Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

It was safe as i am residing in a gated community. Water didn't raise very high. Water was stagnating for one night but didnt raise above half tyre level. So nothing alarming.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience


Been a silent follower too...

What was the reason you chose Ninja 300 Over tnt300 even after booking tnt 300?
And what are your considerations for switching back to tnt300 other than comfortable pillion seat?

The reason I ask is I have these two bikes in my mind, and I would like to know more from a person who had his eye, and probably hands on both the machines.

tnt 300 ticks all the boxes right for me: riding position, styling, sound, comfort, ability to do touring and definitely solid, but 2 most important things: reliability and servicing.

I have been going through the ownership thread of Ninja as well. Only concern I found there was , The seats are pretty hard and riding position is little aggressive. So sore bums and back, wrist aches seemed to be inevitable (please correct me if I am wrong). Apart from that the rest looks good to me.

[Questions to all thee owners of tnt300]
But there are two concerns, I have about tnt 300. (Pardon the sentence jugglery, sometimes Master Yoda gets the best out of me):

1) Reliability: I have gone through the bad experience Raghu (experimental head) had gone through when his bike stalled, because of a fuse issue. Are such issues common for any bike. (I am new to geared bikes as well). Are there any tnt300 riders who were not part of this group faced any such problems/break downs? (Apart from problems faced by Abhijit , Binil which was because of bad potholes).
The reason I am so obsessed with reliability is I want to go for long rides, sometimes to remote locations, and the last thing I would want is the bike stalling. I am based out of bangalore by the way

2) Servicing: I have not heard any servicing quality issues with Bangalore SVC, but in other cities there seem to be some quality issues. But are there any unsung, untold bad experiences in servicing benellis in bangalore(considering their immaculate track record with hyosung (Pun Intended)).

Also how frequently do we have to replace the pirelli tires on tnt300? Someone says it is 8K Kms. That is too less.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Hi sudhir,

The reason I chose ninja 300 over benelli was, first thing it gives a faired sports bike experience, secondly its Japanese so the reliability.
Also impatience.. Ya seriously.. One month waiting period for benelli, in the mean time I got a sweat deal for ninja 300. So bought it at once.
I still love ninja for the confidence it gives.I personally touched 170 top sepped but I could have gone beyond that but the road stretch was not long enough for that speed to attain. Handles like a knife. I never knew I could ride that well and cut corners until I rode the ninja.

The seat is hard, but custom seats are available its not a deal breaker.

NO !! Ninja 300 does not have sporty riding position. Wrist pain, back pain is not because of ninja but because the way they ride, the roads and different factors like fitness issues.
Its a very comfortable bike if you know how to ride it. I was riding a Thunderbird 500 before ninja, it was difficult for me to get used to the riding posture. But after reading from kawasakininja300 forum I learnt something and it totally changed the way I ride the bike.
The only issue I have with ninja is pillion seat. If I have the money I will own another 150 cc commuter for family use and keep the ninja for. But I don't need two bikes and cant maintain it now. That's why I'm selling her

Benelli still has to prove in the Indian market, reliability and after sales support still a concern for me.
But a twin with all the features I'm looking for is only available in benelli 300. That's why I came back here.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Hi Saravanan

Its great to hear that your are joining the Benelli family.

Yes I am having a great time with her. Just that I get way too much attention which i am absolutely not comfortable with. Let me know when you are getting it. Ill come for the delivery ceremony.

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Guys

Opposite to my IT building, there is a Mahindra service center.

Few mechanics from there somehow managed to get down to the parking lot and took a few pics of my bike. Today while I was entering my office, I saw a few guys giving a very "Familiar" look at the bike and they even signaled each other which rings some safety bells in my head.

Should I do something about it or just let it go ?

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Karthick ? You game for this buddy ?

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

1. Reliability - Personally I have not concerns. The bike is well built and even the pothole incident, it got me to a rolling stop. I am scared to even imagine what would have happen if i was on a pulsar or ktm that day.

2. Servicing - No concerns apart from transparency on service charges and labour costs. The concern is already raised with the South Zone Service Head - Shyam - who said he would be getting things streamlined. Quality of service, I have not faced any concern till date. 6000kms and last service done for the 2nd Service. Agreed DSK did not really do too well with Hyosung in matter of service but I can assure you this time around it is surely better. And i'm saying all this with my experiences in Bangalore SVC. Spare availability is an issue, can take upto two weeks sometimes. DSK is working on a local (India) warehouse to sort this issue out. This info I got from guys in DSK. n This issue is no different with Kawasaki or even the imported car brands. My N300 friend had to wait fr 3 weeks to get a fairing panel which had cracked.

3. The Pirelli tires would last much longer. They are Medium compound Angel STs and the record holder for highest mileage in the world. The grip is excellent in wet or dry conditions. Isn't too bad in loose soil either. From the looks of it I think I can pull across 15K. n BTW the tyres are cheaper if you buy through DSK as these come in as CKD imports. My front tyre was just Rs. 7.2K. n also CEAT is gonna distribute it across India now so better availability.

