Benelli Leoncino - first UK ride (for me, anyway)

I was fortunate to have a ride on the new Benelli Leoncino. How does this sit against the Ducati Scrambler, Harley Street and Triumph Bobber? well, lets find out.
I had a minor problem with the sound recording equipment (my fault) during the recording, so if the audio sounds off its because I had to re dub the voice, but the bike sounds great!

[@luisdamas7746]

Thanks My friend!!!;really! Finnaly a review in English. I really love this bike. Cheers from Portugal 🤘

[@irrsinnig]

luis damas I saw her today for the first time in Odivelas at the back of the store and it caught my eye. Really good looking bike and had a great feel for someone like me who's a bit taller than the usual biker. Really liked it.

[@fredtracy1673]

The exhaust note sounds great. 👍🙂 I wish they sold them in Canada!! 🇨🇦

[@AridersLifeYT]

ive been hanging out for this bike since day one. great gap from my mt09 to this, i like the smaller revvy bikes

[@urflavor]

Finally a proper first ride review in english! Cant wait to get my hands on this one.

[@PhilOsGarage]

matbobber stay tuned, review of the TRK coming up next week!

[@nicolasromeroguarin9585]

I Want See A Top Speed Of This Bike Plisss ....And Listen The Exhaust Sound

[@songsabai3794]

Someone hit 180km...

[@LucianC137]

yes it is 180kmph

[@PhilOsGarage]

That sounds about right

[@cathloom8322]

Thanks so much for the post! I have the BN 302 and I am interested in the Leoncino!

[@PhilOsGarage]

Cath loom thanks for the comment, the Leoncino would make an excellent next step, I highly recommend test riding one.

[@silktvPDR1]

Had a TRK502 for 139 miles and gave it back beware of cheap seals and poor finish, see my brake video. Maybe you will be lucky 🍀

[@splodge5714]

I'm still puzzled as to what it is. Sounds like an old Suzuki Gt 500 two stroke!

[@PhilOsGarage]

splodge 57 it's a parallel twin, I guess I'd ultimately describe it as an urban bike, but it's a great middle weight all rounder at a very reasonable price.

[@remygarato4268]

lot of chain noise

[@PhilOsGarage]

Remy Garato quite probably, there was a mic under the seat to capture exhaust sound so this would have picked up quite a bit of chain noise.

[@ilhamsabirin4673]

Nice review sir.. how about the throttle response at all rev range? Is it smooth and accurate?

[@PhilOsGarage]

Thanks. Throttle response was good enough to not notice it, no flat spots or hesitation, so I'd give it a thumbs up in that respect.

[@ilhamsabirin4673]

@@PhilOsGarage according to some reviewers this bike pulls like it's bigger than 500cc.. do u agree?

[@seksantubsakul2853]

Are you ok with leoncino?

[@vampiresiren2]

Great review. Picking the trail version of this up in a couple of weeks and after watching your review i think i made a good choice. Its been a couple of years since I've been riding so I'm.really happy with my choice

[@PhilOsGarage]

vampiresiren2 Thanks! nice, enjoy your new bike, you will love it!

[@vampiresiren2]

Phil'O's Garage Cheers getting it in Vulcan Black.

[@darthbleen984]

Awesome review man!!!

[@PhilOsGarage]

[Darth Bleen] Bishal Gurung thanks, appreciate the comment 😁

[@1nabcd8ed]

360degree parallel twin?

[@jazzysaravana]

Rye J Yes

[@txrick4879]

Good bike great video .

[@PhilOsGarage]

TX Rick thanks 🙂

[@WyreForestBiker]

Chinese made and owned company so the real question is what's the quality like ? Personally I am highly suspicious of anything made in China. The quality control of components can be non-existent , and in fact deliberately fraudulent ( I have two friends in different industries ,automotive and electronics , who will testify to this .) The quality of the raft of "clone" 125's that infested the market in the past decade with various names was truly shocking

[@PhilOsGarage]

david jay the quality, fit and finish were absolutely fine. China is capable of quality to equal anywhere in the world (case in point - apple products) it's all down to what specification the design calls for.

[@WyreForestBiker]

No ,with respect , its all down to quality control.. as I said I have personal experience of a number of Chinese factories deliberately using lower quality components as soon as the parent company's back is turned !! They do not operate with the corporate standards that we take for granted I can ASSURE you. As for Apple !! I don't think that is comparing like for like !! ..they have full control over the factory .. Benelli is a brand bought and owned by a Chinese company and can do what it wants , and believe me if a supplier offers a component cheaper they will take it without question ... its a lottery . Personally I like to know that the item I'm spending my money on is built by a company that has pride in what it makes.

