I fire up the triple and start blipping the throttle.
It’s a cold-blooded machine, the RS, and doesn’t like
to idle until the temperature gauge wakes up and has
a stretch. Once warm the tacho hovers at around 1400rpm,
the clutch rattling away like a can of nuts and bolts
and a Wha Wha Wha rasp coming from the race-bred Ti
muffler.
A heave on the heavy clutch and a positive clunk
into first gear and I’m off for a run north. The Benelli
takes a handful of revs to get moving but first gear
isn’t too tall when compared with some modern sportsbikes.
I settle into the riding position almost immediately.
The wide, low bars feel just right (although they
do baulk on the fairing from lock to lock) and the
seat to ‘peg distance suites my lanky frame well –
a luxury all to rare for me these days.
Despite its obviously threatening appearance, the
tank shape and seat combo is fine. And the mirrors
offer a reasonable view of the carnage behind me.
In fact, I’m comfortable on the RS as I weave my way
through the traffic on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
But the clutch, I have to say, is a pain in the neck.
Take-up is not at all progressive and selecting neutral
at a stand still is off limits. I guess that’s the
price of performance, though, and this is a race bike,
not a commuter. Buy a CB250 for that.
Finally free from the restrictions of suburbia I
stretch the Benelli’s legs on the freeway and settle
in for a 100km run, the triple spinning at a sweet
4500rpm bang on the legal limit and a muffled wail
coming from the exhaust. This thing is just begging
to be opened up.
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Comfort
turns to pain 30 minutes in – my throttle wrist
dead thanks to some nasty vibes and sore kidneys
from the stiff Extreme Tech shock settings.
Still, this has to be done. Not everyone lives
near a twisty road. I’ve got to cover everything.
I break up the monotony and get my blood flowing
by rolling on and off the throttle, just creeping
into the 7000rpm sweet spot and getting off
on the Ferrari-like induction roar. Now we’re
talking. |
A quick fuel stop reveals that the trip meter has
re-set itself. Yep, in true Italian form the instruments
are playing games with my mind. Who cares, I’m off
to the twisties now. I’ll fuel up when the light comes
on.
With a new rear to scrub in I creep through my local
favourites for a few runs. Once I’m satisfied that
the tyre is sorted I begin to push a little harder,
just trying to get a feel for things. My first impression
is how sweet the RS steers. It’s much more agile than
the base model and I even add a few clicks to the
steering damper to slow things down a little. The
shock is very stiff and the front end quite soft so
the bike really turns in quickly. In fact, it is razor
sharp in the steering department, a bit too sharp,
so I add two clicks of front compression to slow the
forks down and stop them moving through their stroke
so quickly. The improvement into the turns is immediate
and a further tweak of the rebound helps settle the
front once in the corner.
With more confidence I start to carry more speed
through the corners and really get into it. No stupid
stuff, just a good, fast road pace.
The front is planted and confidence inspiring into
turns and the radial-mount Brembos are brilliant.
Loads of feel, huge power and very responsive to subtle
inputs at the lever. The entire package feels refined
and well balanced for a motorcycle with so much weight
over the front end.
As is the case on the base model Tre, the rear tends
to wander a little under hard braking, and the slipper
clutch is, well, not the most consistent clutch on
earth. But the overall balance of the motorcycle feels
very good right throughout the cornering process.
The RS, although 3kg lighter than the Tre, is still
a heavy motorcycle, and flipping the bike from full
lean to full lean through a succession of 35ers is
working my upper body hard. The well positioned ‘pegs
make all the difference though and riders who make
good use of their legs are well rewarded on the RS.
But right in the middle of each corner I do feel slightly
paranoid that my foot is going to go straight under
the rear wheel – the ‘pegs look nice, but they sure
are slippery.
With such a high ride-height the Benelli fires out
of corners accurately and on rails. Where I look is
where I go – into, through, and out of turns. And
tucking in, although unnecessary on the road, adds
to my excitement down the short chutes between corners
and lets me hear that sweet induction roar. Oh yeah,
I’m loving this.
Fuelling? Fair. But there is some snatch as I crack
the throttle mid-turn and I’m burning up the rear
brake trying to get a smooth transition. The idle
on this test bike is inconsistent and sometimes drops
below 1000rpm, so maybe that has something to do with
it. And the enormous amount of engine braking only
compounds the problem. Once on the tube, though, throttle
response cleans up somewhat – but could be much more
progressive.
