Exclusive: Know All The Details About The Benelli Leoncino 800 Ahead Of Its Reveal

Benelli’s Lion Cub range isn’t just about cubs anymore, with details and images of the production-ready Leoncino 800 having just been uncovered by us. This new bike was spotted in China recently in a pre-production form, and we expect an India launch around October 2020. A concept version of the motorcycle was shown at EICMA last year, and this production motorcycle will be unveiled at this year’s edition of the show tomorrow.

The production bike looks quite similar to the concept, even down to the 17-inch wire-spoke wheels. Despite being wire-spoke wheels, the rims are tubeless, and tyres are dual- purpose Pirelli MT60 RS, sized 120/70-ZR17 at the front and 180/55-ZR17 at the rear. The Leoncino 800 is suspended on a fully adjustable 50mm Marzocchi upside-down front fork and a monoshock which gets preload and rebound adjustability. Braking is handled by 320mm twin discs up front, bitten on by Brembo monobloc calipers. A single 260mm disc does duty at the rear, and dual-channel ABS is standard.

In terms of overall styling, the Leoncino 800 looks similar to the smaller Leoncino 500, with its neo scrambler look and oval LED headlight. The signature lion motif is also present on the front fender and the black trellis frame is proudly on display too. The tail section looks sleek and features a long, stepped, single-piece seat.

The Leoncino 800 is powered by the same 754cc parallel-twin engine that does duty in the 752S, but it is now expected to be Euro 5-compliant. It produces 81.6PS and 67Nm, which makes it the most powerful Leoncino in Benelli’s lineup. The increase in power output over the 752S is probably to help offset the increase in weight that came about as the result of a larger, heavier catalytic converter.

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This healthy power output will prove useful because the Leoncino 800 is a slightly heavy motorcycle, tipping the scales at 220kgs fully wet. A decent ground clearance of 165mm should help the Leoncino survive our pothole-ridden streets. In terms of features, the flagship Leoncino also gets a fully digital TFT instrument cluster and a centre-stand as standard fitment. The fuel tank measures 15 litres, which should give it a reasonable range and make it a capable tourer. The 800mm seat height should also make this bike accessible to shorter riders, but we will have to get our hands on it to know for sure.

Once launched in India, the Leoncino 800 will compete against the likes of the Triumph Street Twin and Ducati Scrambler Icon, so we can expect a price tag in the range of Rs 7.0 lakh - 7.5 lakh (ex-showroom).