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Benelli Due 756

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It started life as the Benelli 2ue, debuting at the 2009 EICMA show as a follow-up model to the gorgeous (but horribly flawed) Benelli TnT 1130 series. The next year, the concept stayed the same, though the name changed to the Benelli Due – the “two” referring to the parallel-twin engine of this middleweight, distinguishing it from its three-cylinder sibling.

Since then, Benelli’s 750cc-class naked sport bike has popped up here and there, teasing us relentlessly. Last year at EICMA, the machine showed up again as a concept, slightly changed from its previous incarnation, though largely the same.

Now, we are being told that the 2019 Benelli 752S is ready for primetime (we have heard that before, mind you), and seemingly still, the Italian designed motorcycle continues to intrigues us.

After the news that the Benelli Due 756 would finally be produced and released came out last week, the Italian brand has released a clarification in response to the news that hit the interwebs. Confirming that the Due would indeed become a production model (after making the rounds at motorcycle shows for the better part of the last five years), the Chinese owned Benelli Q.J. released a statement saying that the release date would not be the end of 2011 as some sites had reported, but instead at the end of 2012 (seemingly making this a 2013 model year motorcycle).

Benelli has not outright denied that the news that the Due will hit the Chinese market before it makes its way to Europe, though the Chinese company was quick to say in its statement that “the current version of the Due will be produced in Italy and exported to China and the emerging global markets (without neglecting the European market).” Cryptically we gather that means that the Due we’ve seen will be a world model, while an updated version is slated to hit the European market at some point in the future (2018 perhaps?).

The Benelli Due concept has been in the works for so long, we’re officially giving it the Duke Nukem Forever status of the motorcycle industry. I first laid my eyes on the two-cylinder street-standard back in 2009, as the then called “2ue” was making its second EICMA appearance (the Due made its first appearance as early as the Cologne show in 2006).

Essentially a Benelli triple with a cylinder lopped off, the Benelli Due displaces 756cc with its inline cylinders, and is an otherwise attractive motorcycle. Given how much of a basketcase the “Tre” motor was, we can only imagine the “character” its two-cylinder counterpart brings to the table, though that is an entirely different issue.

Finally announcing that the Benelli Due will hit dealership floors in 2012, the Chinese-owned Italian company has an interesting twist with its news: the Benelli Due will be released in China first, then Europe and other markets.

At play surely is the idea and principle of pride that Chinese companies should release models in their home country first, before servicing other markets. This notion is surely understandable, but does strike us as interesting considering that Europe and North America are likely to be bigger volume markets for this big-displacement motorcycle.

Stopping by the Benelli display at EICMA, we got our first chance to check out the rarely talked about Benelli 2ue. We first spotted the finalized version of the 2ue earlier this year without its fairings on, but for Milan the bike was fully dressed. While seemingly similar to last-year’s concept, Benelli left 2ue completely out of its press information. What few details we have on the 2ue 756 are after the jump, along with more photos of the 2ue up-close.

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While Ducati is recording , times are significantly tighter at Benelli, that other Italian motorcycle manufacturer. With many of its workers on part-time status (and with the Government paying part of their paycheck), production at the Benelli factory has been scaled back to around 1,000 motorcycles for 2009, down from the 20,000 the company had anticipated to make when it set it goals back in 2007.

This year, Chinese owner, Qiang Jiang, is taking a closer look at the Italian acquistion, with the possibility of folding the company not ruled out. This just a few months after Qiang Jiang pumped $26 million into the Italian brand.

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After its initial unveiling in 2006, and winning accolades in 2007, we finally have shots of the Benelli Due 756 in what appears to be its final form. The Due is expected to be officially unveiled this fall, with production slotted for 2010 or earlier. Powering the new Benelli is a two-cylinder 756cc power-plant making 100hp, and is set to take on the naked medium displacement segment, such as Honda Hornet & Kawasaki Z750. Rumors are the Due will be priced to compete with these bikes as well. 

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