Test riding the Benelli TnT 25

Being the latest and probably one of the lesser known bike brands Benelli has its task cut out in India mdash a market that is already brimming with competitors Kudos to Benelli however for working hard on brand building Furthermore a major brandbuilding exercise usually also requires a diversified product portfolio which again Benelli has From a 300cc twin to a mental 1130cc triple the brand has been catering to a wide clientele Now the TnT 25 Benellirsquos first 250cc singlecylinder motorcycle is set to give a fillip to the companyrsquos Indian operations Herersquos what we thought of itVisually the TnT 25 can barely be distinguished from its slightly larger sibling the TnT 300 Seen head on in fact yoursquod be forgiven for thinking yoursquore looking at another 300 The obvious difference between the two bikes is the colour scheme especially the decals that add a bit of raciness to the overall stance of the bike Once you move to the right side of the bike you will also notice a matte black upswept endcan in place of the shiny silver underbelly unit of the TnT 300 Get into the saddle and yoursquoll also realise that the riding position and the ergonomics are familiar All in all everything that was right with the TnT 300 has been retainedThe bike sports the allnew 2492cc liquidcooled singlecylinder engine with 28 PS and 216 Nm of peak twist force on tap PicsSanjay RaikarThe biggest difference however is the engine Presenting the allnew 2492cc liquidcooled singlecylinder engine with 28 PS and 216 Nm of peak twist force on tap While the peak power arrives at 9800 revs max torque is available at 8000 RPM The exhaust note is quite nicehellipbetter than the raspy sounds from another set of singlecylinder engines that we have become familiar withOn the go the new engine proves itself a strong performer Power delivery is linear though not exciting and there is good grunt throughout the rev range Although you can get up to fairly high speeds on this bike we saw just over 130 kmh on the digital speedometer the TnT 25rsquos comfort zone is between 100 and 120 kmh Things stay most relaxed in this range Twist the throttle hard and yoursquoll get some brisk acceleration but it doesnrsquot come to you in a frenetic manner If you ride with a sane throttle hand we expect a near 400km range as well from its 165litre petroltankWhere the TnT 25 really excels is in the ride quality department Although the suspension setup is slightly firmer than the TnT 300rsquos the ride quality is still plush enough for Indian road riding purposes It doesnrsquot exactly glide over potholes and bumps but it isolates them well enough to keep things comfortable The TnT 25 is also a lot more agile than its bigger sibling when it comes to handling It can be flicked easily into turns and it still holds its line well It isnrsquot as instinctive as the KTMs when it comes to handling but is capable of holding its own and inspiring confidence in the riderBraking duties are handled by a single 280mm disc up front and a 240mm disc at the rear Look closely at the front wheel and yoursquoll see a mount for a second disc as well but for now the bike gets just the one rotor at the front Although the brakes have just about enough bite they require a hefty tug to get actuated Besides therersquos little feel of progressionAt the end of a full dayrsquos riding all the way to Lonavala and back to Pune herersquos my take on the Benelli TnT 25 The bikersquos nature sits somewhere between the frenetic KTMs and the more relaxed TnT 300 Itrsquoll allow you to cover long distances without much discomfort and at the same time will put a smile on your face when you want to have some fun around a bit of smoothly tarmacked twisties So yes Benelli has got a good product that should do well On the critical issue of pricing wersquod expect a tag below Rs 2 lakh At that price point it will be a purchase proposition that will be hard to ignore for buyers in that segment