Benelli Leoncino 500

[MekkOne]

2 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Wait, did you call the Japanese junk in comparison to Chinese? Hah, right!

Mate, Leoncino is totally Italian engineered, parts are built in china and the bike is assembled there but that doesn't mean that the quality is lower to any Honda assembled in Thailand... PS: you want compare this 500cc engine with the Honda one? you want to go by numbers? PPS: I was asking a question to the OP what you're thinking about my ideas bout Honda built in Thailand junk doesn't matter to me. you're confusing a piece of fine Italian engineering with some plastic toy built for kids...

 

[ktm jeff]

While the 500 ( 470 cc ) Honda isnt a very good bike , i wouldnt call it junk. Boring , yes. Over-priced and poor performing , yes . But not junk. Its also not Japanese. Designed and built in Thailand / Asia , yes , with Chinese parts too. So also not Japanese. Not in any sense.

[MekkOne]

A part that there are no Japanese as the Leoncino are different kind of bikes, I don't like Japanese bikes in general, poor styling and (especially for the kind of bike the sold in here) this toy look that is just ridiculous (motorbikes up to 500cc). Than Junk or not, is relative, I rather buy a Stallions or a Benelli rather than any other bike in Thailand, the first one for the possibility of personalization, the second for the style (look up the 402S that is gonna be a killer for the market in ASIA) bot of them are perfectly worth the price you pay for.

[ledi]

On 5/25/2018 at 12:13 PM, MekkOne said:

 

May I ask you about service costs? I've read in some (India) forums that Benelli service costs are elevated compared to Japanese junk.

I can't really say - yet - I think the first one (1000km) was around THB 1500 or so... And I don't really know the service costs of the Japanese bikes here. I've heard that the cost for Honda service is mostly reasonable in TH. 

[ledi]

Junk - not junk... I guess it's everyone's taste and priorities that counts.... I passed the 3000 km mark, approaching the 4K mark soon. The bike is solid, easy to handle, performs very well (I find), and it looks gorgeous (my view). No tech problems so far.
I did manage to scratch and bend a cover of the exhaust as I was leaning into a curve a bit too much probably... ordered replacement that should arrive soon. 

The one thing that bothers me a bit is that the low beam is not adjustable - and adjusting the high beam is a complex project. The low beam LED is supposed to project this horizontal strip onto the road - works probably well with lighter riders - but with me and wifey on it, it's beaming at the stars (almost). So until I find a solution I am trying to lose some weight ? .

[MekkOne]

4 hours ago, ledi said:

Junk - not junk... I guess it's everyone's taste and priorities that counts.... I passed the 3000 km mark, approaching the 4K mark soon. The bike is solid, easy to handle, performs very well (I find), and it looks gorgeous (my view). No tech problems so far.
I did manage to scratch and bend a cover of the exhaust as I was leaning into a curve a bit too much probably... ordered replacement that should arrive soon. 

The one thing that bothers me a bit is that the low beam is not adjustable - and adjusting the high beam is a complex project. The low beam LED is supposed to project this horizontal strip onto the road - works probably well with lighter riders - but with me and wifey on it, it's beaming at the stars (almost). So until I find a solution I am trying to lose some weight ? .

front beam is common complain in many reviews, I read a lot that it's just too weak. WCS just replace it with something else ?

[thaiguzzi]

Was in a Benelli shop yesterday by accident (and a Ducati shop, and a BMW shop, and a Kawasaki shop, and a Honda shop - not by accident...) and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, fit and finish. The place was busy, with plenty of punters, and the staff were friendly, polite and very knowledgeable.

And I was astounded by the prices - the 600cc 85hp, 4 cylinder jobbie's price was just insane for what you get.

[johng]

And I was astounded by the prices - the 600cc 85hp, 4 cylinder jobbie's price was just insane for what you get.

Insanely cheap or insanely expensive ?

[eisfeld]

4 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Was in a Benelli shop yesterday by accident (and a Ducati shop, and a BMW shop, and a Kawasaki shop, and a Honda shop - not by accident...) and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, fit and finish. The place was busy, with plenty of punters, and the staff were friendly, polite and very knowledgeable.

And I was astounded by the prices - the 600cc 85hp, 4 cylinder jobbie's price was just insane for what you get. 

They opened a new Benelli shop basically around the corner from my place so I think I'll hop down into it to see what they got and how they are staffed.

 

So you're shopping around for a new ride?

[thaiguzzi]

52 minutes ago, johng said:

 

 

 

Insanely cheap or insanely expensive ?
 

 

Insanely cheap.

 

16 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

So you're shopping around for a new ride?

Might be. Might not be... Just looking...

The most disappointing bike I saw, that I wanted to see,  was the Z900RS - was expecting more. Lacked a bit of pizz-azz... The W800 was pretty.

Sat on the Urban GS R9T  - liked it.

Impressed with the Honda CB1100RS - like an old school muscle bike, and air cooled too. Much nicer than the Z900...

