A review on the charming benelli imperiale 400 PLEASE LIKE ,SHARE AND SUBSCRIBE THANKS :) Available from poole moto poolemoto.co.uk Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): uppbeat.io/t/jonny-boyle/easy...
I just bought one of these new £3899 OTR (2023 Euro 5) , silver , so far all I can say is it seems excellent. I had a Jawa 350 and RE Interceptor before ( plus about 60 bikes over last 40 years) . Sure you can see some cost saving elements but other parts ,such as the exhaust are fantastic quality for the price. To put things in perspective I paid £50 more for my electric bicycle than the Benelli - so the Imperiale is crazy good value. I looked at the new RE 350 Classic and Meteor and they are nice but I just preferred the Imperiale's looks
I was set on a Hunter or the cb300r but yesterday I saw one of these in a local dealers for £3499 plus otr with a free 4 year warranty. Even if I sell it a couple of years down the line it will have been cheap biking. I spent over £1000 getting my bike fixed and though the last three mots. Just checked and the battery is in a very accessible place for charging. Was a concern for me having battery issues in the past. The cb300r battery is in a terrible place. I might have to go and have a look at one.
@@letni9506 Hi , well the battery on the Benelli is behind the removable ( with the key) right hand side panel - very easy access should it be required. If you can get one for about £3700 OTR it's a steal ..there are a few model differences between older ones (2019-2020) and new models such as Euro 4 vs Euro 5 and the older models have a painted/sticker Benelli logo on the tank ,on 2021- models it's a 3d stick on badge.
Hi Mark, great review and attention to detail as always from yourself. I seriously considered one of these before I bought my Meteor. Certainly wouldn't discount one of these in the future when I come to change the Enfield. Other than the riding position I too was going to ask how it compared to the Meteor but reading the comments you've already answered the question.🙂. Ignore the criticisers about supporting Chinese bikes etc. You give your view and opinion on what you see and how it rides and it's up to us as potential owners to research the rest as a potential purchase. Look forward to future reviews.
Bought one of these in August and did 3000 miles in the following two months. I love it for what it is..even two up with my missus on the back its ok. Suspension a little harsh but I can live with it. Only alteration Ive done is raise the gearchange lever a notch on the splines and Ive fitted a front mudflap as the front wheel throws a lot of grime up because of too short front mudguard. Also added a rear Givi rack which was the only option and very expensive. Ive been a biker all my life. Now 63yrs and this suits me just fine, leaving my modern bonneville for the daughter to ride as its a bit too clinical for me.
Bought mine last January. Have an 07 R1 as well, but spend most of my time on the Emperiale. I love it. Like you said it has a nice little bit of torque even at 60 in 5th you can wind it on to 70/80. One thing you didn't mention which I love is the exhaust noise, it sounds great. Everywhere I go you see people looking around to see where the lovely gurgle is coming from. Nice video, very informative. I hate it when reviewers trundle along everywhere at 45/50 and your dying to know what speed it will do and what the excelleration is like etc. Your video explained everything. 👍
Awesome review Mark - concrete stuff! I had the great pleasure of listening to and watching tested by you motorbikes: Benelli and Royal Enfield 350 especially. Thank you, greetings from PL
I bought the Leoncino Trail but i must say Benelli did a superb job making this bike look old style ! When i tested it i also noticed the rear brakes actually made to look like an old drum-brake . They really made an effort on this one. Lovely for a good old Sunday ride in the country side. Excellent review mate 👍
These are actually very good. I know someone that has gone across Europe on one with luggage. Had zero problems in 4000 miles. Not a thing. Rides in mostly dry weather. Really enjoys it. 80 top speed.
In India these go faster on the hi way than the Enfields especially on downhill sections as they are not speed limited to just over 70 mph 5/10 mph can make a huge difference on motorways!. Enfield is better at lower speeds but not by much!. Very underrated bike.
Seen a video regarding the speed. Seems they do 90mph on the clock but 80mph measured by gps. 80mph is decent. As fast as I'd want to go on a naked bike. Shame the speedo is out but at least it doesn't under read the speed.
