Benelli
Benelli are an Italian Motorcycle manufacturer. The company also manufactured shotguns, although this part of the business is now a seperate company from the motorcycle side.
Early History
Benelli was established in Pesaro, Italy, in 1911. Teresa Benelli, a widow, sank all of the family capital into the business, in the hope that it would offer stable work for her six sons: Giuseppe, Giovanni, Francesco, Filippo, Domenico and Antonio or "Tonino".
In the beginning, it was just the "Benelli Garage" which only repaired cars and motorcycles, but was already able to produce all of the spare parts needed for repairs.
In 1920 the company built its first complete engine in-house, a single-cylinder two-stroke 75 cc model, immediately adapted to a bicycle frame. A year later in 1921, Benelli built its first motorcycle with its OWN engine which had by then become a 98 cc model.
Two years after that, using a version specially designed for competitions, Tonino the "terrible" took to the track. He displayed an extraordinary natural talent as a rider and embarked on a very successful career which confirmed the company's exceptional capacity for development and production.
Riding a Benelli 175, Tonino Benelli won 4 Italian championship titles almost consecutively, in 1927, 1928 and 1930 with the single overhead camshaft version, and in 1931 with the double overhead camshaft version.
Unfortunately, a bad crash during a race in 1932 cut short his brilliant career and on 27 September 1937 Tonino died following a "silly" road accident.
As World war 2 loomed, the Benelli company debuted their 4 cylinder supercharged 250cc racing bike. This was intended to compete in the 1940 season, building on Benelli's success in the 1939 250 TT race. With the start of the war, the Benelli 4 was limited to competition in a handfull of Italian domestic races.
Beyond World War 2
Wartime destruction caused Benelli to remain out of production until 1949. When production was resumed, designs were still largely based on those of the pre-war period. During 1949, Guiseppe Benelli left the family concern to found the Motobi marque.
By 1951, Benelli was offering a range consisting of 98 and 125cc lightweights (the Leoncino or lion cub) and 350 and 500cc singles. The leoncino was available in both 2 stroke and 4 stroke formats. These lightweight models were immensely successful in post-war Italy due to a desire for cheap transport. Similar models were offered by Moto Guzzi, Ducati and Laverda and they same economic conditions lead to the growth in popularity of Vespa and Lambretta scooters.
In 1962, Benelli and Motobi produced around 300 motorcycles per day and had 550 employees.
The de Tomaso years
Towards the end of the 1960s, the arrival of Japanese manufacturers caused an unprecedented crisis in the European motorcycle industry.
The original Benelli company was heavily involved in the American motorcycle market, selling motorcycles under 350cc through Montgomery-Ward. The advent of competition from Japan lead to Benelli products (still largely of single cylinder pushrod design) losing popularity as they were perceived as old - fashioned in comparison to Hondas of the era which sported overhead cam engines with electric starters, in much the same way as the British Motorcycle industry was affected in the larger capacity sector.
Benelli changed ownership but despite its continued innovations in the motorcycle sector - for example, the incredible in-line six-cylinder engines introduced in the mid-60s - it was still losing important market segments, overwhelmed by Japanese competitors. This led to a temporary break in production.
Renaissance
In 1989 there was hope of a revival with the backing of Pesaro-based manufacturer Giancarlo Selci. But the time still wasn't right for a real comeback.
In 1995 revival of the brand with the glorious history became a real possibility when Andrea Merloni took charge. Results were fast in coming with the launch of the marvellous Tornado 900 Tre super sport bike in 2002 and the current launch of the TNT, the explosive roadster.
Benelli is now part of motor Group Qianjiang which is a corporation located in southeast China at Wenling, 480 km from Shanghai, whose 14,000-plus workforce produces more than 1,200,000 powered two-wheelers each year, as well as in excess of two million engines, in an ultra modern city-sized factory occupying 670,000 m² of covered space and equipped with sophisticated machine tools imported from Germany, Italy and U.S.
Benelli Q.J.is located in Pesaro where the previous propriety based the facilities, keeping the whole workforce previously working at Benelli s.p.a.
Motorcycle Models (incomplete)
- 650 Tornado
- Mini enduro 65cc
- 50 Cross
- 125 Tursimo
- 125 Cross
- 125 2C
- 125 2C 4T
- 250 2C
- 254
- 304
- 354
- 354 Sport
- 504
- 504 Sport
- 654
- Benelli Sei 750
- Benelli Sei 900
- Cafe 1130 Racer
- Titanium
- Tornado Naked Tre 1130
- Tornado Naked Tre Sport
- Tornado Tre 1130
- Tornado Tre 900
- Tornado Tre 900 RS
- Tornado Tre LE
- Tre 1130 K
Scooter Models (incomplete)
- Pepe 50
- Pepe 50 LX
- Velvet 125
- Velvet 150
- Velvet 250
- 491 GT
- 491 RR
- 491 Army Edition
- K2
- Adiva
Racing
Tonino Benelli was the undisputed protagonist of the early racing successes.
With an extraordinary natural talent for riding, he began a rewarding career that confirmed his exceptional technical skill and innovation within the company.
In the saddle of a Benelli 175, Tonino won the title of Italian Champion in 1927/1928/1930 riding the single shaft version and in 1931 with the dual shaft version.
The numerous victories in the European World Championship were a prelude to one of the most sought after successes of all motorcycle producers: The Tourist Trophy, at that time the most important race in the world.
In 1939, Ted Mellors was victorious, racing in the saddle of the Benelli 250.
In 1950 Dario Ambrosini also won the Tourist Trophy, repeating Mellors’ success and consecrating his title by winning both the Italian and the World Championships.
In the 1960s two extraordinary riders competed in the races: Tarquinio Provini who won the Italian Championship with the 250 in 1965 and Renzo Pasolini who won the Championship with the 250 as well as the 350 in 1968 and 1969.
In 1969, the enormous effort invested in competition was rewarded with the 250 world title thanks to Kel Carruthers, who also again won the Tourist Trophy in the same year.
Many of the most famous riders in the history of motorcycling raced with Benelli bikes, from Mike Hailwood to Jarno Saarinen, and the last victory in 1990 was the merit of Antonio Rossi.
Former World Superbike champion Peter Goddard signed with Benelli in 2001 to accelerate the development the Tornado Tre 900.
External links
- Official Website
- Benelli Motorcycle Forum
- Benelli American Importer
- Benelli Belgium - Bike Specs and Gallery
- Benelli Motobi Club GB - Information, Support, Forum and Gallery
- Benelli motorcycles overview
- Peter Goddard - Raced for Benelli 2001-2002