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Just chill brother. Don't bother. First few days usually ends up like this. I never let my bike out of sight when I went to a restaurant either. Then my logo got stolen from my house garage. That was it. I did not bother after that. Got rid of all logos and stickers on the bike. Except the engine emblem. Now it's even more sinister :P

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

1) I might not be the best person to answer this. I have clocked only 600 kms till now. Till date, the build is extremely solid.

2) Haven't heard any negative comments. Only concern is the engine oil being changed during every service which is unnecessary. Also, the labour charge differs from each state which is pretty silly.

3) That's a false information. The P-Angel will last minimum 15k kms.

Other than this it's a very sturdy, bulky, comfortable, excellent sounding, mile munching beast.

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Thats sad to hear about your logo being stole. Jealous ba***ds... Good that you removed the logos. Now they cant remove them

Yeah I do the same even now. I take a window seat when I get inside a restaurant so that I can keep an eye on NYX.

I'm trying to chill as much as I can. Just worried about her safety.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Rightfully quoted by CycleWorld - The motorcycle has been over engineered

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Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Hey shashank thanks.. Will let you know..
And as for the reliability goes. I have a question. Sorry if it sounds silly or doesn't make any sense. I just wanna ask you guys.

I have ridden my ninja sanely and sometimes I go berserk and reach my home from office which is 45 kms away in 45 mins in peak hours. It includes some 50-50 highway city ride.
Ninja was really forgiving and sometimes I was saved purely because of the bikes dynamics . I'm not sure I'm saying it correctly or not.

If you over commit in a corner or a little over confident during an over taking or sudden breaking in some instances the ninja saved my life literally. This also comes under reliability right.

Its reliable in high speed and sudden breaking,
Can anyone experienced the same in your benelli. Or can you comment on that line. Thanks

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Guys, I'm planning to ride down to Goa soon, but I haven't yet received the RC for the bike.

I know that it is mandatory to have the RC on you when travelling out of state, but how does the law apply in this scenario? If I don't receive the RC by then, what substitute documents can I carry?

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Let me break down your question into few parts.

1. Can you go berserk and filter in peak traffic: Absolutely. Its heavy but it doesnt mean you can't filter. The 300 is a street bike. For the first few 100 kms, the front brake will lack bite. Just keep using it and you will find it coming to life slowly. I have been using only the front brake from 33 kms and I don't even have my foot on the lever.

2. Can you over commit on a corner: If you are a corner junkie you can really have fun with the 300. The right side might scrape a bit because of the huge box thing you find close to the underbelly exhaust. Changing to the IXIL aftermarket exhaust will solve this issue to an extent. To answer your question, you need to adjust the suspension and damping to suit your cornering style. Today, I pushed her as much as I can in Guindy Kathipara bridge. When we enter Kathipara, we can take left and find a pretty good corner which leads to Ekatuthangal. I felt extremely comfortable and confident with the bike. The only issue I found is that the front wheel was bouncing a lil bit.

3. Reliability of brakes in high speeds: Experimental Head and Binil are the best persons to answer this.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

I better not talk about my bike anymore until I get my hands on it . May be it is the reason the delivery is being delayed (touch wood)

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

That's good to hear. Thanks for the info Shashank.
I read that the stopping power of the benelli is mostly influenced by the tyres and not the brakes. The pirellis make the braking good, else it would have been sub par is what I read in many reviews.

Did anyone try changing the brake pads ?

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Thats true to an extent, but the existing brakes are equally good. The first TNT300 delivered in Chennai had MRFs in it and it was a 150 section tires. His view was the brakes are quiet good (read: quiet) if not the best performers like Nissin or Brembo.

I am planning to get Brembo for the front alone. Its on the cards (need to arrange finance first, then think about the upgrade).

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Arey baba!!

I am talking about my bike. I'll bring my bike to your place and can we get the mudguard flap installed.

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Very true.

Maybe this is why MRF versions were stopped.

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+ 1 with regards to the power.

600cc with no ABS = Potential Risk.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

1. Yes, you can go berserk with the TNT300, I had the Yamaha R15v2 earlier to this and that was a very forgiving bike. I find this no different in that matter. You do need to be aware of the weight, specially if u are new to heavy bikes and are trying to lean while in crawling speeds. Know a few guys who have dropped the bike while taking u turns in traffic. Also there will be noticeable difference in acceleration when compared to the n300, so keep that in mind.

2. Handling through corners has never been a problem on the TNT 300. In motion the weight isn;t even felt. The stock suspension setting perfect for my use too. You may just need to adjust the suspension to suit ur needs. Regarding the Exhaust touching on the right hander leans, the issue has been rectified with a revised exhaust cover. I have never had the issue either. One of my friends who tested the test mule said the issue was more prominent on the MRF shod TNT300s.

3. The front dual disks are very responsive and I have had a panic break situation when a dog (two legged kind ) jumped in front of my bike when i was doing 120+. The bike slowed and i was able to maneuver away from the guy. The tyres and breaks complement very well with the over all weight of the bike. In short the breaks are at par with the others in the segment. I personally do not like ABS and did not feel the need for one on this bike yet. ABS - news is flying around that ABS options are coming soon btw.