Benelli Leoncino 500 2024

74 Plate Pre-Registered and available with a £1100 Pre-Reg Contribution

Timeless beauty. Leoncino 500, a tribute to a myth of Italian motorcycling and a style icon of the Benelli range, arrives on the market with a series of technical and aesthetic innovations capable of enhancing the pure modern-classic nature of this bike, combining tradition, history and innovation.

Easy, compact and dynamic, The A2 Licence friendly Leoncino 500 maintains the classic and balanced lines of its genesis, which are now integrated with more modern and avant-garde graphics, designed to enhance the philosophy of this bike. The arch on the tank, in which the Benelli logo is set, now becomes tone-on-tone, perfectly identifying with the style of this two-wheeler, born from a balanced mix of classic and modern styles.

The beating heart of the Leoncino 500 is the 500cc liquid-cooled four-stroke twin-engine made by Benelli. It is a fluid and reactive engine, which responds very well in acceleration and which complies with the Euro 5 emissions, confirms a maximum power of 47.6 HP (35 kW) at 8500 rpm and a peak of torque equal to 46 Nm at 6000 rpm. Featuring wet-sump lubrication, electronic injection, overhead double camshaft timing system, 4 valves per cylinder, hydraulic clutch and a 6-speed gearbox.

In detail, The transition to the Euro 5 version allows to make updates to the transmission, exhaust system and ECU calibration of the engine: the secondary air system has been introduced, which allows to reduce emissions during the starting phase, activating a post-reaction that allows reaching quickly the operating temperature of the catalyst, which is also adapted according to the new Euro 5 regulation. Finally, the calibration of the engine ECU has been optimized, for smoother power delivery and the primary transmission ratio has been shortened, to ensure prompt engine response in all gears.

Some innovations are present in the bike's chassis, in which some technical improvements have been introduced to ensure maximum driveability and comfort on the road. In fact, the suspensions are adjustable and renewed for MY 2021: the front having an upside-down fork with 50 mm diameter legs and the back a swinging arm with lateral shock and travel of 51 mm.

Leoncino 500 MY 2021 features 17 ”alloy wheels fitted with the new Pirelli Angel GT tires of 120/70-R17 and 160/60-R17, which guarantee great stability in all conditions. For the braking system, on the front end, we find a 320 mm diameter double disc with two-piston floating callipers. On the back end a 260 mm diameter disc with a single-piston calliper and ABS. The Design from CentroStile Benelli perfectly matches the motorcycles sharp forms with harmonious lines all while excluding the pure emotion that Benelli is famous for. The frame is a steel tube trellis whose end is hidden beneath the tank. The headlight, in the typical arc shape, features LED technology, while the instrumentation is entirely digital.

The saddle, now revised to offer better comfort to rider and passenger, is even more accessible and linear, following the silhouette of the bike, as well as the exhaust and tank design, which gives balanced and modern proportions. The front fender proudly displays the Lion of Pesaro and is available in a choice of Black, Red, Green colour ways.