2015 Benelli BN 600GT Review

We all love to dream about buying the latest top of the range Japanese or Italian sportsbike but when it comes to reality, something more practical is often the wiser choice. The Benelli BN 600GT is the type of motorcycle you choose using your head rather than your heart. It’s not the prettiest bike built, its specifications while strong aren’t extraordinary and you could hardly say it carries the soul of a traditional Italian bike. But we’d argue it was never trying to.
Read the full review at therideadvice.c...
The Benelli BN 600GT is only the second bike from the Italian marque to use their all new 600cc inline four cylinder engine (the first being the naked BN 600R). Designed as a sports-tourer, it’s probably fair to say the BN 600GT won’t win any beauty pageants. There’s a lot of styling cues from the Kawasaki Versys here (the previous model, not the current decent looking one) such as the front stacked headlights and the laydown rear shock absorber. Despite being designed and developed in Italy, it looks more like something from Seoul than Pesaro.
That said, it does actually look better in person than in still images. Even in the metal, one wouldn’t call it elegant but at least it is different and doesn’t look like a cookie cutter version of every other bike out there. We’d probably choose the darker colours over lighter options in the interest of appearances.
The fit and finish of the bike seems excellent. While only long term ownership of the bike would reveal any flaws, we’ve spoken to owners in India and parts of South East Asia which have had access to the BN 600GT since last year and according to them, it’s performed flawlessly.
Negatives from a design perspective include the dated dash (as used in the Benelli BN 302), fairly cheap feeling controls on the bars (another Benelli BN 302 flaw) and the stupidly shaped rear view mirrors which taper off where your actually want to see - a clear case of form over function.
Despite it being a 600cc, don’t take it for a ride expecting supersport performance. Producing a fairly modest 60 kW (82 hp) at 11000 rpm and maximum torque of 55 Nm at 8000 rpm, it would seem Benelli has very conservatively tuned the engine. It’s not a rocket, but then it isn’t a complete slouch, either. Its performance is roughly comparable to the Kawasaki Versys 650 or Suzuki V-Strom 650, though unlike those two bikes the engine feels more mature and grown up.
By that we mean that it seems Benelli has decided to build a refined machine rather than a sports bike masquerading as a tourer. In this respect the engine is smooth and vibration free and dare we say a little bit quiet. We sometimes struggled to hear the engine note over wind noise. Being a four, the engine comes on strong higher up in the rev range, though there’s enough flexibility that you don’t need to downshift for most overtaking manoeuvres.
Read the rest of the review at therideadvice.c...

[@royarnab22]

Benelli launched it's bikes in India recently. But the GT comes with Benelli brakes and Benelli front and rear forks instead of Marchozzi/Sachs and Brembo brakes in International market. What a shame! It costs 11000$ here with Insurance+road taxes+ registration and handling! SO it's not cheap :(

[@Therideadviceonline]

Arnab Roy Very interesting, thanks Arnab. That is quite expensive in comparison to Australia and the UK. Are there taxes on imported bikes in India?

[@ghandhi43]

+TheRideAdvice yes more than 100 percent

[@clanmac66]

In the UK it's way over-priced, for roughly the same money a Suzuki GSX650F eats it alive!

[@tonygriffiths134]

+clanmac66
Ah! But have you seem the discounts on nearly new? Slice about £1500 off for just a few miles on the clock, or pre-registered. At that price nothing gets anywhere near. But it's still not a reason to buy one.....

[@fa6529]

Anyone knows what's the fuel consumption?!

[@sporttourer5512]

in city around 16kmpl and highway 20+ kmspl

[@nzbeeker1]

1st.