Designs show big V4 with automated clutch and air suspension
Benda was an unknown brand outside China just a handful of years ago but has become a prolific developer of new engines and ideas with a cruiser-oriented range that spans from 250cc V-twins to a 950cc V4. But it has plans for even more complicated designs in the near future including a bigger V4 and – as these designs reveal – a version fitted with an automated clutch.
This year alone the company has previewed an array of new engines including a 1700cc inline six with a dual-clutch transmission, a 700cc boxer twin and a 550cc inline four that’s destined for the company’s first sports bike, as well as the radical P51 concept bike that’s heading for production with a 250cc boxer paired to an electric hybrid drive system. But the bike seen in these designs hasn’t been shown in public yet and pairs a new version of the brand’s V4 engine with an electronic clutch similar to Honda’s E-Clutch.
Benda’s version of the E-Clutch operates in the same way as Honda’s, adding an electromechanical actuator to a conventional, lever-operated clutch, allowing the rider to choose whether to control it manually or let the bike’s computer take the strain. In auto mode it means you can start, stop and shift gears without ever touching the clutch lever. So far, it’s been launched on one model, the new Rock 707 V-twin cruiser, but the same clutch system is visible on the righthand side of the V4 engine in the bike seen in these new design images.
At the moment, Benda offers two V4 cruisers, the smaller Dark Flag 500 and the larger Dark Flag 950. The bike in these designs appears to share its chassis with the bigger of the two, with a similar frame, forks and front brakes as the Dark Flag 950. The engine is different, though, with notably revised castings for the cylinders and cylinder heads as well as the new covers needed to house the electronic clutch system. When Benda originally announced its plans for a range of V4 models back in 2021 it promised that the largest version would use an 1198cc motor with 113kW and 121Nm of torque, so there’s a distinct possibility that’s the bike shown in these images.
While the styling follows the same cues as the existing Dark Flag 500 and Dark Flag 950 models, all the panels and the tank are different. The headlight is a more futuristic design, with a traditional-style bowl but without the usual one-piece lens, instead showing a central LED surrounded by four intakes. The circular dash looks like the same colour TFT that’s used on the Dark Flag 950, but there’s a second instrument set into the top of the fuel tank, just behind the filler. The rear suspension features height-adjustable air shocks, a system that’s already been launched on the top version of the company’s biggest V-twin cruiser, the Rock 707.
Will you be able to buy the bikes in the Australian market? Yep. The brand has signed a deal with an Australian importer and promises to have bikes on the market here in 2026, with a website already active at www.bendamoto.com.au where potential customers can register to get more information.
