The authenticity of the technical options, advanced design and exclusivity from every part of only a few features that have made Tornado Tre 903 RS reference point in a strong field of bicycle SupersPort.
Every time a new Italian design bikes or cars usually creates excitement from the public and the press. Italian design is always different and Benelli Tornado RS certainly live up to this tradition! I saw a preview of the Tornado a few years ago and read about the reaction mixture, so finally I managed to get a real one for the road and test track to see what the fuss was about. There are plenty of top end sports bikes in the world, not only from Japan, but from England, Italy and now Germany too. So is the Benelli different from the others, you can see in a crowd?
I did a motorcycle trip to Three Cross Hospital in Dorset to collect, it was a warm sunny day and there I was going by car and trailer to get it. Why can not I ever get it right, always rains when i go to get a Harley with bike, still a good prediction for next week, maybe I’ll actually try it?
My question about Benelli soon get noticed is to answer the way home. Within 10 minutes of leaving it surrounded by spectators in the first set of lights at the local town, it was the beginning of a pattern! Wherever I went during the course of the next 10 days are the same, Benelli turned his head and it’s frankly difficult task these days with all the bikes look good in the market. Even non-bikers staring from the comfort of air-conditioned comfort of their cars. Maybe it was jealous when I weaved past them in traffic, maybe they all saw a bike like this, but I still find their way to the front of the line and still look away when I left them all looking teeth!
Big giveaway with RS Benelli fans were in the tail, talking about making people stare and a talk, drive fast on the person next to them and then the reaction – What are the ****’ s that? You can only imagine what they say, it just makes you laugh when you ride by. Of course in RS fans red to go with the whole bike, but in their Tre yellow, just to make them stand out even more. Let’s face it, in black it will never be the same!
After several days of riding it was time for the annual pilgrimage to Silverstone for the World Superbikes, three days and racing bikes, brilliant! This year I parked in the desert race with the Benelli, the irony of it themselves because they are not qualified for the race now. Why? World Superbike rule changes and Benelli built to comply with old rules, 750cc four-cylinder, three-cylinder 900cc and 1000cc twins. But for now 1000cc bikes, and that means big redesign if it will race again. And in my mind races properly.
Riding solo and two-up for several days, both in town and out in the usual way gave the first decision on a bike. While parked outside a cafe, it’s a real attention magnet, and get there on the road ballistic experience whatsoever! With a bike race equipment, handling and comfort was not the easiest to ride a bike much but the highest award you with the feel and feedback, and wow does it cover the roads with a speed of honor! If not enough, every time you appear in your partner’s house, they always come out to greet you with the words “Well I heard you were coming around the corner, it makes the entire room for the ‘It’s good to know that you’ve arrived!
So, what’s that really want to ride?
Run the motor and vibrates a little, then threw himself into groundshaking low rumble, a bit like my old Triumph Daytona T595, in fact much like that, but that’s where the similarity ends though. Maybe it sounds as relaxed idling standing at his side, but put it on your teeth and ride off and then you see a real difference!
Engine response is very good and interesting ‘turbines as’ from nothing to the tip top with smooth power delivery and torque tons. Cassette gearbox is very slick and quickshifting through a box with no clutch just fun. Changing down is easier and easier to fit shoes to clutch makes smooth gear changing without actually touching the clutch lever. Blip the throttle and snick in, nice and simple, except when you need to find neutral. There are two possibilities to find neutral, get it while you stop, or kill the engine and find it later. In talking with some other owners I found out that this is the nature of this box, fit for habitation with it, but the city was slightly damaged.
