Benelli 654 Turismo
Benelli 654 Turismo
. .Review Which Bike?
The Benelli 654 is full of surprises. Thehandbook, in Italian, has a page headed caratteristiche techniche. A-LevelItalian or a moment's thought will give you the meaning. You may not graspalesaggio e corso, which features on the same page, but the adjacent figures areself-explanatory: 60mm x 53.4mm. Now, four times Pi r² where diameter equals 60mm. . .Wait a minute, here's what I'm looking for, the cilindrata totale or engine sizeto you, Giacomo: 603.94cc.
That is, id est, 604cc. It's not a 650 at all.And you thought the Japanese were cunning.You may wonder, too, why Benelli want to enter the field of the middleweighttransverse four at all, when there are already some 25 models in that range,more than half of which are four-cylinder machines. The answer, of course, isthat Benelli produce the only range of transverse fours in Italy, where highimport tariffs neutralise Japanese competition.
The question should properly be directed towardsTKM, the new Benelli Concessionaires' parent company. They've chosen to importBenellis into Britain, created 40 new dealerships to improve spares andservicing (and spares are already being dramatically reduced in price, thoughthis probably has more to do with the strength of sterling) and mounted anaggressive campaign in the bike press to promote the new venture.
You've probably seen the legend "The BenelliBrothers never made Pizzas" - I'm sure they didn't, but their bikes cost a lotof dough. At £1,999, the 654 is £450 more than the Honda 650Z, its nearestcounterpart among the Jap fours, and £600 more than Kawasaki's 650B, which has adouble overhead cam. So, what do you get for your money?
To start with, you get a motorcycle which,despite its effectively Japanese engine, looks and feels unmistakably Italian.Where the 504 has definite sporting tendencies, the 654, with its higher barsand footrests mounted slightly forward, offers more of a touring position, butthe square styling, small fly-screen and cast wheels emphasize the sportsbreeding. The finish is excellent and the attention to detail reassuring (thecolour has been described by one road-tester as a 'dull, brick-red' — thehandbook calls it Amaranth'; either way, it drew many favourable comments).
The seat is broad but rather shallow, as isthe tank, so at first the bike feels bigger than it looks. The switches, whilesensibly laid out, look like rejects from an Italian Monopoly game in shape andcolours. The designers have also chosen to cap the rear wheel nuts with arubber, a fanciful idea which serves no purpose other than to complicate thechain-adjustment procedure; to get the caps off you have to remove thesilencers. . .
The 654's compactness gives it aheavyweight look despite its clean lines. Certainly it feels heavier than the4001b dry weight claimed by the manual, but this initial reaction may well becaused by the problems of manoeuvering the bike in a small space, a process nothelped by the slightly restricted steering lock. The flimsy ignition key isinserted into the handlebar-mounted switch: a touch of the progressive choke anda dab on the starter button and the engine rustles and whispers into life.There's no need to check that the sidestand is up — it won't start if it's down— so I wait a moment to allow the last of a shower of rain to die away and thenI'm out onto the road.
The day is hot and muggy, the road already dry after the shower. The bike feelstight, but the throttle is responsive and the engine zips punchily through thegears. I feel I'm going faster than I am, an illusion most fours create whenthey're kept in the lower half of the rev band but, with only 1,100, miles onthe clock, I'm reluctant to use whatever acceleration lies above the 6,000rpmmark. Even so, I feel a little disappointed; there's still that sensation ofweight, as though the bike has a hidden load somewhere.
Just as I think I might open it up a little, acloudburst forces me to take shelter. I don my lightweight oversuit and set offinto the gloom and the Benelli, suddenly and surprisingly, becomes a joy toride. I sweep into roundabouts, cross white lines with abandon, brake firmlywithout problems and roll at less than walking pace between lines of cars to thehead of traffic queues. The roadholding, steering and balance are exceptional. Ireach home in sunshine again, and take a closer, less dismissive look at the654.
The Michelin M38s are an obvious contribution tothe roadholding; they've replaced the less rain-worthy Pirellis. The Brembobrakes are linked a la Guzzi, and I found no difficulty in adapting to using therear brake pedal only (for those who don't know, the pedal operates the frontleft disc and the rear disc simultaneously, giving 70 per cent of the load tothe front and 30 per cent to the rear; the right-hand disc is operatedtraditionally, and is used for heavy braking or extra control). They workedperfectly in the wet but the discs, being cast-iron, left the front of the bikecovered in a solution of rust and water.
The duplex frame and tubular swing arm offered noclues as to why the Benelli handled so well, though Marzocchi suspension helped.But if it handled so well in the wet, 1 thought, what would it do in the dry?
