2017 Benelli TnT600 Tornado Review
A rare naked inline-four-cylinder in the wild
When it comes to naked inline-Four 600cc streetfighters, Benelli’s TnT600 Tornado is in a class of its own due to an absence of competitors. Similar motorcycles exist in parallel-Twin form from Honda (CB500F $6,099), Kawasaki (Z650 $6,999), Yamaha (FZ-07 $7,199), and a V-Twin from Suzuki (SV650 $6,999), but each of those is two pistons shy of the four-cylinder Benelli. However, just last week Honda announced that its four-cylinder CB650F (a naked middleweight based on the faired CBR650F) will be imported to America beginning this August for the 2018 model year. A price has yet to be announced, but we expect an MSRP around $8k.
Honda announces the CB650F is coming stateside for 2018
For anyone currently shopping in this range of price and performance, we urge you to sit tight a while longer because we have a shootout brewing between most of the aforementioned models (sans the just-announced CB650F). From it we’ll decipher strengths and weaknesses, and how each compares to the other. Until then, consider this single-bike review of the Benelli an appetizer to the main course.
The TnT600 isn’t a new model, originally announced circa 2006, and made public at the 2012 EICMA show after Benelli had been purchased by the Qianjian Group. The underseat exhaust rage of the time indicates the TnT600’s age, and there’s even a family resemblance to the earlier, more exotic TnT 1130 model reviewed here.
Producing a claimed 82 crank horsepower should put the TnT in the mix of rear-wheel horsepower of the KTM 690 Duke, FZ-07, and SV650 (70ish) when we measured those last year. All those bikes peak between 8500 and 9000 rpm, while the Benelli and its inline-Four spin up to a peak of 11,500 rpm. And, it’s not the quickest spinning engine, taking its time to reach its peak power and exacerbating the engine’s weak midrange (38.5 lb.-ft. at 9000 rpm claimed at its crankshaft compared to 44.9 measured lb.-ft. at 8100 rpm for the SV650).
The Benelli’s front end must contend with a variety of riding situations from commuter to canyon carver for a variety of sizes of riders. It’s a big ask, and the TnT performs as good, if not a little better, than can be expected of an inverted 50mm fork with no adjustability. Definitely somewhat soft for comfortably going fast, but for the newer to intermediate rider we expect this bike to attract, it’ll perform fine until it’s time to buy a new bike. The rear shock adjustable for preload and rebound damping is a little more capable of handling the variety of tasks asked of it.
Braking performance from the TnT’s dual 320mm front discs and radial-mount calipers isn’t what we’d call confidence inspiring. Pull at the lever is substantial to get the binders really working – to the point of concern that you’re applying so much pressure the non-ABS binders are about to lock. That never happened, and we slowly came to terms with how much pressure was necessary to stop (semi) quickly. Could be a case of a little air in the brake line.
The TnT’s seating position is what you’d expect from a 600cc bike – a little cramped in legroom for my 5-foot-11 frame, but not beyond what is normal, and somewhat wide between the knees. The reach to the bars is comfortable, and the bars themselves reach out to keep the rider upright with a slight forward lean into the wind. They’re also wide enough to provide good leverage without going overboard.
2017 Benelli TnT600 Tornado
+ Highs
- Only bike in its class
- Exotic by default
- A good do-everything beginnerish bike
– Sighs
- Heavy
- Weak front brakes
- Not even preload adjustability for the fork
Retailing for $6,999 doesn’t give the TnT600 any kind of price advantage over its Japanese competitors – something many lesser known manufacturers use to help move someone further down the purchasing decision. We recently reviewed the Benelli TnT300, and came away impressed, but it seems to be a newer design compared to its big brother. We’ll know better shortly when we take measure of the TnT600 against its peers, and see if it doesn’t need a price advantage to stay competitive when competing the likes of Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. Stay tuned!
2017 Benelli TnT600 Tornado Specifications | |
|---|---|
| MSRP | $6,999 |
| Horsepower (claimed) | 82 hp @ 11,500 rpm |
| Torque (claimed) | 38.4 lb.-ft. @ 9,000 rpm |
| Engine Capacity | 600cc |
| Engine Type | Inline 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke |
| Fuel System | EFI |
| Transmission | 6-speed |
| Final Drive | Chain |
| Front Suspension | Non-adjustable 50mm inverted fork |
| Rear Suspension | Rear monoshock w/spring preload and rebound damping adjustability |
| Front Brakes | Dual disc, 320mm |
| Rear Brakes | Single disc, 260mm |
| Front Tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear Tire | 180/55-17 |
| Seat Height | 31.5 inches |
| Wheelbase | 58.3 inches |
| Weight (claimed) | 459 pounds |
| Fuel Capacity | 3.96 gallons |
| Colors | Red, Green, White |
A former Motorcycle.com staffer who has gone on to greener pastures, Tom Roderick still can't get the motorcycle bug out of his system. And honestly, we still miss having him around. Tom is now a regular freelance writer and tester for Motorcycle.com when his schedule allows, and his experience, riding ability, writing talent, and quick wit are still a joy to have – even if we don't get to experience it as much as we used to.
More by Tom Roderick
Comments
Join the conversation
Benelli 600i model (or TNT 600 whatever you call it) is indeed doing a fair amount of business in India for sure. It is a motorcycle with very attractive exhaust sound that alone has caused many people to buy it. I did the test ride of this one some months ago. It is smooth, the bike seems well built and by now several hundred if not thousands of them are running on Indian roads (which admittedly are tough for any superbike category!). It is not a real fast bike per se due to its porky weight. But surely while riding it doesn't feel all that heavy. It has a clutch which can be said to be on heavier side. Since last year, ABS version of this bike has been launched in India. The brakes are not very sharp but that is in a way intentional. Most people graduating to this bike in India are coming from much smaller capacity bikes which don't have sharp throttle or braking response (except KTM Duke range). So Benelli 600i is a much friendlier and easier to live with bike with sweet sound - a large section of buyers are happy with that...Service interval is irritatingly less at just 4000 km! But overall a decent offering...
With the 300 down to $3188 I wouldn't be surprised to see this drop at least a full G to move them... Could be decent for the money if they did, apparently they are easy to work on too.