Benelli Motorcycle News & Reviews

Benelli is one of the oldest motorcycle manufacturers still in operation. The company started in Italy in 1911 and offered its first motorcycle for sale to the public in 1921. Benelli was successful in racing with several GP championships and Isle of Man TT victories. The brand was also popular in the United States in the 1960’s and 1970’s with bikes sold via Montgomery Ward and Cosmopolitan motors.

The brand changed ownership from the founding Benelli family in 1971 as it struggled to compete with the Japanese brands and stopped production by the end of the 70’s. The brand was relaunched in 1995 with small displacement models and scooters and eventually produced some innovative full-size bikes and even raced in World Superbike in 2001 and 2002 before weak sales again closed the doors on Benelli.
Benelli was acquired by Chinese company Qianjiang in 2005 and has slowly recovered with some models still produced in Pesaro, Italy and some models and components produced in China.

Popular models offered in the US market include the 302S and Leoncino Naked bikes, the TNT135 Mini Moto and the TRK502X Adventure bike.