The French Magazine MotoRevue has a certain << je ne sais pas>> when it comes to finding the Benelli brood out and about before they hit the official press launches. This time around it appears they’ve caught a TnT 899 Cafe Racer going through its paces. While the new Benelli fills a whole in the 899/1130 parity, we’re still not sure about the rumors of this “little” bike. More after the jump.
A reduced capacity version of the 1130cc model, the 899 mimics the 1130 in just about every way, save for the fact it’s not available in the eye-catching Cafe Racer spec. Expected to come at a premium price over the base model of the 899 abroad, pricing in the US is hard to nail down.
Many dealers we’ve seen have not taken new stock of the Benelli line, some holding off for years as they continue to unload previous models (and then plan to close their support for the brand). With price-cuts happening around the country, we can’t imagine many people wanting to purchase a new TnT 899 Cafe Racer when they can pick up the 1130 version for less cash.
Until Benelli blesses us with the opportunity to try the new 899 out, we are also unable speak to the fact that the original TnT’s gremlins have been excised from the basic design. We know that headlights that cut-out at traffic lights due to over-heating is not something we look for in a premium class motorcycle, no matter how good it looks.
While we’re smitten with the over-all Benelli design, we’re still waiting to see if the Italian Chinese company can implement some better quality control, and improve its distribution channels with its new found financial backing.
Source: MotoRevue; Photo: Vincent Boyer
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