Re: Benelli TNT 300 Longterm Ownership Experience


I went for my first long ride after the 24k service. I must say the service quality has improved a lot. The bike also feels super smooth and is running very well.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Hello All,


I am considering to buy Benelli TNT 300 on which i will be riding daily and for touring as well. Many people suggested me to not buy Benelli bikes due to high service and maintenance costs including my neighbor who owns a TNT 600i. I really wanted to know about maintenance costs of TNT 300 from owners here before deciding. I have personally mailed the same to @experimentalhead and he promptly responded, but i later thought of posting it here in forum so that i can receive help from other owners as well and i can take average values before making a decision. Hope this post can help other buyers who are considering TNT 300.

As per my discussion with Service head in Bangalore below mentioned are the costs and life of spares.


Rear Break pad 3900 Rupees ( Average Life 8000 kms )
Front Break Pad 1300 Rupees ( Average Life 10000 kms )
Front Disk Plates 20000 Rupees ( Average Life 20000 kms )
Rear Disk Plates 5000 Rupees ( Average Life 20000 kms )
Front Tyre 15000 Rupees ( Average Life 12000 to 15000 kms )
Rear Tyre 18000 Rupees ( Average Life 12000 to 15000 kms )
Clutch Cable 1300 Rupees
Teflon Coating 800 Rupees
Insurance per year from second year (I forgot the value said by sales team)?
Road side assistance per year from second year (I forgot the value said by sales team)?
I heard AMC are launched for this model which is 9000 Rs per year or 24000 Rs per 2 years. As per my understanding engine oil , oil filter etc will be changed freely in regular service and we don't need to pay anything extra for it as it's included in AMC. Correct me if i'm wrong.


Based on these prices i have calculated annual maintenance costs for this model considering i will travel 10000 kms per year.


1st year : 25000 Rupees for maintenance
AMC package 9000
Break Pads 5500
If anything extra 10000


2nd Year : 1 Lakh for maintenance
AMC Package 9000
Break Pads 5500
Chain Sprocket 17000
Disk Plates 25000
Tyres 33000
Extras 10000


So i felt this price repeats for alternate years. That way for every 2 years the maintenance comes upto 1,25,000 Rupees. Can i please know if you are experiencing the same in maintenance? Thanks everyone in advance for your response

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

My response to Yashwanth:

Hi Yashwanth,

Hope all is well at your end.

Well, maintenance cost varies from one user to another depending on the way bike is used and definitely on riding style, as far as I know.

I have ridden 26000 Km in 2 years. New owners are lucky as they got AMC option as per which oil change, which is a major factor for high maintenance, is done in alternate intervals.

In my case, expense has been like:

Tyre changed at 25000 Km (Stock Pirelli tyres are super good and last long as long as rubber is not burnt unnecessarily like burns and wheelies)
Rear brake pad changed at 17000 Km (So, depending on how we use brakes, they will definitely give better life)
Front brake pad changed at 25000 Km
Chain sprocket changed at 23000 Km (I know few who are still running on stock sprockets even after 25000 km since they take extremely good care of chain)
Disk plates will last longer if you change brake pads as soon as they are about to wear out completely. So if disk plates have to go bad at every 20000 km, then owner would have to be blamed for poor maintenance.
Also, front tyre is 12K and rear tyre is 14 to 15K.
So, maintenance is not as expensive as it is mentioned above. But, is definitely on a higher side. But with AMC, it definitely has reduced.
I felt maintenance was high due to oil change every 4000 km which in itself will cost 2400 Rs. But with AMC, we can breathe easy.
Also, this bike may not be the right bike for every day use. This is purely my personal opinion. I have my avenger which helps me with daily commute. You will be putting unnecessary stress on this bike by taking it out everyday in heavy traffic. Though engine is solid, I still feel uncomfortable taking it in traffic everyday and also parking it in congested places.
Hope, I was able to answer your questions.

PS: I heard that, not sure to what extent it is true, that prices of all bikes have increased due to increase in road tax and registration fees in Karnataka. Benelli price has increased to 4.05L on road in Bangalore is what I heard. Please check with Benelli showroom once to confirm this.

All the best.
Raghu

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

[MENTION=92024]yashkrish[/MENTION] - if you look from the financial angle, there is no reason to buy the benelli300. People get it for the sound, and exclusivity. Otherwise who will want a bike costing 4L that does 0-100 kmph in 8 seconds?

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

I am owning Benelli TNT 300 for more than 2 years now. It's a great machine. Excellent for touring. But if it were 4 Lakhs at the time of my purchase, I would not have bought it. I skipped Ninja precisely for same reason.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

With that logic, there's absolutely no reason to buy the overpriced/under-engineered RE family ever.