[@FrankBtc530]

Benelli is a glorious Italian brand founded in 1911, and in 2005 it was saved from bankruptcy by a Chinese company that builds 1200,000 vehicles each year and employs 14,000 people at work. The design and quality control takes place in Italy, at Benelli's parent company, in Pesaro. We Italians thank the Chinese for saving the company and after years of darkness it is now back to producing style and quality motorcycles.

[@lancelink88]

Excellent review, thank you, I think it characteristically sounds like a BMW, I ride a Ducati Monster, but value for money this bike looks hard to beat.

[@PhilOsGarage]

Lance Link thanks for the comment, yes, you are absolutely right, Benelli seem to be positioning themselves as 'Ducati and BMW lite' with similar bikes at slightly lower power and price points. In my opinion this is a great strategy as the bikes are affordable for new A2 license holders but interesting enough to keep them entertained for a few years until they move on to the scrambler, monster or BMW GS

[@kostassiozos6293]

i don't know about England but in Greece the Suzuki SV650 costs 300euro more and 250e more for the Yamaha MT-07, so i don't think the benelli is such a value for money bike.It sounds pretty awesome tho.

[@captainaverage721]

What bike did you get?

[@kpanagos]

Hello, here in Greece this benelli has the same price as the Suzuki sv650. The sv is built in Japan, with risers and a fatbar will have almost the same ergonomics as the Leoncino. So does the Leo worth a 30 hp loss?

[@PhilOsGarage]

Panagos Kag wow, that's surprising, the Suzuki is a lot more expensive than the Benelli over here.

[@kpanagos]

At the moment SV650 costs 6300 euros with taxes included and Leoncino 6700. I have been informed that there will be a slight increase for the SV650 2018 models, at 6850. Still I do not know if the cute Leoncino can beat 30 more hp. I am in a big dilemma because I want to buy one of these. Another thing I found through searching is that in France there is an amazing SV650 scrambler edition and that you can buy the extra scrambler equipment from sw-motech by your own.

[@LucianC137]

Do you happen to know how much mileage does it give?

[@PhilOsGarage]

Excel I don’t know for sure, but it will be good. Is estimate perhaps 3l/100km

[@yipman214]

Is the Trail edition of this bike an actual off roader or is that just a gimmick?

[@PhilOsGarage]

YipMan214 I wouldn't consider the trail version a true off road bike, more a styling exercise like the Ducati Scrambler.

[@yipman214]

Phil'O's Garage but the Ducati scrambler has an off road version: Desert Sled, which is a proper off reader according to reviews. So then you’re saying this isn’t the same? Got it.

[@PhilOsGarage]

YipMan214 I'm not sure I'd consider any variation of the scrambler a 'proper' off roader. Have a look at the stuff KTM offer, the difference is quite obvious. Both the Leoncino and scrambler were conceived as road bikes. You could probably engage in light off roading with either, but neither is going to compare to a genuine off road bike, depends what you want to do with it really, but both are road bikes at heart.

[@PignaofLegends]

Very nice video! Do you think it is a good bike for its relatively low cost? I'm very interested in buying a Leoncino :D

[@PhilOsGarage]

Pigna of Legends thanks, appreciated. Personally oil felt it represented very good value for money, the only real competition is the Suzuki SV 650, but it's down to the individual to decide if the extra cost is worthwhile. I'd be happy with the Leoncino, especially for either urban riding or a new rider.

[@dafikido]

Proper Chinese bike,?

[@PhilOsGarage]

dafikido it is built in China, but to very high standards, so it's no problem. Most manufacturers out source now, many KTM bikes are built in India, as are some Harley's. Quite a few Honda models are built in Thailand too. As long as quality control is maintained country of manufacturing is irrelevant.

[@dafikido]

Phil'O's Garage I mean Benelli now is own by China, I mean they design their bike in China by China, I can find cheap benelli 150 for under $2000,, so my question is, does this bike designed by Italian or Chinese?

[@PhilOsGarage]

dafikido this bike is designed in Italy, but built in China. The sub 250cc bikes are sold as Keyway in Europe, and only those bikes are designed in China.

[@AmirChemE]

Thanks for the video bro! Is it as good as the Honda CB500F? I only know the Honda doesn't have a gear indicator which is a bummer.

[@PhilOsGarage]

Jesus MLG probably not quite as quick as the CB500, but much nicer looking and I suspect better handling too. I'd suggest test riding both.

[@AmirChemE]

Phil i sat on the Leoncino and i felt that the left foot peg is a little too upfront with my foot resting just behind it. Usually, the footrest is way closer to the rear so it's easy to move your foot around the gear shift. How would you change your seat position? or should i just get use to it?

[@PhilOsGarage]

Jesus MLG I think it's something you get used to, normally if you change one thing such as a handlebar or foot peg position, everything else seems wrong.