There are various reasons for buying a motorcycle. Some use it to go off-road, interstate touring while others just love the thrill of burning rubber on the race track. In most cases, it’s a daily mode of transportation.
Benelli Keeway Motorcycles Sdn Bhd, the exclusive distributor of Benneli in Malaysia, recently launched the Benelli TnT25, specially designed for daily commute.
The TnT25 is a functional bike with few surprises.
The slim body and the upright position makes this bike perfect for any city challenge and highways. The cockpit of this red bike is simple and easy on the eyes. It has an analogue tachometer in the centre with digital speedometer, digital odometer, digital trip-meter at the right side and gear indicator.
There is ample room for long legs like mine and the handle bars are designed well. This sort of design is very practical for daily city commute as you will not tire your hands easily. The foot pegs are situated in a position that allow my long legs to move without knocking on the engine.
Let’s go through the specs of this bike - the TnT25 is powered by a 249cc, single cylinder, 4-stroke engine which is liquid-cooled.
It produces 25.2hp at 9,000rpm and 21.5Nm of torque at 7,500rpm.
The 150kg bike comes with an electronic fuel injection system that ensures optimum fuel usage. The engine is mated to a six-speed gearbox with a claimed top speed of 145kph.
I took it for a test ride in the city to find out how urban-friendly it was since the bike is designed as a daily commute machine.
The minute you thumb the starter, the engine comes to life without any hesitation.
After an hour’s city riding, it is obvious that the unique selling point of the TnT25 is its versatility.
Power from the engine is smooth and is available immediately as soon as I twisted the throttle.
In city centre, on many occasions, upon the traffic lights turning green, I was able to accelerate fast, leaving vehicles behind me even on first gear.
Meanwhile on hilly areas in the Klang Valley, this bike was able to tackle the steep roads with ease. However, on a few occasions while going uphill, I had to downshift a gear or so to get the necessary push.
In corners and twisties, the bike handled them like a pro. The stability of the bike around corners was very impressive.
Entering and exiting corners were sweet but not the best.
The soft clutch made it easy for me to upshift and downshift in the blink of an eye. While taking on few sharp turns on Petaling Jaya roads, I had to keep the revs up to ensure that the bike did not stall. You need to be watchful that the engine does not dip below 2,800rpm.
In traffic jams, the engine does not feel lethargic and the TnT25 is smooth on highways and can do 140kph confidently.
As a daily commute bike, I must say the front upside down forks and the rear telescopic coil spring suspension are able to absorb shocks from potholes, humps and bumps.
The ride is not the best but decent enough for a pleasant experience.
Rather than good brakes, reliable brakes are more important on motorcycles.
I was a bit disappointed with the front brakes of the TnT25. The front brake 280mm single disc does not bite enough compared to the rear brake which is more responsive.
Slamming hard on the front brakes at 100kph, the bike dragged on for a few metres instead of stopping immediately.
But I must admit that the brakes’ overall performance is still good enough for city riding. Like any other four-stroke single cylinder engine, the major setback of this sort of design is vibration.
However, I did not feel any vibration till I reached 130kph.
There was a slight vibration on the handle and from the belly but that did not bother me at all.
The bike performs well in low- and mid-range speeds.
While on the road, the bike picks up from 3,800rpm and I was doing about 105kph at that point.
The sweet spot of the engine is at 6,500rpm.
The TnT25 is an ideal urban commuter, able to meet any challenges that city roads can offer.
It has practicality and a combination of great Italian looks, good performance, fuel economy and easy entry price of RM12,990 (before GST).
