Mention Benelli and Italian exotica are the first words that come to mind. The “TREK” is meant to be a more versatile TNT, but it still features the same 1130cc triple engine and a tubular frame that you can stare at for hours. Benelli’s are fantastic to look at and ride, when they work…
Words: Tor Sagen/Photography: Benelli
We are assembled outside the paddock gates at Misano one sunny morning in September to ride the new Benelli Tre-K in conjunction with the “I love Benelli” weekend. In true Italian fashion the last bikes were finished the night before and there is chaos! I grabbed a key and a photographer and off we went on the most scenic roads offered on the Italian East coast. The bends are many and very tight, perfect to test a motorcycle on, but also slippery.
On the left hand side on the instrument panel Benelli have kept the Power management button from TNT that allows you to soften the power. A two-way ECU enables two different engine mappings and the soft power option can be useful when it rains or in other scenarios when you want softer throttle response. I only used the button to be able to write about it as the Tre-K is much more fun to ride with full power. Full power is a claimed 125bhp @ 9000 rpm and 115Nm @ 6250rpm. Compared to Ducati Multistrada and Yamaha TDM900 this is a lot of horsepower! The 1130cc in-line triple is in a slightly lower state of tune than the TNT, but 125bhp is still plenty of power. Whilst the Tre-K wants to lift the front wheel when full throttle in first gear, nothing much happens when doing the same on soft power. I could feel the engine management cutting power and I would only use the soft power option if it was dangerously slippery or to save fuel.
The triple engine is a very versatile engine that Benelli have in several different states of tune. The most powerful version sits on the new 163bhp Tornado 1130. Benelli claims that more than 100Nm of torque is available already at 4.500 rpm. This makes for a very strong midrange and on the motorway I could easily cruise in sixth gear all day as there are huge reserves in the engine. The triple sounds a bit rough in the edges compared to a smooth Triumph 1050, but as soon as you use the throttle a bit the roughness on idle and lower rpms disappears into a hysteric three-way scream from the underseat exhaust.
The seat height on Tre-K is more like on a sportsbike than a big adventure bike. At 810mm the seat height is 40mm lower than on Ducati’s Multistrada. To try and categorize the bike it falls in between a mild adventure bike and a sports tourer. The only Adventure about the Tre-K is a few styling details such as the belly pan and the adjustable windscreen. The handlebars are raised and makes for an upright seating position. The seat itself is very thin and stylish-nothing for globetrotters in other words. It is even worse for the passenger where only a thin and narrow seat separates the pillion from the underseat exhaust. The windscreen can be manually adjusted by unscrewing one knob on each side of the half-fairing. The screen is not half as solid as something that you would find on a big BMW and the wind pushes it backwards-Probably best left in its lower position. The tyres are the latest cross-over tyres from Dunlop, the D270. They have been designed particularly for bikes such as the Tre-K. The pattern is wide enough for some gravel, but still road-biased. On the slippery roads along the Adriatic coast they provided sufficient grip even though the rear can get a bit loose. The engine delivers a lot of torque and if I had felt it would be a problem I could always push the power button. Dimensions are 120/70-17 and 180/55-17. Benelli are using lightweight Brembo aluminium alloy wheels. Brembo makes sure the bike stops too with double disc brakes with four pot calipers. I got a good feel through the front and they are plenty powerful enough. Benelli have used the Italian favourite combination of a USD 50mm Marzocchi front fork and Extremetech mono-shock at the rear. This works fine in most situations on the road, but I would be careful on gravel not to get stone chipping on those fork legs. Suspension is fairly soft, but not too soft for some fast cornering.
Tre-K handles really well and feels nimble despite the claimed 205kg dry weight. The chassis is the same tubular work of art as on the TNT. The swingarm in particular deserves some admiration. I rode the TNT Café Racer on Misano later in the day and the same chassis can handle most situations even on the roadracing track. With the wide handlebars on Tre-K it was very easy to change direction or correct the lines through the bends.
The triple engine and chassis really is something special, but there are other more hidden issues. Reports of bad batteries, faulting alternators, bad quality primary gear components and wrong throttle opening on idle causing the bikes to stall. In my group of four journalists only one Tre-K stalled and it started again. But during the whole day the alternator problem and/or cheap and too small batteries caused at least a dozen bikes that I could see to stall or break down. In 2006 Benelli have reduced the problems to minor ones in terms of fixing them (and they have replaced bad suppliers with good ones). However, if a battery fails you when you are in the middle of nowhere the minor problem turns into a big problem. The German Benelli importer sold 1000 TNT’s in 2005. More than anywhere else in the world, but then he said, and I quote; “I also got a 1000 problems out of it”. So there are some serious reliability issues throughout the company and organisation. You need to be seriously in love to buy one, but make sure the importer has sorted all of the known issues before handing over your hard earned cash. Knowing all this would always stop me from raving about the new Tre-K. But if all issues were gone and the reliability was just as good as let’s say the Multistrada, the Tre-K is one hell of a bike and really special. I love the looks, technology, engine and chassis, but wouldn’t buy one just yet.
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1130cc triple engine is inspiring and powerful
Handling
Benelli is so exotic that even the press have difficulties getting to ride the bikes (this doubles as a minus too)
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Reliability issues
You get a beautiful and special bike for your money, but too expensive with the issues that comes with it.
