A HURRICANE IS ON ITS WAY AND along with it will come a tornado. A twister which is of Italian origin and now it will hit India. We were the first to witness this tornado up close. All right, drama apart, this is all about the introduction of a brand new motorcycle, called the Tornado 302, by the Italian marque, Benelli, and we are happy to report that we were the first magazine in India to ride this new bike on the occasion of our 11th anniversary. So let’s get cracking.

With the Tornado, DSK Benelli now have a motorcycle that caters to baby boomers who like faired motorcycles more than anything else. True, Benelli could have taken the easy way by fitting a fairing to their capable TnT 300 street-fighter, but instead they took the high road and brought out the drawing board. They did borrow the engine from the TnT 300 but most of the bike is new.

Starting with the design, which speaks volumes about the capability of Italian artistry. The Tornado is a gorgeous looking sports bike — well, entry-level sports bike — but its execution is flawless. The curves are carved out well and the entire bike looks proportionate. The fit-and-finish levels are also decent although the simplistic instrument console could have been a bit racier. Apart from that there is hardly anything in terms of design that I can fault; everything falls in place just right.