've gotten rave reviews and have so far been reliable machines. I don't feel like I'm buying a complete unknown, like I did with the SSR/Italjet Buccaneer. It has some history already, so I don't mind spending a Honda price for it.

I know I could get a CB500F for the same general price... but the CB500 isn't a very good looking machine to me. It's the transformer style that kills it. Plus I find Honda motors over-refined to the point of being boring. The Leoncino has more torque, and the torque hits a full 2000 rpm lower than the CB500. Both redline at 8500 rpm and have a rev limiter at 9200rpm. I think the Leoncino is going to be a lot more fun. And it definitely looks better, and it's a modern scrambler, which is my favorite type of bike.

Anyhow, I'm rambling. I'm excited if you can't tell :)

Charles.

I plan on getting the regular Leoncino in March. It is a great looking bike and like you said you could get a 500 Honda for a similar price but the Benelli is so much better looking plus I am sure you will have the only one on the street. The Honda, though a very good bike is a dime a dozen. I like bikes that are unique, that stir the soul, that make you smile when you see it in your garage. Sorry the Honda does not do that for me.

[Huck369]

I like it, can't wait to hear your reviews on it after riding it a while!

[RedCrowRides]

The Benelli engine makes its peak HP and Torque in a lot more user friendly part of the powerband than the Honda in my opinion, in city traffic and even merging onto on ramps on the interstate you really dont have the time to wait to " get out of the way " or up to speed while the Honda engine spins up. Also, as a trail version you simply just arent going to be buzzing the engine way up in the RPM range so making power up there is useless .I think you made a great choice and will be a lot happier with the Benelli over the Honda , it's a lot more directed at the real world of riding , i am sure the pocket rocket boys enjoy their machines at 18 gazillion RPM's but the simple fact is, most of us just dont ride like that.

[ChopperCharles]

Well, honestly until I heard word of the Trail coming out, I was going to buy a Benelli 302S. I liked that bike, I liked revving it to the moon to get the power out. But I like small bikes with that peaky powerband.

That said, I bought a SCR950 hoping it would be an epic bike capable of street, highway, dirt, touring, twisties, and everything in between... and it's really not. It's a bar hopper, nothing more. It weighs too much, has a really uncomfortable seat, the windblast shakes my helmet around no matter what windshield I use, and the suspension actually hurts my spine. Seriosuly, it injures my back every other ride. So... the Benelli is going to hopefully fill the roles I thought the SCR950 would.

On paper, it weighs 100 pounds less and makes the same horsepower, with 4" more rear suspension travel, so that's a really good start.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

It came in and the dealer finished assembling it today. They sent pictures... but you can't see them because the forum is broken, unfortunately. Somehow the pics from some random guy's cell phone look even better than the promotional shots I've seen.

Charles.