10 Of The Most Affordable Mini Motorcycles To Ride In 2024 – SlashGear

Originally founded in Italy, Benelli has a long history of motorcycle production beginning even before WWI. After decades of manufacturing innovative bikes, including many winning race models, the company was acquired by a Chinese company in 2005, eventually being folded into the huge Geely automotive group. Today, Benelli endures, with design and engineering going on in its traditional home in Pesaro, Italy while manufacturing takes place in Wenling, China.

Benelli also has a history of producing minibikes going back to the ’70s, but today the company offers a thoroughly modern example with its TNT 135. Like the Kawasaki Z125 Pro, the junior Benelli strikes an aggressive stance with its contemporary styling. In further comparison to its rivals, the Benelli benefits from technical advantages, at least on paper, from its four-valve engine, additional 100cc of displacement to 135, trellis frame, and a fifth gear in the transmission — the GROM only recently started offering its 5-speed. On pavement, the benefits are real, and the TNT 135 pulls away from intersections with surprising torque and takes its rider to a top speed of 75 mph, plenty for most state highways. This makes the Benelli a very good option for the city rider who wants to venture out a bit further somewhat regularly. As a bonus, it looks pretty darn good, too.

Whether Benelli can overcome the made-in-China negative bias is yet to be seen. The quality appears to be there. However, the real coup de grâce against its competitors is the low retail price, starting at just $3,199.