Benelli TNT 600i ABS review, road test

We get to know the DSK Benelli TNT600i once again, as we get a taste of the first ABS-equipped Benelli in India.

Published on Sep 08, 2016 07:00:00 AM

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Since there is no mechanical change to the 600cc inline-four-cylinder motor, the performance too remains unaffected. With 85hp of power on tap along with 54.6Nm of torque, even in absolutely sopping conditions, the bike managed a zero to 100kph time of 5.49 seconds and given the roads were bone dry, that time could be much faster. One thing to note, however, is the extremely peaky nature of the engine, with maximum horsepower coming in at a heady 11,500rpm and maximum torque hitting at an almost equally high 10,000rpm. To compensate for this, Benelli has chosen fairly short and closely stacked ratios for the six-speed gearbox. Still, if you wanted to do a quick overtake, you’ll find yourself downshifting a couple of gears, which admittedly is a fairly slick operation. At lower revs, the 600i dawdles along smoothly and needs large throttle movements to escalate the revs above 7,000rpm to really get the bike going. Once you do so, it never feels tedious though, and the two underseat exhausts wail an exciting four-cylinder symphony that is impossible to match, at this price range that is.

The way the TNT 600i goes might not have changed, but thankfully, the way it stops has. ABS was a sorely missed feature previously, and the lack of it combined with numb brake feel and a front-end judder under hard braking meant dropping the anchors was best done when completely alert. While the addition of an ABS unit hasn’t done much for feedback from the brakes, you certainly feel a lot more confident when yanking the stop lever in an emergency. On the atrociously wet roads, the TNT 600i ABS managed a pretty impressive stopping distance of just 29.41 metres in 3.03 seconds when the brakes were slammed at 80kph. Sadly though, that judder, even though significantly reduced, can still be felt under hard braking.