Benelli India has
confirmed that it will launch the TRK 502 and the TRK 502X in India on 18
February 2019. The middleweight adventure motorcycles will be imported in CKD
kits, the assembly of which will take place at the company’s Hyderabad
facility. We expect to see the TRK 502 to arrive in the INR 5-5.5 lakh range
while the off-road spec TRK 502X would carry a premium of INR 30,000-60,000.
The off-road spec
Benelli TRK 502X was spotted in India earlier this month. Benelli had confirmed
in a press release that the TRK duo would be launched in India in the first
quarter of 2019 and stated that the motorcycles would have competitive pricing.
The road-biased
Benelli TRK 502 comes equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels on both ends that are
wrapped in road-spec tyres. The off-road spec TRK 502 X, on the other hand,
gets the rugged wire spoke wheels with a 19-inch front.
Mechanical
specifications are identical and both variants use the same 499.6 cc,
liquid-cooled, 8-valve, parallel twin-cylinder FI engine that delivers 46 bhp
of maximum power at 8,500 rpm and 45 Nm of peak torque at 5,000 rpm. The motor
is paired with a 6-speed gearbox.
The TRK 502 will
compete against the Kawasaki Versys 650 while the TRK 502X will rival the
Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT in the Indian market. Regular readers would know that
Benelli India has partnered with Hyderabad-based Mahavir Group after it parted
ways with DSK Motowheels. The company has adapted to an aggressive after-sales
service strategy for its second innings in the country. In October, Benelli
India had announced a 34 per cent reduction in the prices of its aftermarket
services. Moreover, the Italian bike manufacturer has increased the service
intervals of its products from 4000 km/4 months to 6,000 km/6 months.