Good review. Looking at getting one of these, and appreciate you doing dual carriageway driving on it, and not just low speeds around country roads. Nice.
Great to have reviews on this type of bike. I am getting on and when i was young the vast majority of motorcycles for everyday riding were 350-500cc. 500’s were considered big bikes. I had lot of pleasure from my honda cb360 and 500’s. This affordable and enjoyable for many. Most modern cars and motorcycles have more performance than the rider/driver. My friend has 500cc RE and has had many many bikes. Still has a few but his himalayan is now His go to everyday ride to get from A to B. I rode my xmax 250 from uk to spain the long way through France. Think it was around 20hp. Cruised at 65-70 all way. A few years later i brought it back the same way.. … all on 20hp. I am currently choosing prob my last motorcycle and have had surgery so just watching loads of vlogs on bikes. Ive had every sort of bike except a cruiser. Some v. Fast some big sports tourers but this time my shopping list is a retro twin style with analog twin clocks not new stuff. Something i can maintain myself, look and ride for pure pleasure. Think the RE interceptor is winning, though love the rebel you tested but looks awful imo. For a Sunday ride or commute, these bikes can provide economical and pleasurable transport. Its funny how our needs change with age. I used to get asked in spain, xmax on uk plates how did u get that here? When i told them, theirvreaction was on a 250? But had i been on my large sports tourer prob been doin 20mph faster. Love your comprehensive reviews, i genuinely think middle sized bikes are getting popular you can see the number of them on the roads and success of R E. Cheers mark sorry for long comment. Love thise twin clocks
@@markpulling12 yeah have watched that, in fact all your reviews. I think not less than a 500cc for me. Loved that rebel 1100dct just not looks. When leg better will be test riding. Cant wait to try cvt. my scooter, no chain, new belt every 12k. Think we ned belt/shaft for us old uns where chain is a pain. Thanks for replying
@@volt8684 Funny how they questioned you riding to Spain on a 250cc bike. I have an old bound book of The Motorcycle, and there is a story of a chap riding all around Europe on a James 98cc Comet in the early 1950s not long after the WW2. I wonder what they would have thought of that ?
Just Finished watching ur reviews. Ilove how many times so said how smooth it is. I like when ur in top gear at 5k rpm saying no vibration hahaha that’s makes me happy to see and hear!!! It’s coming now here in the Philippines. That’s why I’m here in your channel. I got a benilli panarea 125. I’m planning to get one soon one it arrive here. Lovely review clean and straightforward!! Ride safe always!!
Now you've gone and done it Mark! I'd missed this review and I had 99% decided on a RE Classic 350, now I'll have to go and look at one of these Benelli's as well before making my mind up! thanks for another great unbiased review and quality video.
I was expecting this question ! So close ...but for me in this 20 hp 75 mph category...the RE just wins for me because I like the feet forward laid back cruiser style of the meteor But they are both brilliant and similar quality and performance Cheers mark
I bought a second hand this summer as my first bike. I really like it. Fast enough for me except on the highway, maybe. It also needs a bit of extra-space to make a U-turn. If you notice that other vehicles cue up behind you, then just go a bit faster. You have to do 60km/h on the clock if you want to do 50 in reality and you have to do 85 on the clock if you want to do 70😀😀
I have a Royal Enfield Classic 500. A bit more power and torque and a machine as handsome as they come, however this is a very close competitor to it. If I hadn't bought the Enfield one of these would be in my garage. I'm trading in a BMW F800ST for Benelli Leoncino 500, sometimes less really is more. Beautiful bike and another great review. Keep up the good work.