RS is much less weight on your wrist rather than what you’d expect from this style bike, and the thin wafers chair was not as bad as it looks good as well spread load. Suspension is firm to say the least and bumpy road back is not a recommended place to ride, so get them from the fine people ‘A’ and ‘path B’ for best results. Benelli RS needs to be ridden out of town, in the fast corners, a narrow road or flowing, truly did not mind, way more interesting the better because there is little need to change gear! There are slightly above 11 500 rpm to play with here, and there is also no point looking at where you suddenly take off, it really is as flexible as that. At normal cruising speeds Tornado RS is running on aa very relaxed 4500rpm at 70mph in 6th, but if you need to get something past or feel urgent to small bursts in the street all you need to do is twist the gas and away he went, solo or two-up made little difference.
Benelli spec sheet it says that this bike puts a claimed 133 bhp, and the new head to head in the Cadwell Park track with our long-term GSX-R 750 it was almost the same. There is really very little difference between them. The Benelli is smoother and more progressive power delivery than the 4cyl, but in terms of ‘chuckability’ GSX-R which is at the head of the queue. Tri a fantastic sound when you open it, induction noise alone makes you continue to do so more than 7000 rpm, then the roaring and only get faster and faster!
After just a few miles up in the streets for a few days it is time to understand the bike at the track, so we went to Cadwell Park to try it out properly. Handling on-road so far is fantastic, what it’s like on the track with higher speeds?
Benelli suspension is a package of quality that seems to get better and better the faster you go, but also works well on low speed. Overall feeling you get from this bike is that it’s really good front and rear planted in almost any speed, Benelli’ve definitely got a difficult balancing act of combining simple, fast and stable steering feel very well resolved. The Marzocchi 50mm USD forks are perfect for this bike, combined with a shock “” Extreme Technology rear you get all felt with absolute grip and stability, although the road was a bit stiff but not shared. On top of the yoke there is “Extreme Technology” steering damper, but I personally think it was way more than the need for accessories really do not need it. I declined to the lowest setting on the road and no need at all on the track. No matter what you do with the bike on acceleration or more bumps, no vague a headshake, rocking, in fact there never was a time when the silencer was actually going to work.
The same story pops up when you talk about braking. Benelli RS is equipped with Brembo 320mm front brakes with radial calipers 4 piston that does the job with no fuss and perfect feel and progression. On the road, you do not need more than one finger to bring you out of the normal speed, on track to add one more finger and you have the ‘King brakers end’! Braided hose / Brembo radial caliper combo in RS Benelli is another sign of the quality of this kit on that bike, bike with near perfect braking feel and some serious braking power when you need it.
The Benelli Tornado RS is a pure sports bike designed for the fun of winding road. There are some little things you should familiarize yourself, but overall a fantastic bike with one sole purpose in life – to excite! Riding position is perfect for sliding your buttocks off the seat and scrape your knee on the asphalt at nearly every corner. Bar just at the right place so they do not provide long-distance wrist pain, and I believe on one occasion I was doing more than 400 miles to Cadwell Park, drove in the lane all day and then go home again without wrist pain at all – your mind a little chair hard after that amount of time and I felt a little pain in there!
Tornado RS is the performance of real-world bikes and will be equal to any offers from Japan and countries of origin. A real thing about the Benelli RS is unique and will draw crowds wherever he went. This will fit the same poseurs and real riders, an exercise bike with a serious look beautiful and also quite good with the damn thing!
SPECIFICATIONS
Displacement : 898 cc
Bore X Stroke : 88 x 49.2 mm
Maximum Power: 105 kW at 11.500 rpm
Maximum Torque : 100 Nm ata 8.500 rpm
Engine : 4 stroke, 3 cylinders in line, tilted forwards 15°, fitted with anti-vibration countershaft
Ignition : Electronic ignition
Starter : Electric
Transmission : Primary geras, final chain
Frame : Mixed design. Front trusses in ASD tubular steel securely fitted with traction screws with aluminium alloy casting rear section. Steering head angle fixed 23.
Brakes : Brembo
Wheelbase : 1419 mm
Seat Height : 810 mm
Dry Weight : 195 kg
Dimensions : 2128 x 1050 x 750 mm (LxHxW)






































