Benelli Leoncino 500

[ktm jeff]

23 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

 

To me , the Vulcan looks similar to a HD V-rod. I like the looks of both.Did one copy the other. Who cares. They are both aggressive custom cruiser styles. They are going to look similar. Its a bit like trying to design a cardboard box - that doesnt look too similar to the last cardboard box someone else designed. The Italian bikes , designed by Italian designers , who have worked for several Italian bike companies , are going to have a certain amount of their design "bleed over" to their other designs. Why would they not use such design skill , learnt from over 100 years of Italian bike design. Its one of the reasons Italian bikes are so special.

[ledi]

6500 km later - nothing has fallen off so far... it is still purring happily... I have exchanged the rack as my original design was definitely too weak. Got the 4000 km service quite late coz i misread the manual... was THB 1800 at Benelli Nawamin. 
 

[ledi]

We just had a discussion regarding the "real" weight of the Leoncino.... Googling returned weights between 170 kg to 196 kg.... found out that that has to do with local regulations how vehicle weights have to be declared....  and then I also found this Australian review from May 2018:
https://bikereview.com.au/review-2018-benelli-leoncino-lams/

[findlay13]

On 5/30/2018 at 6:57 PM, thaiguzzi said:

Yeah, pretty much so.

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

I like my Vulcan just fine.A good bike for Thailand IMO.The style has been copied to some extent from a VROD as KTM Jeff has said.I like my Triumph America very much too.I also like the Benelli .I consider one if I didn't need forward controls. All the makers  "borrow" ideas from each other to some extent.

I find it amusing so many people on here have chip on their shoulder and just about everything turns into a shit fight/

[pbas400]

the new Leoncino Trail seems nice, price... no idea ?

 

https://thailand.benelli.com/product/leoncino-trail

[jchfriis]

In the UK the Trail is 200 GBP more than the regular, or 4 percent. So if the same applies here in Thailand the Trail should cost about 8500 more or about 217500. Just an educated guess.

[ledi]

9 hours ago, jchfriis said:

In the UK the Trail is 200 GBP more than the regular, or 4 percent. So if the same applies here in Thailand the Trail should cost about 8500 more or about 217500. Just an educated guess.

Looks like it is THB 219000 incl on road cost - some additional discounts

[BurgerGung]

There are lots of videos & reviews on Youtube. A middle weight twin which is affordable... This class will get more competition in future, I'm sure.

 

Now can someone please do a thorough 50,000 km test and then measure the complete engine? ?

 

[jchfriis]

13 hours ago, BurgerGung said:

There are lots of videos & reviews on Youtube. A middle weight twin which is affordable... This class will get more competition in future, I'm sure.

 

Now can someone please do a thorough 50,000 km test and then measure the complete engine? ?

 

OK, I'll try, may take some time though ? 

Picked up mine today and did about 50 km, so I'll get back to you in approximately a thousand days!

 

Been without a proper motorcycle for a few years, and wanted to get back in the saddle so to speak. Had a BMW K100 in the old country. A great touring bike, and still sporty enough for me. Bought myself a Kawasaki ER6n here. Good enough, but left me a little cold, so when it didn't get enough use I sold it. Along comes this Benelli Leoncino and immediately I fell in love. Great looks and the specs sounded just right, as is the price. After reading and watching dozens of reviews and this thread I pulled the trigger.

 

On my little test-ride up the Samoeng road the bike felt great. Enough grunt so I did't have to change gears all the time, easy to handle, and comfortable.

 

I'm in Chiang Mai, and the dealer told me they have sold 20 of them so far, so they seem to be doing all right.

 

Looking  forward to be able to give more of my impressions of the bike.

[BurgerGung]

Would love to reent one in Chiang Mai! A good way for Benelli to show their bikes are reliable... Many dealers won't allow one o even sit on a new bike, let alone offer test rides...

[eisfeld]

6 hours ago, BurgerGung said:

Would love to reent one in Chiang Mai! A good way for Benelli to show their bikes are reliable... Many dealers won't allow one o even sit on a new bike, let alone offer test rides...

I have a personal rule to never buy a bike without a testride. If they are too scared that I might find the bike that I'm interested in not so great after I riding it for 30min then I guess it's not such a great ride after all. I'm prepared to put down a substantial cash deposit if that helps covering insurance deductibles. Ducati lets me test ride bikes that cost north of a million baht. But some other brands wont let me testride a bike that costs less than 100k. The funniest thing was with Yamaha which would let me test ride a MT-10 literbike but only on their tiny 20m parking lot. I'd have finished the runway before I fully let the clutch out ?

