1974 Benelli Tornado Craigslist

[canuck750]

Nice 74 Benelli 650 Tornado on Craigslist - this looks to be a god one - parts are not a problem - Detlef Burian in Germany has most everything in stock.

$3500 is not out of line for one of these in this shape.

https://vermont.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1974-benelli-650-tornado/6694145501.html

[Petrus Rocks]

If I hadn't recently bought a Norton I would be interested.  They have a decent reputation.  Oh well...

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I really want to like those but the various reviews I have read left me with mixed feelings.

As you've seen one first hand can you share the pros and con?
They are beautiful.

I owned one back in the mid '90s and worked on another recently. The biggest "con" is vibration: it's plentiful and present at nearly all engine speeds. The other con would be weight - they're pretty porky. A minor con is lack of any air filtration from the factory. I fitted foam pods to mine, clamped to the ends of the original rubber air funnels. The one I worked on recently had an elbow sections from a radiator hose clamped to the velocity stacks and K&Ns on the end of the elbow.

Pros: handle pretty well, good brakes, sound great, nice looking. 

[canuck750]

Period road tests rated the Tornado very high, I have a 72 Cycle mag that states its the best touring bike they have tested. Pretty lofty claim, perhaps they hadn't tested many other parallel twins at the time, regardless the build quality on these is very high. I am in the middle of restoring one and am regularly impressed by the design. Not the prettiest of the Italian bikes I own but its as solid as the Guzzi V7 Sport and Laverda SF1 and about the same weight and similar claimed power.

[Travman]

Charlie mentioned a few cons, but for me the biggest cons are all in the looks department. There are too many awkward angles. The design looks like a parts bike. It isn’t aesthetically well designed. The side cover sits at a weird angle. So does the seat. The headlight ears are ugly. The tank is shapeless and flat sided. The ugly tank seam is highlighted with chrome. Why would you emphasize a tank seam?

[canuck750]

Charlie mentioned a few cons, but for me the biggest cons are all in the looks department. There are too many awkward angles. The design looks like a parts bike. It isn’t aesthetically well designed. The side cover sits at a weird angle. So does the seat. The headlight ears are ugly. The tank is shapeless and flat sided. The ugly tank seam is highlighted with chrome. Why would you emphasize a tank seam?

I agree 100% with the aesthetics or lack thereof, but the engine is pretty, the Grimeca double sided front brake, Ceriani rear shocks, Boranni rims, and Bosch electrics are top notch for the time.