Benelli Imperiale 400 secures more than 300 bookings!

Benelli has begun its slew of launches once again. In addition to its TRK 502, it was supposed to launch another bike in 2018 followed by the launch of the Leoncino Scrambler soon. This retro-styled bike was to make its debut in India. The 2020 Benelli Imperiale 400 was showcased at the EICMA 2017 too. In other words, this bike was planned to squarely target the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and 500. The USP of this bike will be its build quality and fit finish as compared to its competition. Now the bike has been launched in a neighboring country. This is good news for retro-style lovers. What is the Benelli Imperiale 400 all about?

Scroll down to find answers to these questions.

2020 Benelli Imperiale 400 Bookings

Bookings for the Benelli Imperiale 400 have been started. The vehicle is a retro-style vehicle by the company. The minimum booking amount is Rs 4,000. The deliveries of this vehicle will begin in October last week. Booking of this vehicle will be a talking point as people are used to the image of the Royal Enfield. This vehicle has been launched recently and with a few days, the vehicle has secured more than 352 bookings. The company has high hopes from this vehicle and it seems that this bike will eat into the sales of the Royal Enfield Classic. The vehicle makes it into the right spot with the pricing of 1.62 lakhs. Its major competition is with the Royal Enfield Classic 350 (INR 1.54 lakh*), Jawa Classic (INR 1.73 lakh*) and Jawa Forty-Two (INR 1.64 lakh*). Of them, the Jawa offers much better engine and performance but does cut some of it on comfort. The Benelli offers the vehicle in 3 colours and the vehicle is backed by a 3 year/ Unlimited Kilometer Warranty. This is standard on every bike along with a complimentary service for the first 2 years as an Annual Maintenance Contract.

2020 Benelli Imperiale 400 Price in India

The Benelli Imperial 400 has been launched at a price of Rs 1.69 Lakhs. This price of the vehicle will place it properly with the competitors. The competition of the vehicle is classic like the Royal Enfield and the Jawa 400. This price will give tough competition to these bikes. Along with this the Benelli Imperiale 400 has a better engine. We can also expect Benelli to give a good exhaust note which is valued a lot in this segment. In all the while combo this vehicle will be a killer deal

2020 Benelli Imperiale 400 Design

The Imperiale 400 looks like a typical retro motorcycle. Therefore it gets spoked wheels with chrome mudguards. Above that, the simple fuel take has knee pads in a contrasting color, which is black. It gets a saddle seat, which is a split one. The headlamp, tail lamp and the turn indicators are all retro-styled. This gives it a proper old school look. However, just like the Royal Enfield’s, it will also miss out on LED headlights. Therefore making it a bargain for looks.

In addition to that, the instrument pod has twin dials for the speedo and tacho. This twin-pod analog instrument cluster has a digital display for rider information and will be easy to read and maintain. The handlebar is a short and straight one. The bike gets a single long exhaust which is low slung and might pick up scratches if chrome finished. Also, expect a lot of chrome on this bike as it is also competing with the Jawa which is a chrome-clad machine. Similarly, the mirrors are also chrome plated like retro bikes. The fuel tank has a capacity of 12 liters.

2020 Benelli Imperiale 400 Specifications

The Imperiale is fitted with a 373.5cc, single-cylinder SOHC engine. Above all, it is air-cooled and comes with fuel injection. Therefore this engine makes about 18.5bhp of power at a low 5,500 rpm and 28Nm of torque at 3,500 rpm. The engine is BS-IV compliant and comes mated to a 5-speed transmission. Finally, the power output of this bike is similar to the Royal Enfield Classic 350. In addition to this, we can expect the bike to have good levels of refinement. This will be its USP. The motorcycle has a weight of around 200 kgs. If Benelli decides to launch the bike this year then the engine will be BS6 ready. It might get compliance from next year.

Benelli Imperiale 400 Mileage

The Imperiale is expected to return around 40 km/l of mileage overall. For instance, this will be somewhat similar to what the RE Classic 350 offers. The bike weighs around 200kgs. Therefore will be the best mileage that this engine can derive, in real riding conditions.

2020 Benelli Imperiale 400 Safety

As this bike is BSVI compliant it will get dual-channel ABS as standard. Similarly, the bike gets front telescopic forks and dual rear shock absorbers. The bike is fitted on to a steel double-cradle frame. As a result of which it gets a retro charm too. This motorcycle comes with discs on the front and rear. The bike will come with soft compound tires that will offer good grip levels. The riding posture is designed to be upright. Therefore it should be comfortable for long-distance riding.

2020 Benelli Imperiale 400 Delay Cause

According to company officials, they have identified 30 parts/sub-assemblies that they would like to source locally. Suppliers for 29 have been identified and will soon be chosen out of 30. In other words, Benelli would only be able to launch the motorcycle by late 2019 or early next year.

If the motorcycle was launched in 2018 then it would then become immediately redundant in a few months, as only BSVI-compliant vehicles would be allowed to be sold in India, thus the engine needs to be changed to meet the very same emission law. Optimistically, we can see the Imperiale launching in India sometime around mid-2020.

Benelli Imperiale 400 Competition

The 2020 Benelli Imperiale 400 will mainly compete with the Royale Enfield Classic 350. After that, it will also challenge the RE Classic 500. Similarly, the Jawa Twins might also be in this race of classic cars. This segment is a great opportunity for Benelli to tap into the Indian mass market