[thaiguzzi]

4 hours ago, eisfeld said:

I have a personal rule to never buy a bike without a testride. If they are too scared that I might find the bike that I'm interested in not so great after I riding it for 30min then I guess it's not such a great ride after all. I'm prepared to put down a substantial cash deposit if that helps covering insurance deductibles. Ducati lets me test ride bikes that cost north of a million baht. But some other brands wont let me testride a bike that costs less than 100k. The funniest thing was with Yamaha which would let me test ride a MT-10 literbike but only on their tiny 20m parking lot. I'd have finished the runway before I fully let the clutch out ?

The thing is, 30 minute test rides do not give you a full impression of a motorcycle, nor it's capabilities in different situations.

The biggest example of this is Moto Guzzi motorcycles, one of THE most love 'em/hate 'em Marmite motorcycles.

Guzzisti are some of the most ardent and loyal motorcycle owners of any brand, anywhere in the world.

A lot of bike journos over the years have never "got" Guzzis.

A 30 minute ride on a Guzzi for a first timer who's come from a Ducati (light flywheel - revs up quick) or a Jap 4 cylinder bike (smooth, zero character), or a modern BMW twin (just too boring) will generally leave him/her disappointed. Whats all the fuss about?

Take the thing out for a full day on very different roads and scenic situations and he/she will come back with a huge grin on their face and say "where do i sign".

[eisfeld]

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

The thing is, 30 minute test rides do not give you a full impression of a motorcycle, nor it's capabilities in different situations.

The biggest example of this is Moto Guzzi motorcycles, one of THE most love 'em/hate 'em Marmite motorcycles.

Guzzisti are some of the most ardent and loyal motorcycle owners of any brand, anywhere in the world.

A lot of bike journos over the years have never "got" Guzzis.

A 30 minute ride on a Guzzi for a first timer who's come from a Ducati (light flywheel - revs up quick) or a Jap 4 cylinder bike (smooth, zero character), or a modern BMW twin (just too boring) will generally leave him/her disappointed. Whats all the fuss about?

Take the thing out for a full day on very different roads and scenic situations and he/she will come back with a huge grin on their face and say "where do i sign".

I completely agree with you that a 30min ride wont tell you everything about a bike. And yes, sometimes you need extended time in the saddle to "get" the character of a bike. The test ride is just there for me to know if there's something really crappy with the bike like roasting my nuts in the Thai heat, a really bad clutch or gearbox, super bad fueling, if the ergos just don't work for me etc.

 

Regarding the character: I think 30min is enough for me to know that there's something more to explore with the bike, something I don't understand yet. I can't tell if I'll like it or not but at least I can tell it's not a showstopper. I have a very open mind when it comes to bikes and I know there's no perfect bike. But without even a testride, I'm just playing lottery basically.

 

I think brands that don't offer test rides don't "get" bikers. They are not on the same page as us but want to sell us something. Testrides are an incredibly good promotional tool and cost way less than other marketing channels. Some brands even let you take out a bike over a whole weekend in EU.

[jchfriis]

I’ve had my Leoncino about 6 weeks now and still love it. The only real complaint so far is the headlights. To adjust them you almost have to be some kind of Houdini with just the right screwdriver. Whoever designed them must have thought more about style than function, because the assembly looks great. But, the low beam gives a rectangular light which in my opinion is too small vertically. What is worse is that there is a space between the low and the high beam where no light is shining, and I have found no way to adjust them individually. I don’t ride much after sunset so not a big problem for me, but it may be for some.

[AllanB]

Am interested in following reports on this bike as it is contender for my European touring bike next year. They are Eur5000 I think, so that's 20% less than here.

 

Any luggage facility/ideas available?

[AllanB]

Am interested in following reports on this bike as it is contender for my European touring bike next year. They are Eur5000 I think, so that's 20% less than here.

 

Any luggage facility/ideas available?

[ledi]

On 11/27/2018 at 3:52 PM, jchfriis said:

I’ve had my Leoncino about 6 weeks now and still love it. The only real complaint so far is the headlights. To adjust them you almost have to be some kind of Houdini with just the right screwdriver. Whoever designed them must have thought more about style than function, because the assembly looks great. But, the low beam gives a rectangular light which in my opinion is too small vertically. What is worse is that there is a space between the low and the high beam where no light is shining, and I have found no way to adjust them individually. I don’t ride much after sunset so not a big problem for me, but it may be for some.

Had the same problem..... Even the dealer didn't manage... What we did then is to insert some washers at the base to tilt it in the direction we wanted (Zeus Customs in Bangkok came up with the solution.) Works fine now.

[jchfriis]

 

Had the same problem..... Even the dealer didn't manage... What we did then is to insert some washers at the base to tilt it in the direction we wanted (Zeus Customs in Bangkok came up with the solution.) Works fine now.

Thanks, I'll look into that.