Second Time Plucky

Benelli’s naked twin gets a sibling in the 302 R. But there’s more to it than meets the eye.

- Ashok George

Initially, we thought the motorcycle you see in these pages was going to be the Tornado 302. Now we hear that it is going to be called the 302 R. But the decals on the pre-production motorcycle that we rode said all kinds of other things. So this motorcycle could be called the Tornado 302. Or it could be called the 302 R. Or maybe it’ll be the B302. Then again it could also be the 300 or the TXV. It could even be called the Anniversary or the Benelli Super moto or even the BJ300GS-C. Or if we’re really unfortunate, it could be called the Benelli Tornado B302 R BJ300GS-C TXV 300 Anniversary Super moto. But we’re sincerely hoping it’s just called the 302 R. And in that spirit, that’s the name we’re going to stick to.

But what is it, really? I’m tempted to say it is a TNT 300 with fairing slapped on. But I would be wrong. Because underneath that fairing is a motorcycle that is almost all-new.

Why almost? Well, aside from the engine and some odd bits and bobs here and there (like the instrument cluster), the motorcycle is all-new. But wait, let’s start at the beginning.

The most obvious change is that fairing. 302 R gets a handsome new face that is actually quite good-looking except for that eel stuck to the middle of its face just above the headlight. It isn’t garish or anything. It just feels unnecessary on an otherwise well executed design. The sides, for example, have lines that are clean and get inlets and outlets at all the right places, making for a very good looking profile. The only other odd bit is the tail section that seems unnecessarily long and sticks out almost past the rear wheel. A lot like the ZMR in this area, then.