Bikieman

In December 2020, I bought a Benelli TRK-502. I’d been following their progress even before I bought the Honda CB-500X, Benelli were making big strides. Not so much an Italian brand anymore since they were bought out by the Chinese, but I’m ok with that. There’s real potential with their products and that matters more to me.

It comes in two versions; the “standard” 502 with 17″ wheels, no spokes, lower seat and suspension. Then the “X” version with spokes, tubed tires, longer suspension, a high exhaust and a 19″ front wheel. I opted for the standard, as I’m lacking in the leg length department. Plus it was cheaper by about £500.

On the subject of pricing, this is a hell of a lot of bike for the money. They have increased the pricing lately (as per everything else in the world), I got mine for a few pennies over £5000. Here she is, factory fresh.

47HP and a heavy beast, it’s never going to win any races nor surprise you with power, but it’s a capable and so far (coming up to 2 years), reliable motor. Nothing has fallen off, broken, or made me regret the purchase.

A lot of people ask me what the pros and cons are of ownership, especially as I own a CB500X as well. “Aren’t they the same bike?”. No, far from it.

In a way I actually prefer the Benelli. It feels solid, a “real” bike, much better suspension and greater road presence & weather protection for the longer journeys. It’s soundtrack is also pretty damn good out of the box, it might be a twin, but the way it ticks over is ridiculously smooth (probably that 360 degree crank vs the Honda’s 180).
It’s a much heavier bike, so some riders may not get on with it, but it works for me.

It comes standard with hand guards, twin discs up front, crash bars (useful for mounting fog lights or poppies if you’re me), USB charging port, accessory bar and handlebar switches that you can plug in accessories to, such as fog lights or heated grips. Useful things that Honda thought to excuse and/or charge extra for.

You really don’t have to add a lot to the bike for it to be ready for the long-haul, out the box it’s fab. I added heated grips and only recently this year added some fog lights, more for the winter nights, as the headlight alone isn’t brilliant. It’s a halogen main & high beam but has LED lights underneath it. They work better than the Honda’s weedy LED unit, but still not perfect. Indicators and tail light are LED, which begs the question why the headlight is halogen. The LEDs are super bright as you would expect.

The dash is clear, gives you all the information you need, but I guess is a little dated these days. I do like the mix of analogue tach and digital speedo (and the red backlight, yay for red!) but would have liked an all digital dash (this will be coming in later versions down the line).

The mirrors are probably some of the best I’ve had as standard on a motorcycle, nice and wide and don’t often blur.

On to fuel economy, it’s not as good as the Honda, but not far off. Let’s face it, the weight of the Benelli isn’t going to help. I find I get around 220 miles to a tank, that’s not to be downplayed of course. This is on a mix of city riding and motorways. You’d probably get more bimbling long on A roads. However it costs more to fill up due to the larger tank, so does cost a bit more to keep running.

The standard, road version comes with Pirelli Angel GT tyres. I found them fine, not exceptional, but fine. They did their job and after 8000 miles of all weathers, I switched to Michelin Pilot Road 5 tyres. Much better in the wet than the Angels, but not that different in the dry. It’s a thumbs up from me though, about time motorcycles of any price bracket started coming with decent tyres!

Power delivery is smooth, it’s quite torquey but will rev if you want it to, you’ll hear it bark as well when you do. It stops well with the twin disc setup on the front but maybe hasn’t got as much bite as you would expect. The weight probably doesn’t help that.

The riding position is very upright, almost armchair style. I find my feet are a bit forward, the Honda has quite swept-back pegs in comparison, so this was a bit of a change for me. It’s comfortable though.
The seat is also comfortable, very padded and good for 200 miles plus in my opinion. The pillion seat is also very generous.

The screen is great, I’m short so sit comfortably behind it, taller riders might need/want a taller screen. I added an extender anyway to reduce some buffeting. It includes little mini side-deflectors too, a nice touch and I’m sure adds to the functionality of keeping the weather away from your body/hands.

The paintwork is spot on, I haven’t seen any bad parts. Most of the bodywork is plastic including the tank cover, but it’s all well fitted. There are more bolts on this thing than the Forth Bridge!

It’s a lot of fun in the twisties, the weight disappears and you can throw it about. I’ve had some great trips into Wales & Scotland on it. Below are my favourite shots when I’ve been putting it through its paces.

I like the extra room for luggage or pillions. It’s nice to have it, I feel like the bike is ready for any journey these days. I’ve kept up with the servicing as the 2 year warranty is nice to have, so far, it’s been smooth sailing.

I’m now almost 10,000 miles in. Lockdown and working from home has killed my mileage off slightly, but I have no worries that the bike will do something silly.

I treat it with ACF50 after a wash, much like any of the bikes I’ve had, this is keeping the worst of the corrosion away. Some parts have developed rust quite quickly, but nothing major. I have seen worse examples out there though. It’s one thing to consider if you’re using the bike all year-round.

I’ve been that impressed during the time I’ve owned this bike that I’m genuinely thinking about just having the Benelli as my only bike. I kept the Honda as a failsafe, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. You should consider it too if you’re in the market for a reasonably priced, mile-munching twin with a whole lotta body.