Benelli Tornado 900 Bamboo RS
With Phil Aynsley
Benelli’s proud history of motorcycle manufacturing, after being founded in 1911 and the first bicycle appearing in 1921, came to a halt in 1988 under the management of Alejandro de Tomaso when the company was founded. merged with Moto Guzzi.
There was a brief attempt at reviving the brand in 1989, producing scooters, but it was not until 1995 that a completely revised company, under the direction of Andrea Merloni, was formed.
The first product of this new mode was released in 1999, but production did not begin until 2002.
The Tornado Tre 900 sport bike was originally designed as the basis for the World Superbike campaign and indeed Australian racer Peter Goddard was part of the development team.
Bamboo is a trio of 898cc whose aim is to match the top sports bikes from Ducati and MV Agusta.
Apart from the unusual, at the time, opting for a three-cylinder engine, the car’s standout features were its under-seat radiator and exhaust fan.
This position is necessary because the engine is mounted as close to the front wheel as possible. One negative result from this arrangement is the high saddle height with the consequent heavy load on the rider’s wrists.
The early production bikes suffered from some reliability issues like poor fuel mapping and clutch/generator failure but they were eventually sorted out.
The 133 hp (140 announced) engine has plenty of torque and can propel the 195 kg machine to a top speed of 268 km/h.
The LE version quickly followed and is the model on which the WSBK racer is based. 150 units were built with carbon fiber tanks and bodywork, magnesium wheels and Öhlins suspension.
The Tre RS (pictured here) was released in 2004, in addition to a red/black paint job, a more powerful engine (143 hp at 11,500 rpm), upgraded suspension, OZ wheels, brake calipers Brembo and additional carbon fiber parts. The steering shape has also been tweaked. We believe a total of eight RS models were sold in Australia out of 365 RSs produced.
After the Benelli was acquired by China’s Qianjiang Group in 2005, the capacity tripled, including 1130 cc versions produced since 2008 and continued in production until 2012.
Specifications of Benelli Tornado 900 Bamboo RS
- Engine – 898 cc, three-cylinder, four-stroke
- Bore x Travel – 88 x 49.2 mm
- Published power – 141 hp at 11,500 rpm
- Claimed torque – 100 Nm at 8500 rpm
- Compression ratio – 11.0: 1
- Valves – Four valves per cylinder, DOHC
- Gearbox – Six-speed
- Fork – 50 mm Marzocchi
- Brakes – Brembo 320 mm
- Dry weight – 195 kg
- Seat height – 810 mm
Today Benelli Distributed in Australia by Urban Moto Imports