On another note, the other 300 CC twins in India market are either suffering from poor after sales/costly maintenance/spares issue(Ninja 300) or just gone as of now(R3), and cost the same. At least this one sounds better than the two and has better pillion comfort. Just my 2 cents in TNT's favor.

Regards.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

People who are buyng RE are definitely paying more for what they are getting.
TNT does have pluses over Ninja but still 4L for any 300 CC twin is just too much and that too with no modern features like ABS, slipper clutch.

If you ask me, at this juncture Dominar is the real VFM bike as it gives you 35 BHP and comes with ABS, slipper clutch and best of LED headlamps.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Exactly. Lack of ABS on these 3 overpriced bikes is mind boggling to say the least.

No doubt, Dominar is a fantastic VFM, however Bajaj even though renowned to make VFM bikes since long, is also known for sub-par quality as well.

Major Kudos to Bajaj for providing ABS with Domi.
Slipper clutch though useful, is not needed in day to day riding. Rev matching is an important thing and a new rider should learn that.

My 2 cents.

Regards.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience


Prices have appreciated all across the brands, so If today you are spending 4 Lakhs on the TNT 300 ... you would also be spending close to 5 lakhs for the ninja 300 ... right ? I'd rath

Would I buy the TNT 300 in today's pricing? Maybe not. You have more options now. For my touring needs, I might take the Mojo. or may be the Dominar (reluctantly - only because it's cheaper)

Am I happy with the Bike? Hell, yeah it's a lovely bike, excellent tourer and no use comparing it to the KTMs. They both are very different in characteristics.


Agree with that bit.

No doubt the Dominar is a turning point for the Motorcycle Industry. But Bajaj is a Bajaj - they are experts in making low-cost volume bikes but on the long run do they last ? I have been a Pulsar owner and I do not have the longevity feel with the Bajaj.


Overall the Benelli build quality is better and beyond comparison even with the Kawasaki (smaller bikes < 300) to quite an extent. Way ahead compared to Bajaj n KTM. It the build quality doesn't matter to someone, they are free to look elsewhere.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

In my opinion, buying TNT300, or N300 or R3 is stupidity.

Any of these can't match the KTM RC390 or duke390 which comes at way lower price,still offers everything.
And people looking at TNT300 must check Dominar(comfier and sounds better compared to KTM) as well.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Agreed with all the points above. My comparison was based on other 2 twins available as of now in 300CC category.

You understand that here the underlying context is about affordable(?) twin cylinder bikes available, not those high performance singles. Some people want to upgrade to multi cylinders.

Regards.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

I have a Bajaj Avenger 220 DTS-i for last 6 years and it has run 56000 Km. Trust me Bajaj engines are more reliable than any other bikes. Reason I say this is because, majority of the owners, including me, do not maintain their Bajaj bikes very well. I have not given my Avenger even 20% of the attention I have given to my Benelli. I have seen many using their Bajaj bikes without chain lube for months and thousands of kilometers.

Imagine if these bikes are given proper care like we do for our premium bikes, how will they perform.

And, I love my Avenger and it is a prized possession as it has taken me to some treacherous locales and never left me in the lurch.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Hey there.

I own the bike for 1 year and 5 months. For 5 months it hardly ran few hundreds of kilometers (I was in the US for 3 months and we faced severe floods in Chennai for 2 months).

I have clocked 24122 kilometers at present, riding the Bellini extensively for one year and below are things I have changed till date.


Rear Break pad 3900 Rupees ( Average Life 8000 kms ) - Changed at 22000 kms.
Front Break Pad 1300 Rupees ( Average Life 10000 kms ) - Yet to change. Stock still has around 30% life left.
Front Disk Plates 20000 Rupees ( Average Life 20000 kms ) - Not sure if I have to change. As Raghu pointed out, keep changing the brake pads on time and this is nothing to worry about.
Rear Disk Plates 5000 Rupees ( Average Life 20000 kms ) - Not sure if I have to change. As Raghu pointed out, keep changing the brake pads on time and this is nothing to worry about.
Front Tyre 15000 Rupees ( Average Life 12000 to 15000 kms ) - Mine is still stock and will last for sometime.
Rear Tyre 18000 Rupees ( Average Life 12000 to 15000 kms ) - Mine is still stock and will last for sometime.
Clutch Cable 1300 Rupees - changed it once at 21000 kms
Teflon Coating 800 Rupees - Havent done it yet.

I hope you find this useful

Pics of tire at 24200 kms:

Post Removal Alert

Aditya, motorcycles are as unique as each individual themselves. Let's try not to interfere with personal decisions made by an individual. Remember each to his own. A healthy discussion is always a learning experience. Let's stick to that, shall we.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Remember they are twin, which has a different kind of gene. Moreover they are CKD and there is no need to compare with KTMs though every bike has its own merits.