Hello Mark, I watched your review a couple of weeks back and thought it was very thorough. I live in the same area as yourself and I bought my Imperiale back in August. When the weathers good I do take my Imperiale on longer journeys but at the moment I am mainly riding for commuting everyday, a 20 mile round trip, in all winds and weather. So far I am very happy with my Benelli, it has been extremely reliable and very economical, I'm getting 100 miles on 8 quid of fuel. My Imperiale is great fun and easy to ride and I look forward to getting on it every morning at 6am for the journey to work, this is something that I can safely say that I didn't enjoy doing on my last bike, a Triumph America but that bike wasn't really built for commuting! The build quality of the Imperiale is OK, not great but OK, it's not up there with the Japanese stuff but for the cheap price point you can't really complain and I am definitely not complaining. There was only one part of your review that I wanted to pick up on and that is the throttle response when down gear changing in heavy traffic, the throttle response is very 'jerky', this is quite a well known issue with these Imperiale's and I have managed to smooth mine out nicely by taking all of the free play on the twist grip. Anyway all in all I would recommend the Imperiale highly to anyone who like's the retro bike look without the cost of a Triumph. Keep up the good work Mark and I look forward to watching more of your reviews!
@@hibstillidie Hello, yes and yes! Corrosion has been an issue, almost all the shiny parts started to corrode quite early in my ownership, centre of front disc, the 'chrome' grab handles that are situated bellow the pillion pad, the rear shocks, engine casing bolt heads, many of the fixing nuts, bolts and washers and also the rear wheel rim and spokes. I have addressed all of these issues now which included getting a pair of stainless steel wheel rims with stainless steel spokes made which you might think is complete madness but I still think my Imperiale is a great bike to ride. It now has 5500 miles on the clock, I still use it everyday and other than the rust problems the bike has been put together very well. The bike does have its 'quirks' but it has been very reliable and great fun to ride. Read through this thread and you'll find more detail in to what I have done to my Imperiale to sort the corrosion issues out www.benelliforum.com/threads/trying-to-find-fellow-imperiale-riders.32097/ Cheers, Jerry
@@jerrysaunders4341 brill thanks for that comprehensive answer. Rust is my biggest fear as I live on the coast, the beach is literally at the end of my road. Bikes I’ve had in the past have been the more mainstream makes that have held up well when looked after. So I’m apprehensive about Chinese bikes only due to rusting issues. I’ll take a wee look at the thread you sent. Thanks again
Great comment. But made me remember in 2001 I had a rover v6 which cost me exactly the same for 100 miles. Makes me shudder but this is an amazing gem of a bike! I have a 2006 Daytona which I love and had for a very long time. She indoors says I need a smaller bike🙃I’m going to agree and buy one of these and keep the Daytona.I bet I Use it everyday.! 👍🛶
Really good review. Im considering this bike. Trading in my Honda vfr800x crossrunner. I had a Honda CB400T many years ago, slow but simple fun. Along with 60 other bikes in 35 years. One thing I noticed is Benelli decided to give the fuel cap a more modern look. A twist style would have been a nice touch?
Was hoping the 530 would appear but no luck. I like this and the RE Hunter but really need just a little more power . These are the same performance as my gn250. The new triumph speed 400 looks the biz though... Good review Mark.
Hi Mark Martin from Ireland here own 1 for last 2 years 80 to the gallon low torque in 6 ft 1 fits me great abs works great be warned never take off the mirrors cause they are only threaded once and threads no good even to change mirrors also side pads on tank fell off in heavy rain impossible to glue again suspension is soft on back but seat is what you say it plods away all day great in wind rain and narrow roads fine on motorway but if you don't ride it much it takes a while to warm up but on long runs perfect tires brakes after 2 years 5000mls still OK I just changed oil and plugs tightened chain once and greased it nothing else as they say if its not broken don't brake it. Mine has a snatchy throttle but if never adjusted it there's a little play in it my fault great review 6000e new in ireland
lovely lookin little bike there the is really nice and if they did a 750-800 twin just like that one I would certainly consider owning one Nice one Mark cheers : )
Thanks for this beautiful review. That's a lovely classic bike. I'm really thinking about trading my NC 750 X for one of this...Or a RE 350 Classic....
Hi Mark, bought mine in March 2021 , Beautiful bike..but here in Malaysia I have to wait the morning or evening ride...too hot over here..! Really a strong, economy and reliable bike..The RE is very much expensive in Malaysia! Cheers bro.... Morzz..
