Motorcycle specifications Benelli502 C 2021 XDiavel discounted

Initially presented as the 402 S, this Sino-Italian machine wanted to be more responsive, becoming the 502 C. The engine has gained a little space, but not enough to tease the big hearts of the bikes it identifies with.

Now that Benelli no longer has a big-block in its organ bank, both in terms of displacement and character, everything would suggest that the lion of Pesaro has mellowed. In watts, certainly. But spurred on by Chinese investors, this machine calls your bluff, betting on form rather than substance. The 502 C is Benelli's first hot-rod roadster-cruiser.

What makes it such a vindictive machine? Its (too) strong resemblance to a certain Ducati XDiavel. Although the Benelli 502 C uses many styling touches to give it its own identity, the overall look is confoundingly similar. The Italian brand will have to put up with the reputation of Chinese designers as photocopiers. A slap in the face for Benelli.
And yet, the tubular steel trellis frame is quite different, with no single-arm and a motorization of a different dimension.

The only thing the 502 C's engine has in common with the Ducati's is the number of pistons. After that, it's the pot of clay... no, of sand versus the pot of iron. Here we find a mechanical system borrowed from the Leoncino and the TRK. The Chinese in-line twin announces 500 cm3 for a final output of 47.6 hp. Torque is in line with the displacement, at 4.7 mkg. With figures like these, the machine seems destined for an A2 license, but in reality, it's a plunge into the much larger market of emerging countries. Never mind the watts; with a face like this, it seems destined for a fine career... in the lands of the Far East.

Most elements of the chassis enhance the picture. For a bike of this displacement, the hardware is pretty spiffy. A 41 mm inverted fork and 3 brake discs in all: 260 mm at the front with 4-piston axial calipers and 240 mm at the rear with double-piston calipers. Weight, on the other hand, is not very well placed. 220 kilos is a lot... even unacceptable for a machine of this displacement. A Honda 500 Rebel weighs 27 kilos less. And the prototype claimed 160 kilos only....
The 502 C doesn't seem to mind the jibes. It incites its rider to a cruising and stylish attitude, with feet forward, a long 21-liter fuel tank, a minimalist rear end and an all-LED look, itself hidden in a very... Old-generation Duke 125/390.

We won't go back over the collapse of the Benelli memory, which the brand's owners seem to be ignoring. Let's try to define what the 502 C is. It's a motorcycle designed to catch the eye and flatter the rider on the streets of Bombay, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong or Chongqing. See it as a 500 and you'll be flattered; see it as a Benelli and you'll be disenchanted.

M.B - Manufacturer's photos