After quite some delay, Benelli has finally launched their first BS6 motorcycle – the Imperiale 400 – for a starting price of Rs 1.99 lakh. There’s a price hike of about Rs 20,000 and its now way more expensive than its rivals.
The BS6 emission norms have been effective from April 1 but it is now that Benelli has finally launched their first BS6 motorcycle. The Imperiale 400 was supposed to be the first BS6 motorcycle from the Italian manufacturer and it was supposed to be launched in April. However, the lockdown and the pandemic inevitably delayed things. The BS6 Benelli Imperiale 400 has now been launched in the country for a starting price of Rs 1.99 lakh, and like before, the prices are still dependent on the color. Here’s a table summarizing the same.
| BS6 Imperiale 400 Colors | Last BS4 Price | BS6 Price | Difference |
| Silver | Rs 1,79,500 | Rs 1,99,000 | Rs 19,500 |
| Red, Black | Rs 1,89,499 | Rs 2,10,900 | Rs 21,401 |
The BS6 Imperiale 400 are thus Rs 20,000 more expensive on an average from their last BS4-price. Benelli launched the Imperiale 400 last October for an introductory price of Rs 1.69 lakh. It soon saw a hike in price in February where the silver colour of the motorcycle was retailing at Rs 1,79,500 and the other two colours (black and red) were priced at Rs 1,89,499. In fact, the red and black color options on the Imperiale 400 are now quite expensive at Rs 2.11 lakh, especially when you compare it to its rivals – the Royal Enfield Classic 350 and the Jawa – which are considerably cheaper.
It’s also interesting to note that the 374cc, single cylinder, air-cooled engine was already fuel-injected. Introducing fuel injection on BS4 motorcycles is what considerably increases the price of BS6 models but the Imperiale 400 already had that covered. The engine has however gained am expensive catalytic converter to help it meet the stricter emission norms but it continues to produce 21PS of power and 29Nm of peak torque, same as the BS4-spec motorcycle. Peak power is however now produced 500 rpm higher but more importantly, peak torque now comes in 1,000 rpm earlier at about 3,500 rpm.
Also Read : BS6 Honda X-Blade Launched; Price Starts from Rs 1.07 Lakh!
In terms of mechanical hardware, the Imperiale 400 uses 41mm telescopic forks at the front and pre-load adjustable twin shock absorbers at the back. Braking is handled by disc brakes at both the end with dual-channel ABS as standard. At the front, it gets a 19-inch tyre and an 18-inch tyre at the back. Following the Imperiale, we can expect the Leoncino 250 and Leoncino 500 to be updated next.
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The price of the Imperiale 400 is what will really hurt its popularity. To give you a perspective, the Classic 350 BS6 starts at Rs 1.57 while the Jawa is priced from Rs 1.74. That’s considerably cheaper than the Imperiale 400 and also make for a great value-for-money product. Still, there’s no taking away from the fact that the Imperiale 400 is an extremely good motorcycle that does its job of being a retro cruiser motorcycle extremely well and perhaps even better than its rivals.