I have one and 2 friends have one as well. Just over 2k on it. No problems from all 3. Very smooth. Have a bullet too. That has a bit more grunt. 500. But the benelli is way smother and more refined. Quality is excellent. Overall a bit better than the enfield. For the money you can.t go wrong. Oh and it starts like my deauville. Instant and reliable. I was a little worried about it being chinese build , but it's built to benelli spec.
I really like the look of the bike.Enjoyed your comments and I’m going to look at the new Royal Enfield (classic ) as well as the Benelli. Not sure if the Honda 350 is coming to the U.K. and that gets good reviews also. Spoilt for choice I think.
The brake pedal, side stand and other parts look exactly the same as on my Honda CB125f. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were built in the same factory. I think this bike looks nice, a very new bike that looks proper old. A proper modern classic. 👍🏻👍🏻
Good review of a handsome looking retro bike. I don’t understand the problem with bikes from China - I owned a Mutt Motorcycle and it was great, no issues and build quality was very good. Look forward to watching further reviews 👍
I have a Mash Falcone 125 and it's not bad. 2000 km so far and what was wrong is repaired in warranty. I only had to pay 75 euro for the oil and filter and so on. Carolynne my godchild and me are driving it, she is e learning driver for bikes, 26 years old, has her car license for 8 years. I did a tour of 181 km in one day on it and no problem, only uses 2,6L / 100lkm. It's Chinese build.
@@philhesmondhalgh Thanks Phil. Bought a Trident 660, still waiting for the license plate. The Mash was specially bought for that purpose and it's fun to drive on the slow roads. I still have seven Yamaha FZR 1000 Exup and one FZ1 Fazer. Not all the FZR are running bikes but now that I am retired I try to find the time. Yes ten bikes now, you need a hobby isn't.
The thing I notice about these bikes (R Enfield too) in reviews is their weight. Over 200kg for a single cylinder 400 seems a bit porky to me. I like the centre stand.
Good review Mark. Looking at this as a possible second bike. Do you think it could tour and handle decent periods of motorway miles with breaks etc?... And after you tested the meteor which of the two bikes do you think would be the best ride/buy. I'm 5ft7, 30 inside leg and 145 lbs in weight. Thanks Mark.
Hi Paul yes it could definitely handle some long rides ... definitely a pottering type bike at 60 ish mph ...they are both great vfm ££ Personally I just prefer the meteor engine and ride quality but the imperialle is a very close second Cheers mark
Looks an attractive fun bike. Interesting how tastes change in that Benelli can market a bike that's 50kg heavier, less powerful and slower than a Honda CB72 from 60 years ago. 😀
@@farouqomaro598 Whilst I don't mind either way, my research confirms Chinese built, then back to pesaro (headquarters of benelli QJ) for quality control, before heading to Europe. 🤔
@@Grahamvfr I think the Chinese are pretty good at making stuff these days. Its a huge country obviously. Maybe we have some outdated views on Chinese quality. I think mostly it's the materials used that people are unsure of. But most bikes are built in India and east Asia these days
Just tried one yesterday. My impression was it felt a bit cheaper than a RE. Also it seemed to be an Interceptor sized bike but with a Classic 350 powered engine so felt a bit underpowered for its mass.
Nice looking bike but I wish they would delete the heat shield on the header pipe. I can't see why this is necessary and it spoils the look of the exhaust. Overall it seems better than I expected, and good value.
I have a Meteor and have had a test ride on the Benelli. I found the handling on to be Benelli to be rather twitchy and the RE is finished to a higher standard.
I saw one of these the other day in Chiang Rai. It didn't have a big box on the back. Why does everyone quote N m instead of ft/lb nowadays? Benellis have a good reputation in Thailand. I wouldn't want one, but someone over here has been riding a 500 Leoncino for a couple of years, and it has been faultless. He fairly raves about it. I'd rather have my 390, though. Much lighter. Another very thorough review telling us all we could want to know.
Hi nik ....I actually have decided to get a 390 duke myself for a bit if lightweight fun :) be a while before I get on though It's NM most of the time because that's what is on the manufacturers websites Cheers mark
@@markpulling12 Good decision to buy a 390. There are a couple of cheap modifications that transform them. I'll tell you about them closer to the date.
