Benelli TNT 1130CR

And here we have the Benelli TNT 1130CR. We can agree that this beauty from Italy has more of a streetfighter look, but Benelli has given the CR tag in the nomenclature itself, so we do have a cafe racer here. Okay, the design idea used for the development of the Cafè Racer was that of creating a bike inspired by yesteryear’s racing bikes, but with unique, sophisticated details to make it modern and effective. Even the colour was also evoked form the past. And that is what the 1130CR is. A bike with the power and performance of a sportbike and the comfort of a standard bike. And come to look at it, it is actually a proper Café Racer. It has a nice windscreen, albeit small, clip on handlebars, a single seat, foot board adjustment, so it has everything you find in a Café Racer.Yes, Benelli bikes are expensive, in fact any Italian bikes, but the thing is you won’t find anything regular run on the mill items here, it is Italian and being a Benelli, it is even more rare.
Benelli has basically 2 engines, an 899cc and the bigger bored out 1130cc engines beside the offroader engine. All the bikes are woven around these models to cater to different categories. In the U.S, there is only the 1130cc engine.
Like all Benelli machines, this CR bike will give you the option of modifying the engine with a single button. Like many sports bike featuring this option, you can opt for power or traction control which of course will also offer you better fuel consumption, well though not by much as the TNT 1130 Café Racer seems to be quite a guzzler. But then if you have the money to buy a Benelli, you would probably never ever think about economy. Just for the record, it will give you a ride of around 120km from the 16.5 liters tank. The free power configuration makes it possible to fully enjoy the power of the bike at 135 hp while the traction control will let you enjoy the bike in city urban driving through the twists and corners with a reduced power output at 112 hp.

The CR also offers adjustable forks (extension and spring preload), with a hardened surface to improve the sliding qualities. This feature is also available on the rear shock though only pre-load which greatly helps the rider in all asphalt conditions. The bike is considerably lighter thanks to the Marchesini rims in forged and machined aluminium alloy and the Brembo braking system with a 4 piston radial calliper and a 320 mm diameter double disk at the front.
The engine is a super refined 3 cylinder in line 4 stroke machine which is fitted with anti-vibration countershaft with a total displacement of 1130cc. It is oil cooled The TNT Cafe Racer 1130 isn't your average Cafe Racer. That is so damn true. There is no classic styling cues of the 70s to start with and if it was not for the CR moniker in the bike, you would most probably categorize it as a Streetfighter. But then even Benelli is saying it’s a crossover of café Racer to a Streetfighter. Moreover the colour is probably a little too bright for a Café Racer, but genetically, it does have café racer properties. See, even the mirrors are by the end of the bars, isn’t that a café racer? Well, just having some components like those certainly doesn’t make it one, but riding one will most definitely make you *feel* that you are on a Cafe Racer. On the other hand, what you have here is an exotic machine of fine art. It is, let’s say a muscular cafe racer with smooth curves. This machine is as modern as modern can get. It’s quite fast for a triple and it will happily take you to a top whack of 230kph, and don’t worry for its ride. Reviewers have said that the ride is excellent and it is a very sweet handler and also those big discs brakes will make it absolutely safe for you.

Take a good look at it. Even if you are not a big fan of radical designs featuring mean cuts and angles, on a second look, you will really appreciate this beautiful created design. There have been too many concerns with both these bikes as how could you categorize them as Café Racers. The belief is that Café Racers are self –designed bikes, like homemade ones where you develop those clip on handles and the dome at the rear and unwritten laws would have it as an air cooled exposed engine and must resemble a 70s bike. As such there are ‘real’ café racers like the TRIUMPH Thruxton or DUCATI Sports 1000, but Buell and Benelli has also done their own homework before they got to these models. Look, look wise these bikes may be different from a café Racer as chalk and cheese, but let me reiterate that there is also a heart of the Café Racer. The heart is a fast paced machine which is easy to ride in urban settings. That part both Buell and Benelli got it right. Yes, probably a few designs from the past simple like a round headlamp would have been more suited or even lower handlebars, but both these companies mention their CR as new generation café Racers. Now if sports bike can evolve over the years, then Buell and Benelli has every right to try to evolve the thinking pattern of a café racer lover. Maybe they have disappointed many a café racer fan, but I am sure it has won quite a new number of fans and also impressed some old ones. After all, the heart is in the right place. Visit the BENELLI website to get a load of the TNT 1130CR
Specifications

Engine – 1130cc, 4 stroke, 3 cylinders in line, tilted forwards 15°, fitted with anti-vibration countershaft

Bore X Stroke - 88 x 62 mm
Cooling System - Liquid, with lateral double radiator, served by two electrofans
Oil Cooling System - Radiator
Distribution - Chain driven double head cam shaft with 4 valves per cylinder
Lubrication - Wet sump
Max Power & Torque - 136 hp @ 9250 rpm & 117 Nm @ 6750 rpm
Caburation - Electronic injection with 1 injector per cylinder
Ignition - Single coil inductive discharge electronic ignition
Clutch & Gear box- Wet clutch & 6-speed extractable
Transmission - Straight toothed primary gear, chain driven secondary
Suspension Front & Rear- Marzocchi 50 mm diameter upside down fork & ASD steel tube trellis swingarm with Extreme Technology single shock absorber with adjustable rebound and spring pre-load
Wheels - Die-cast aluminium alloy front 3.5”x17”, rear 6.00”x17”
Tyres Front & Rear – Dunlop Tubeless, radial; Front 120/70 x 17” & Rear 190/50 x 17”
Brakes - Brembo; Front twin floating disk, 320 mm diameter, with 4 piston caliper & Rear single disk, with twin piston caliper
Wheelbase - 1419 mm
Dimension - 2100 x 1050 x 790 mm (L x H x W)
Seat Height - 780 mm Dry Weight - 199 kg