A Brawnier Leoncino 500 In The Making

It has been just three months since the debut of the BS6 Benelli Leoncino 500 and the internet is already abuzz with the speculations of the bike getting a bigger and more powerful engine. Zhejiang QJmotor, the parent company of Benelli, has filed a type-approval document for a new neo-retro bike. Codenamed ‘QJ500-19’, this bike is based on the Benelli Leoncino 500.

The new QJ bike, in spite of the ‘500’ label, sports a liquid-cooled 549cc parallel-twin engine that belts out 3.4PS more than the Leoncino 500. For reference, the 499cc, liquid-cooled parallel-twin motor on the Leoncino 500 produces 47.5PS at 8500rpm and 46Nm at 6000rpm.

Interestingly, despite the bigger engine, QJMotor has managed to make the bike 14kg lighter than the Benelli Leoncino 500. The Chinese company is working on two versions of the bike. While the exact changes are not known yet, the top spec model uses a tubular swingarm and different (probably Brembo) brakes while the low-spec version gets a box-type swingarm and Benelli branded brakes.

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In terms of design, the QJ500-19 is a lot different from the Leoncino 500. Everything from the headlight cowl to the tank and the side panels has been redesigned. However, bits like the headlight, mirrors, indicators and instrument console are carried over from the Italian bike. Weirdly, the QJ model has a ‘501’ sticker on the engine, while the tank has a ‘550’ sticker.

Is it coming to India? Even though Benelli may eventually update the model, it is very unlikely that this change will happen anytime before early-2022. Though QJ Motor’s bikes are largely based on the Benelli bikes, both the brands continue to function separately and have distinct styling. While the Benelli Leoncino 550 may take some time to come to India, we hope the 2021 Benelli 302R makes its debut soon.