@@user-sw2lv3zp6o thanks nik ....yes I have ridden the 690 duke alot and obviously the bigger ones too .....but just want a little fun bike to wizz on and the 390 is a class leader ... hopefully in the next few months ....I want the 2017 model with orange tank :)
Nice review Mark. In the market for a reasonably priced localish run about with occasional pillion. Down to the Meteor RE and the classic. This could be in the mix. Which one grabbed your heart strings would you buy?😄
The clocks look great, the bike overall looks excellent, although when you show a close-up some of the details look very cheap. Benelli reliability and fuel injection have been issues on some of their bikes.
Hi ....well they are both very different...the Benelli is a plodder bike with 20 HP for cruising down country lanes...the zontes has 40 HP and is much revvier...for fun I'd go for the zontes .. but personally I've bought the new royal Enfield hunter 350 ....I just wanted a bike to potter about on ...best wishes mark
@@markpulling12 Keep up the good work on these great videos , if Benelli wanted to sell these in Australia/New Zealand they would sell very well , a perfect bike for our roads . Like you say the RE Meteor killer , the Meteor's are selling very well here
I bought one of these in July last year. It has been pretty faultless since. I guess it's aimed at the rider who is happy with themselves and have nothing to prove to their peers. It is super comfortable to ride and a great commuter bike. The fun thing is that people mistake it for a classic bike from the 60s all the time. I have other bikes to ride but often take this one for the fun factor alone!
Hi Mark. I like this style of bike... Looking at the RE 350 classic, but this is also interesting. In your opinion, and purely asking as I know you have ridden both, which is the better option? Looks and possibly build on RE better, but Benelli has charm too. Any input welcome amigo. Taa
Hi Anthony the benelli Is a fine bike for the money but I would 100% spend the bit more and get the classic...it's build quality is better and the engine is a peach Cheers mark
@@markpulling12 Thank you Sir. I really appreciate the time you have taken to reply to me. Solid advice. I live in Thailand and both are exactly the same price... Super great value here. Again, sincere thanks Mark.
Hi Rob ...royal Enfield meteor is better in every way ...build quality and engine is just that bit nicer ...the Benelli is fine but I'd go for the meteor regards mark
Hi! I'm from Poland . I like your benelli imperiale 400 video. Do you know how the valve clearances on imperiale 400 are adjusted? Is it traditionally with screws or modern with tiles?
Hi dariusz. I've just had a look and can't find any info on this ...I would think they are screw and locknut type I'll ask my local mechanic when I see him Best wishes mark
Hi, I would like to ask you, after turning on the key should turn on the ABS indicator light and after driving 5km it should go out. On your motorcycle and on mine this indicator light is not on, instead the engine error indicator light is on, but it goes out when you start the engine. I asked about this and was told that the ABS light must be on and the engine error indicator light should go out in a few seconds when the key is on and not only after starting. How do you see it, what is your opinion on it? Thanks a lot for your reply.
@@markpulling12 Hi, that's true, but the ABS light should come on when the key is turned on, but it should go off after the motorcycle is started. Nothing like that happens and there is a possibility that the ABS is not working. The Benelli dealer advised me to visit an authorized Benelli service center and have the motorcycle connected for diagnostics to find out which errors were loaded there and what is wrong. Tomorrow I'm going for a ride, as they say around the chimney, so hopefully everything will be OK, I wish you a nice day.
hi mark. after watching your review i bought one of these i have been really impressed it is lovely to ride and very economical. the only problem i've found was it needed a mud flap on the front mudguard .
Hi Steven tough choice as they are both great ....think I'd go for the meteor firstly because I like the cruiser style and position and the meteors build quality is even up a notch now from the previous good RE models cheers mark
Hmmm.... I'll be honest. My interest in modern Benellis was sparked by the Leoncino 500, but I keep coming across nice reviews of the Imperiale 400... and I think I'm steadily being seduced by that steady, thumping beat of the engine - that and the fact it doesn't vibrate, plus other positive things... and that engine again, which says "I may not set the world on fire, but I'll still be here, going thump, thump, thump, for years to come".
