Benelli has been very busy this year. The Chinese-owned Italian brand has just released a new inline-4 TNT 600i, is working on a fully faired version, developing a TRK 800, and could soon offer 1200cc tourer.
This new model could be called the Benelli BJ12000 GT. It’s designed to compete directly against the recently launched CFMoto CF1250J.
Like CFMoto, Benelli’s parent company, Qianjiang, plans to build a police cruiser. However, it’s highly likely there will also be a civilian version.
Qianjiang had recently presented the model to Chinese police as the QJ1200J. Leaked images on Chinese Social Media show one with a Benelli badge on the ignition, suggesting a Benelli version is already planned.
Several sites suggest the bike will use a 1209cc three-cylinder engine. This is based on the 1130cc three-cylinder engine used by the now discontinued Benelli Tornado Tre. This new engine produces 136 hp and can bring the bike up to a top speed of 220 km/h. It can rev all the way up to 10,000 rpm.
The bike will also have a number of features like all-LED lighting, analog dials and a color TFT LCD multi-information screen, power-folding mirrors, a tire pressure monitoring system, ABS, traction control, and quite possibly a radar-based collision avoidance system. These features should come as no surprise since Benelli’s sister company is Volvo, the world leader in automotive safety. Being a big tourer bike, and with all this equipment, it could tip the scales somewhere around 335 kg.
It’s certainly making for a very interesting model but we’ll still have to wait for its official arrival. Based on Benelli’s timeline of launches, this new model is not due out until 2021.