Liked the Monster 797+. An extra 30k gets you a termi pipe, re-flash, plastic pillion seat cover and headlight fairing. Not bad for 440k.

First time I've seen Scramblers in the flesh - liked them too, before I wasn't keen on them from videos and magazine articles, but I think they are nice bits of kit now...

Strange how perspectives change seeing stuff in real life, I was so looking fwd to the Z900 and disappointed with it.

The Benelli's are just a bit too small for my 6'3" frame, inc engine size. Smallest i'd consider were the air cooled 800 Ducatis, which are fine for here.

The 1100 Scramblers arrive in August.

The CB1000R arrives next month.

Edited May 29, 2018 by thaiguzzi

[MekkOne]

3 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

 The Benelli's are just a bit too small for my 6'3" frame, inc engine size.

 

new Benelli 752s gonna be out soon 60Kw, 220kg, nice ride...

 

 

 

 

[MekkOne]

I was thinking about Leoncino but I'm waiting to see this 2 in a store before i decide 500cc and 400cc (I don't look for big engine).

 

 

[MekkOne]

more info about the newcomers in here

[eisfeld]

*cough*Ducati copy*cough*

[MekkOne]

11 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

*cough*Ducati copy*cough*

Still they have a better look than any Japanese in town...

[eisfeld]

56 minutes ago, MekkOne said:

Still they have a better look than any Japanese in town...

Even if true (which I'd claim it isn't), that wouldn't make it any better. Just shows that the italian staff get told what to do by the chinese owners. Which is a shame because I'm sure they could come up with some original designs.

[MekkOne]

2 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Even if true (which I'd claim it isn't), that wouldn't make it any better. Just shows that the italian staff get told what to do by the chinese owners. Which is a shame because I'm sure they could come up with some original designs.

I think you have a problem with Benelli bikes, are Chinese so are cheap shit, I can suggest you as this topic is about Benelli Leoncino 500 to open a topic about the most beautiful Japanese bike in Thailand where you can show to everybody how original and beautiful they are and let the people that are interested in this topic have a nice discussion.

[Ks45672]

3 hours ago, MekkOne said:

I was thinking about Leoncino but I'm waiting to see this 2 in a store before i decide 500cc and 400cc (I don't look for big engine).

 

 

Poor man's diavel looks OK..... 

But reliability and support network usually makes owners wish they bought a Honda or kawa when it breaks

[eisfeld]

1 hour ago, MekkOne said:

I think you have a problem with Benelli bikes, are Chinese so are cheap shit, I can suggest you as this topic is about Benelli Leoncino 500 to open a topic about the most beautiful Japanese bike in Thailand where you can show to everybody how original and beautiful they are and let the people that are interested in this topic have a nice discussion.

 

I don't have a problem with Benelli bikes. Benelli has a very long and rich history in motorcycling and I respect them for that. That's why I suggested that they should let the Benelli designers come up with their own designs. I also never said chinese bikes are cheap shit. But one can't deny that at this point in time there's a lot of copying going on by chinese manufacturers. Not all of them but it is quite common. And also there's a lot of lower quality bikes being produced in China that target lower price points. And that's totally fine, there is a (huge) demand for those bikes. On the other hand they have some way to go before they can have one of their own brands recognized world wide. And so they buy existing brands but keep some of their business strategies the same...

 

I suggest to you instead to open your own topic about trashing japanese bikes because in my last point I said nothing about those, I referenced Ducati which are clearly not japanese in any way. YOU are the one who brings up japanese bikes in a thread about Benelli out of nowhere! YOU are the one who has some problem with japanese bikes and calls them junk etc. You have a very distorted sense of reality here ?

[MekkOne]

10 hours ago, Ks45672 said:

But reliability and support network usually makes owners wish they bought a Honda or kawa when it breaks

 

When it breaks?

 

Because for what I read online in Thai FB groups about Benelli in general and Leoncino 500, the bikes are reliable, solid, they are singing better and generally are more appreciated in look than most of the Japanese... As I said this is not a topic for Jappo fanboys, I won't change my idea that the 402s (AKA the "Poor man's Diavel") has better looking than any Kawasaki Vulcan and that Leoncino Sport it's an unique bike.

When QJ Benelli opened the Centro Stile Benelli in Pesaro (Italy) they had some of the designer from Ducati going work there (thanks to Jorge Lorenzo becoming a MotoGP driver for Ducati).

Back to the 402s: the big difference between it and the Diavel is that the engine of the Diavel it's part of the frame while the 402s has a completely different frame and has a wishbone back bracket while the Diavel got a side bracket, the line of the bike it's indeed quiet similar (cruiser are all look like the Diavel since it came out) but if you want to make a nice copy you copy from a piece of art not from a piece of crap... It's probably in your eyes the Poor man's Diavel, yet I prefer to look poor on a bike like that, than like a power ranger on a Kawasaki Z or a Honda CBF.