Rolling between 4000 and 7000rpm is smooth
and sweet, but the RS punches off the turns
like hellfire as I let the tacho swing between
7500rpm and 11000rpm, where the power tails
off before slamming into the abrupt 11800rpm
limiter. It really is tyre-frying stuff, with
the torque of the triple at its strongest
just under 9000rpm. But a 1000rpm overrev
would do wonders and the slipper clutch can’t
be relied on – as I find out with a big rear
lock-up into a second gear corner. Blip the
throttle. That’s the safest bet.
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Gearbox action is positive and relatively slick and
with such a wide spread of power the ratios aren’t
an issue.
I don’t even know what gear I’m in half the time,
there just seems to be endless torque on tap. Twist
and go.
For the serious sportsrider or track punter the RS,
as an overall package, is well worth the extra bucks
over the standard Tornado. Quality of build is dramatically
improved over early models and although it has a few
very minor gremlins, pride of ownership and the superb
chassis and engine combo more than compensate for
them.
Did I mention the sweet chassis?
ENGINE
The RS engine configuration is the same as
that of the base Tornado but has been improved in
three significant areas: Fuelling, valve timing and
cooling. The inlet trumpets are 20mm shorter and mapping
has been revised, inlet cam lift is increased by 0.5mm
and duration by 50 degrees and the addition of an
oil cooler has reduced operating temperatures. The
result is an increase in peak power of 4.4kW [6hp]
and 4Nm [2.9ft-lbs]. The slipper clutch is adjustable
on the RS only.
CHASSIS
The RS forks are top of the line, fully adjustable,
50mm inverted Marzocchi’s made to Benelli specs. Handlebars
are claimed to be 15mm further back than on previous
versions, giving a more tucked in riding position
– but they seem to be the same. The rear shock is
from Extreme Technology and incorporates both high
and low speed compression adjustment, plus rebound
and preload.
The wheels are trick forged alloy OZ items and are
1.750kg lighter than the base model rims.
Brembo ‘Serie Oro’ (Gold Series) radial-mount calipers
replace the production Brembos on the base Tornado.
The frame can be adjusted in terms of both steering
head angle and swingarm mounting position and comprises
of a front part in tubular Molybdenum Chrome steel
and a rear in cast aluminium alloy, which embraces
the structure. The two parts are solidly linked by
means of robust screws pulling on the four trusses,
reinforced by a structural bonding to exclude micro-movements
and vibrations completely.
SPECIFICATIONS
2004 BENELLI TORNADO TRE NOVECENTO RS
Bore x stroke: 88 x 49.2mm Displacement: 898cc Compression
ratio: 11.0:1 Fuel delivery: Sagem multi-point EFI
Ignition: electronic Exhaust: Titanium/alloy Gearbox:
six-speed close ratio cassette style Ratios: N/A Final
ratio: N/A Clutch: dry multi-plate adjustable slipper
clutch Final drive: O’ring chain CHASSIS - Frame type:
Tubular steel front trusses, cast alloy rear section,
joined with traction screws Wheelbase: 1419mm Rake:
23.5 degrees Trail: 93mm Front suspension: fully adjustable
50mm Marzocchi inverted forks, 110mm travel Rear suspension:
fully adjustable Extreme Tech shock, 115mm travel
Front brake: Twin four-piston Brembo ‘Serio Oro’ radial-mount
calipers, Brembo master cylinder, 320mm rotors Rear
Brake: Brembo twin-piston caliper, 240mm rotor Front
wheel: OZ forged alloy, 3.5 x 17in Rear wheel: OZ
forged alloy, 6.0 x 17in Front tyre: Dunlop D208 120/70
– 17 Rear tyre: Dunlop D208 190/50 – 17 Ground clearance:
N/A Seat height: claimed 810mm Overall height: N/Amm
Overall width: N/Amm Overall length: N/Amm INSTRUMENTS
Speedo, tacho, odo, tripmeter, clock, reserve light,
engine check light, oil pressure – water temp – FI
warning, indicators for high beam, blinkers and neutral,
lap timer
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