Live from the EICMA show in Italy comes news of two new adventure models from Benelli, a TRK 702 (and 702 X variant), as well as a smaller BKX 250. This news comes after last year’s debut at EICMA of the TRK 800, an adventure model built around the 754cc parallel twin found in the company’s Leoncino 800 models. 

Benelli, originally founded by six bike-loving, business-savvy brothers, is the second oldest Italian manufacturer still in operation, though the marque has been owned by Chinese Qianjiang (QJ) since 2005. Subsequently, Volvo and Lotus owner Geely, also Chinese, bought a major stake in QJ in 2018. Despite the interesting mixed marriage, Benelli’s design, development and marketing departments have remained in Pesaro, Italy, ever since the brand was born in 1911.  

In the last few years Benelli’s lineup and success has been growing exponentially, with Roberto Vitali, the company’s sales and marketing manager, confirming at the Milan show that the company will have sold 40,000 units in Europe by the end of 2022, and it is currently the best selling motorcycle brand in Italy. Wisely, Benelli’s direction going forward will focus on the fast-growing, lucrative adventure bike segment. 

TRK 702 and 702 X

The all-new middleweight 702 and its slightly up market 702 X counterpart expand the TRK family, sitting between the TRK 502 and TRK 800 models.

The new engine is a 698cc liquid-cooled, 4-valve parallel twin claimed to deliver 76.2 hp and 50.3 ft lb of torque via a 6-speed gearbox. The twin will be housed in a tubular steel trellis frame, similar to what’s used for the existing TRK 502. The 502 and 702 models also share an adjustable 50mm inverted fork offering 5.5 inches of travel and a mono-shock rear swingarm, adjustable for rebound and preload, offering 6.6 inches of travel.   

The X variant, while it shares the same fork, is up-spec’d in several small ways beginning with the addition of adjustable compression damping for its rear mono shock for a final offering of 6.8 inches of travel. 

The X is also taller in the saddle, with a 32.9 inch seat height as opposed to 31.1 inches on the base model, however it will not have the larger fuel tank typical of higher spec adventure variants, with both bikes sharing a 5.3 gallon tank. 

The standard 702 comes with road biased 17-inch cast aluminum wheels while the X will be offered with more desirable for off-roading 19 inch front and 17 inch rear spoked rims. Brakes also differ ever so slightly, with the base model using 4 piston calipers to moderate its 320 mm twin semi-floating discs while the X model uses 2 piston calipers to slow twin floating discs of the same diameter. Both bikes run a single 260mm disc out back. Final drive is chain and ABS, standard. 

There will be LED lighting and a 5-inch TFT display, as well as optional heated grips and seat, though no word on which rider aids might be commanded via the touch display. Interestingly, the bike is said to be equipped to receive an accessory dash cam, which when you think about it, should be a common option for all bikes, both for documentation in case of peril, but even more importantly, for the fun of playback and potential sharing. 

Style, from the swooping beak and goggle-style headlight to the sizable muffler follows the familial lines of the smaller displacement Benelli TRK models, though the 702 does deviate with a perky upswept tail that’s begging to receive cargo. 

These new machines are expected to roll out of production early in the spring of 2023. No word yet on price or timing of US availability for the 702 and X variant, both which are listed with a curb weight of 519 pounds.  

BKX 250

The second new bike coming to Benelli’s arsenal is the small, single-cylinder BKX 250, which looks like both an ideal beginner bike, but also a fun all-around for local duty. Although the bike is clearly pointed at on and off-road use, its racy looks ping back to Benelli’s sport bike-heavy heritage.

The BKX’s single is housed in a steel trellis frame and utilizes a 6-speed gearbox to convey its 25.8 hp and 15.5 ft lb of torque. There is a generous (for the bike’s size) 3.6 gallon fuel tank for all day adventures. The 250’s wet weight is claimed to be 364 pounds and the seat height, 32.9 inches.

The suspension system consists of a 41mm fork offering useful 7.1 inches of travel, while the rear shock, adjustable for preload, is projected to provide an even more luxurious 8.7 inches of movement. Rims will be 19 inch/17 inch cast aluminum, and brakes are a single 280mm disc with a 4-piston caliper and 240mm disc with a single-piston caliper out back.

There is also an S version of this model on the way, which will be more of a naked sport, with no fairing, shorter suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels all around.  Additionally, a 125cc sibling to this bike is in the works, though likely pointed at the foreign market where small displacements are the mode de jure.  

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.