Using the Benelli as a commuter bike, there waslittle opportunity for me to stretch the motor's claimed 60bhp. Around town,fuel Consumption Averaged 46mpg, though a leaking petrol tap gave one reading of38mpg. The pilot bulb failed after 200 miles. The mirrors remainedvibration-free up to 50mph, and were still more than useful above that speed.The light clutch and precise steering gave an easy ride in traffic, though thesteering was slightly heavy on corners. Acceleration was always smooth and, asyou would expect, gear changing was unnecessary for most overtaking in town. Theoil warning light flickered capriciously and the indicator warning light showed"on" after the leftside indicators packed in at 1,350 miles: the idiot lightpanel is theatrically pointless anyway.
The toolkit, in its nasty plastic roll, isreasonably inadequate - the screwdriver is a bad joke and there are no alienkeys — but then it's hidden under the seat after all. There's no helmet lock,and the rear indicators are integral with the grab rail, demanding a completerethink for the fitting of carriers. However, these problems didn't affect townriding which was always pleasant, although towards the end of the 400 miles Icovered in and around London two faults developed. One was disconcerting, butnot serious: the motor began cutting out on the overrun, especially on corners.
The second, while only a nuisance, suggestedfuture problems: the gear lever required two hooks of the left foot to changeup. No amount of clutch adjustment improved matters, and though clutch-less gearchanges were easily effected from third gear up at speed, second to third neededthe clutch and some care if the inevitable false neutral were to be avoided.A motorway dash to a cricket match in Bath gave me the opportunity to testthe engine, which was now spinning freely, and the whole machine to the limits.A couple of blasts down the A3 had already indicated a pair of potentialtrouble-spots: the centre stand grounded much too easily, and the frontsuspension seemed a little soft. Two up on the M3, however, the suspensioncaused no problems whatever the speed, as the broad bends demanded little Ground Clearance.
What motorways do show up, though, is top endperformance. And in that respect the Benelli 654S is lacking.Acceleration was steady up to an indicated 85-90mph. From there the bike gainedspeed — you could hardly term it "accelerated" — to an indicated 110. And thatwas as far as it would go. Not very impressive, even if we were driving into astrong headwind on an exposed road, because the usually-generous speedometererror hid a top speed of just under the ton.The engine seemed under no strain, however. Petrol consumption worked out atexactly 50mpg, and no oil was used. During a break in the cricket I took our sixfoot, 12 stone wicket keeper for a run up half a mile of private road alongsidethe ground. Here, too, the Benelli accelerated smoothly up to 95 but no further.My passener was impressed with the machine's stability which, it's true, wasscarcely affected by his weight.
I took the A4 back to London. The conditions wereperfect; a late summer's afternoon, warm and sunny, with a light tail wind, andfemale pillion passenger. We were in no hurry, but the empty roads invited highspeeds and the Benelli's precise handling and bedrock road-holding helped makethe run pure joy. The engine's power characteristics allowed effortless 90mphcruising on the open roads as well as coping with walking-pace speeds in thecentres of villages and towns. Where the motorway had been a slog, the journeyback felt like flying.The 654 redlines at 10,000 rpm, which would give 120mph. It also has a yellowline at 8,000 which no-one could explain. Maximum power is a claimed 60bhp at8,700, or 105mph,and the top gear will pull cleanly from 2,000 revs (25mph). Asthe frame far exceeds the engine's demands on it, all the Benelli's broad spreadof power is useable. We did see almost 120 on the clock coming back and I'dguess that, when the motor's fully run in, a true 110 mph would be quite possiblewithout recourse to a dry track, racing leathers, etc.
The bike again returned 50 mpg and used no oil.The lights proved poor, which was only to be expected from the low-ratedelectrics, while the low Ground Clearance restricted the scratching that thehandling could offer.
Yet, for all that, the ride was immenselyenjoyable.It would be tempting at this point to make out a case for a comparativelylow-performance spec machine such as this, especially as I liked it, but itwould cloud the issue. Put at its simplest the Benelli is, like mostmotorcycles, a collection of compromises. Unfortunately, more than most, itfalls between several stools. With its outmoded sohc engine, it's clearly not asports bike. Nor is it a tourer: its light weight and chain drive are evidenceof that, as are the smallish capacity tank, giving 150 miles between stops, andthe general sporty styling.
At 600cc it's no town bike. It will probably beconsidered as a sports tourer, but in the light of Suzuki's shaft-driven16-valve 650 the Benelli's lack of a positive designation is cruellyhighlighted. I'm afraid that, between them, Italy's Ales-sandro de Tomaso andour own TKM are backing a loser.Mr de Tomaso may not be too worried; the 654 could sell well in Italy where it'sprotected from competition and, besides, he's also Mr Ducati and Mr Moto-Guzzi,among other things. But TKM have a struggle on their hands with this model.
Benelli's 250 and 350 fours at least have the cachet ofexclusivity to compensate for their necessarily high purchase price. At £2,000the Benelli 654S is an expensive way of remaining anonymous.