Interesting little Benelli seen today...

[JJ]

This is a new one, seen at a local dealership in Cottonwood, AZ this morning. 

Manufactured by SSR Motorsports (Shanghai), the owner of the Benelli marque these days.   302cc and about $4300 MSRP.  Cute little bike and I'll be it goes just fine! Quality of fit / finish looked good!

[Lannis]

I don't know.

It might be more accurate to say "Saw an interesting little Shanghai Trading LLC today ....".   It means nothing at all that they have stuck the alphabetic characters B - E - N - E - L - L and I on it.   Could just as well be Excelsior or Ariel or BSA or Morbidelli or Garelli or any other old trademark they may have bought.    There's not even a shade of a link between the Benelli motorcycles and that bike.

I don't know what that means but it's the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it ....

Lannis

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I don't know.

It might be more accurate to say "Saw an interesting little Shanghai Trading LLC today ....".   It means nothing at all that they have stuck the alphabetic characters B - E - N - E - L - L and I on it.   Could just as well be Excelsior or Ariel or BSA or Morbidelli or Garelli or any other old trademark they may have bought.    There's not even a shade of a link between the Benelli motorcycles and that bike.

I don't know what that means but it's the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it ....

Lannis

This ^^^.

[bigbikerrick]

This ^^^.

I agree. The way things are re branded these days, I am surprised its not labled " By Bell and Howell"! 
Rick.

[Canuck750]

Buying a 'brand' name is nothing new, it seems to have worked for Polaris, drop Victory and replace with Indian.

I like the looks of the Benelli Imperiale 400, Alan Cathcart reviewed it in Motorcycle Classis a while back and he seemed to like it/

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/benelli/imperiale-400/2020/

[JJ]

I don't know.

It might be more accurate to say "Saw an interesting little Shanghai Trading LLC today ....".   It means nothing at all that they have stuck the alphabetic characters B - E - N - E - L - L and I on it.   Could just as well be Excelsior or Ariel or BSA or Morbidelli or Garelli or any other old trademark they may have bought.    There's not even a shade of a link between the Benelli motorcycles and that bike.

I don't know what that means but it's the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it ....

Lannis

Hey Lannis!
You are a BSA guy...did'nt some company from India recently buy the rights to the BSA marque?  Know anything about this?
It will be the same thing as SSR Motorsports (from Shanghai), as you mentioned, just another LLC slapping an old name on a new bike...Interesting none the less...

[JJ]

Here you go!!

https://usa.benelli.com/

[SLDMRossi]

As an owner, I can confirm...they're pretty cool machines for the money. Perform good, handle well...and Givi even makes a rack set for it. And oh by the way, well built, too...

Steven Rossi
East Haddam, CT

[SLDMRossi]

P.S. -- SSR is the California-based importer.

SR

[Lannis]

Hey Lannis!
You are a BSA guy...did'nt some company from India recently buy the rights to the BSA marque?  Know anything about this?

Yeah, that's been about 4 years ago, Mahindra, the people that build the tractors and a bunch of little Indian scooters and are a big "holding company", bought the BSA trademark.   They've also bought the "Jawa" name, and are just sticking BSA and Jawa decals on the Indian-made bikes they were already making.

Sorta sad, but some people will think it's neat; people who never heard of a BSA before ....

Lannis 

[JJ]

Yeah, that's been about 4 years ago, Mahindra, the people that build the tractors and a bunch of little Indian scooters and are a big "holding company", bought the BSA trademark.   They've also bought the "Jawa" name, and are just sticking BSA and Jawa decals on the Indian-made bikes they were already making.

Sorta sad, but some people will think it's neat; people who never heard of a BSA before ....

Lannis

I always thought the JAWA 350cc California was an interesting bike.  This one is from about 1971...




picture host ru

[sign216]

Here's a Benelli group I started when Yahoo groups went under:  https://groups.io/g/Benelli-Motorcycles

[Lannis]

I always thought the JAWA 350cc California was an interesting bike.  This one is from about 1971...




picture host ru

They still made that up to about 2016 or so, sold them in the UK where they still sell new road-going two-strokes ....

Lannis

[larrys]

I always thought the JAWA 350cc California was an interesting bike.  This one is from about 1971...




picture host ru

I still have the installation manual for a Velorex 562 that shows how to hook up the sidecar to that bike! I used pretty much the same numbers to attach the chair to a '69 Bonneville.
Larry

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

They still made that up to about 2016 or so, sold them in the UK where they still sell new road-going two-strokes ....

Lannis

Still on their website, but who knows if it's current or not.
https://www.jawa.eu/jawa-350-style--2

[Lannis]

Still on their website, but who knows if it's current or not.
https://www.jawa.eu/jawa-350-style--2

They can't sell them in the EU or the US, but they might still be available in the UK.

I'd have one in a second if I could "gray-market" one in here ....

Lannis

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

They can't sell them in the EU or the US, but they might still be available in the UK.

I'd have one in a second if I could "gray-market" one in here ....

Lannis

If one clicks on the link, one would see this blurb:

Although JAWA 350 series 640 motorcycles are not intended for sales in EU countries, the motorcycles are successfully exported mainly to the countries of Central America, United Kingdom and Russia.

[Lannis]

If one clicks on the link, one would see this blurb:

Although JAWA 350 series 640 motorcycles are not intended for sales in EU countries, the motorcycles are successfully exported mainly to the countries of Central America, United Kingdom and Russia.

Well, that's it for the idea of having one shipped to Canada and riding it down here.   Sort of a wet ride from Russia ... !

Lannis

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Well, that's it for the idea of having one shipped to Canada and riding it down here.   Sort of a wet ride from Russia ... !

Lannis

There's always Central America. 

[Huzo]

Hey Lannis!
You are a BSA guy...did'nt some company from India recently buy the rights to the BSA marque?  Know anything about this?
It will be the same thing as SSR Motorsports (from Shanghai), as you mentioned, just another LLC slapping an old name on a new bike...Interesting none the less...

I’m not interested in reading this on such a nice day..
I’m off to ride my Piaggio V85...
BTW.. ?
That Benelli is actually a Guzzi.



Got the same paint as Mc Gregor’s V11 Sport.

[Lannis]

I’m not interested in reading this on such a nice day..
I’m off to ride my Piaggio V85...
BTW.. ?
That Benelli is actually a Guzzi.



Got the same paint as Mc Gregor’s V11 Sport.

Lots of companies do it.

Why, my own self, I have a Ford Festiva (sorry, Charlie) that was designed by Mazda and sold as the Mazda 121 in Europe and Asia, built by Kia, and painted and badged by Ford as the "Festiva".

Sort of normal business.   However, if it was sold as "The Duesenburg" or "The Cord" or "Rolls Royce Phantom V", it would seem a little ... dumb.   That's what the Chinese BSA thing feels like ...

Lannis