 

BTW I'd like to know how many cruiser are available at a price of around 250k on the Thai market (but I bet 402s gonna be more around 200k), because maybe you didn't get it but in this country price matter and as I said before when this 402s will be out I'm sure we will see a lot of them around.

 

[MekkOne]

9 hours ago, eisfeld said:

 

I don't have a problem with Benelli bikes. Benelli has a very long and rich history in motorcycling and I respect them for that. That's why I suggested that they should let the Benelli designers come up with their own designs. I also never said chinese bikes are cheap shit. But one can't deny that at this point in time there's a lot of copying going on by chinese manufacturers. Not all of them but it is quite common. And also there's a lot of lower quality bikes being produced in China that target lower price points. And that's totally fine, there is a (huge) demand for those bikes. On the other hand they have some way to go before they can have one of their own brands recognized world wide. And so they buy existing brands but keep some of their business strategies the same...

 

I suggest to you instead to open your own topic about trashing japanese bikes because in my last point I said nothing about those, I referenced Ducati which are clearly not japanese in any way. YOU are the one who brings up japanese bikes in a thread about Benelli out of nowhere! YOU are the one who has some problem with japanese bikes and calls them junk etc. You have a very distorted sense of reality here ?

yeah GPX and Lifan indeed are making copy over copy, but I don't see any copy at the Benelli dealers...

[eisfeld]

2 hours ago, MekkOne said:

yeah GPX and Lifan indeed are making copy over copy, but I don't see any copy at the Benelli dealers...

Not sure if the bikes are at the dealers yet but those wanna-be Diavel and Monster are so clear copies that really noone can deny that imho. Mind you, I am not even saying if that's good or bad but it's an undenyable fact.

[MekkOne]

26 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Not sure if the bikes are at the dealers yet but those wanna-be Diavel and Monster are so clear copies that really noone can deny that imho. Mind you, I am not even saying if that's good or bad but it's an undenyable fact.

Because the Kawasaki vulcan it's not a copy of the DIavel (if you remove the horrible rear fender?) oh yeah just vulcan is ugly as <deleted>...

 

 

 

 

[MekkOne]

here you go Kawasaki Diavel

[eisfeld]

That's a bit of a stretch. The bike doesn't look like that photoshopped picture and noone would get confused between the Vulcan and the Diavel when seeing them side by side. I'm not sure why you keep on attacking Japanese bikes in this thread. Do you admit that Benelli is copying Ducati bikes?

[ktm jeff]

On 5/29/2018 at 3:07 AM, thaiguzzi said:

Was in a Benelli shop yesterday by accident (and a Ducati shop, and a BMW shop, and a Kawasaki shop, and a Honda shop - not by accident...) and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, fit and finish. The place was busy, with plenty of punters, and the staff were friendly, polite and very knowledgeable.

And I was astounded by the prices - the 600cc 85hp, 4 cylinder jobbie's price was just insane for what you get.

Come on TG , come over to the dark-side and buy a Benelli. We have cookies.

[ktm jeff]

Its strange how some people mention China as soon as the beautiful design of Benelli is praised. The idea , design , prototypes and build of these Benellis is in Italy. I can see a visual design link between Benelli and Ducati - some designers have worked for both companies , and maybe MV.   Italian bikes do have that certain style. Its what sets them apart from the Japanese mass produced bikes. I think Ducati is still German owned - VW ? , but people dont seem to get themselves all wound up about that. Not that they should , of course.

[thaiguzzi]

33 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Do you admit that Benelli is copying Ducati bikes?

Yeah, pretty much so.

Not that I care, but yeah they are...

[MekkOne]

32 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

That's a bit of a stretch. The bike doesn't look like that photoshopped picture and noone would get confused between the Vulcan and the Diavel when seeing them side by side. I'm not sure why you keep on attacking Japanese bikes in this thread. Do you admit that Benelli is copying Ducati bikes?

Of course nobody will confuse the Vulcan with the Diavel or even the 402S, first of all because as they like to advertise it's a bike for pussies (advert attached from Kawasaki website) second because Vulcan as I said before is UGLY AS the F word, my Photoshop work just make it look far better that what it actually look and was made to give you another prospective, you don't see the similarity in the design between Vulcan and Diavel, I do and as I told you they just ad a rear fender for give to in a very unhappy and ugly retro style.

 

There are similarities in the design between Diavel and 402S but for somebody that knows how a motorbike is built it's clear Benelli use a completely different approach than Ducati. I'm sure that Benelli designed it's bike for having a machine easy to drive and precise on the corners as close as they can to the Ducati, the frame look solid and it doesn't have to support a 1199cc with 152hp and 123Nm of torque. You say what you want but it's gonna be a great bike.

 

[MekkOne]

23 minutes ago, ktm jeff said:

 Italian bikes do have that certain style. Its what sets them apart from the Japanese mass produced bikes.

 

Something that not everybody understand especially if they never drove one...

 

and kinda yes, Ducati is owned by Lamborghini that is owned by Audi that is owned by vW