Pictures of Benelli’s planned entry-level single-cylinder nakedbike have leaked long before the machine’s official debut.
Currently dubbed BJ150-31, the bike is clearly still in the early stages of development, and comes from Benelli’s owner QianJiang in China rather from the Benelli Italian operation.
These pictures show a styling mock-up, with near-complete bodywork on a rough beam chassis.
The engine is a water-cooled single that’s also expected to appear in a new fully faired model, and shouldn’t be confused with the air-cooled 150cc single in Benelli’s Asian-market TNT 15.
Both the BJ150-31 and the faired BJ150-30 ‘Dragon’ sportsbike are likely to use similar frames and suspension as well.
This styling model features upside-down fork, Benelli-branded brakes and a square-section steel swingarm. It’s still early days for the design, though, so those parts may yet change.
By Ben Purvis
Styling mock-up shows how the new Benelli naked will look