Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

I've had a similar experience with DSK Hyosung while most of the owners were hiding the issues with the Korean junk because resale value may go down I was the one of few who posted all the negatives and countless faults of the bike after not getting response from ASC. And guess what! All of my posts were deleted and I was permanently blocked from the FB page I'm still blocked.

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Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

With all due respect I beg to differ Hyosung is equally crap as their Indian counter parts. The bike is a joke of you see the internals.

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Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Hi All,
I've been a silent follower of this thread. I was among one of the first few people who owned a Benelli 300TNT. Mine (Green, Pirelli version) got delivered on 21st April.

I thought of writing Ownership review but didn't as I didn't spent much time with the motorcycle as I would like to. I was waiting for a chance to do a long trip but couldn't as I was stuck with professional as well as personal commitments. I did first service after around 600+ kms as it was due as per service schedule. All the kms I did were between from my home (Goregaon) to Office (Airoli), that comes to around 30+kms round trip every day on the busiest sections of Western Express highways + JVLR (people living in Mumbai will understand).
So here’s my review of first 1000 kms: (I do not intend to compare Fz-S & TNT300, but at some point I provided as a reference)

1. The bike is heavy if due to some reason the motorcycle trips with saddlebags / Claw & Tank bag on it, it will need 2 people to make it upright. Avoid riding on beach or in the mud.
2. Shorter people may find an issue considering the height of the motorcycle, & it’s not easy to lean & take weight of the motorcycle on one leg, especially in constant traffic you feel the weight &pain.
3. I’m having issue with the fuel indicator. It does not show the correct reading even if I make the tank full. I’ve already shown it to the DSK guys but asked them not to make any changes since I need to be sure as I’m still little skeptical.
4. Initially I had issue with the horn as it started to sound weak. When I went to the show room it seemed that few other guys had the same issue. The mechanic tweaked the position of the horn & it started working fine since then. It was too close to the engine & heat of the engine was causing the issue.
   One fine day during a ride to office under hard rain, the horn suddenly went dead. It is suicidal in Mumbai traffic, riding with a dead horn. I was not sure what the issue was, whether it’s the switch or the horn itself. Called up the guy at the dealer & explained him the issue& told him that next morning I’ll bring the motorcycle to showroom for check-up.Somewhere I felt that the access water may have caused the problem, so decided to wait till the evening. In the evening the horn was working completely fine.In the recent 300+ wet ride as well didn’t face any issue.
5. The rear wheel locks up under moderate breaking sometime & fish tailing is inevitable. So whether it rains or not I’m either relying on engine braking or front break, I’m using rear break judiciously. The clapping/clicking noise which comes from the front discs is due to the floating calipers.
   Initially I had issues with the front breaks as I felt the bite to be on softer side. Technician too felt the same. So he bleed the front breaks after which I could feel sufficient bite of the front calipers.
6. As the clutch is hard, few times, especially in rains the lever slips. I was wearing good gloves but due to hard rain the lever slipped couple of times giving sudden acceleration. Now thinking of some jugaad to avoid that.
7. Radiator fins didn’t face any issue due to mud or water. The front fender is positioned correctly so not much dirt goes into the fins. But I’m looking out for a guard hope to get one soon.
8. Rusting of chain during rain is normal in the city like Mumbai, unless you clean & lubricate your chain after every wet ride.
9. At least for now I’m happy with the motorcycle but same I cannot say with the dealership. Buying experience is not so good (prices kept on changing) but they did deliver the motorcycle on the promised date. The sales person earlier was not well informative & few wrong suggestions as use normal petrol, no run in required etc. Few people have replaced so lately things have improved a bit.
   Initially the workshop was not fully operative so the motorcycles were serviced at the showroom only, which was a big issue. The washing was done with the hand. I had to wash the motorcycle at 3M. Care needs to be taken while washing the motorcycle that they should not use the jet stream. After that I’m washing the motorcycle at home only.
   Now the workshop in MIDC is operative, it is a small workshop but people there are super helpful. Looking towards meeting a good mechanic who can work on such motorcycles effectively.
10. There are few things I did on motorcycle during initial days, before taking it out for a spins:
    1. Installed 3M’s PPF film on the tank to avoid the scratches due to Tank bag. I did it on my car earlier & it did save the paint from nasty scratches. It cost me around 5K.
       
    2. Added Ride-On TPS in both the tires to avoid flat tires during the ride. I did installed them on my Fz-S as well as Car & I’m very much satisfied with the product. The photo is for the representation purpose, it has been taken while I was adding it in Fz-S tires.
       
       
    3. Also I’m using LED Tire Pressure Monitor, VFM product of the same company.
       
    4. Used Octane booster once when I filled the normal petrol. I did not observe any knocking, but over the period of time it is not recommended to use normal petrol.
    5. I tried to source a good Key Chain but could not get one so decided to make one for myself. I ended up creating a badge (stitched on the Jacket) & Key chain as well. I’ve extra. Anyone who needs it PM me. DSK guys also have asked for few sample pieces. Below is what I made:
       
       
       
       Photos don't do justice, it's done on a professional label sewing machine with laser cutting.
    6. Changed number plates to IND number plates as the one provided by the dealer were of poor quality. I'm keeping the front number plate holder as is.
    7. Last thing I needed was a lockwith good security features. There is a security guard in our society but hewent to his native place so I needed a lock with good features. First lock cameinto my mind was Xena disc lock, only issue for me was, it didn’t haveremote/pager feature. There are children in our society & while playing theymay trigger the alarm accidently causing me to go down every time to reset it &also when I’m not home not everyone will be happy to do so.
       So I was searching for a lockwith alarm & also having a remote. After searching a while I stumbled upon PagerAlarm Lock from Bully made for motorcycles. Best thing about it is, it’s a U-lockwith an alarm & a remote. I had used a U-lock previously on my bicycle witha cable lock & it didn’t disappoint me & this one had an alarm &remote as well, so I loved it. Before ordering on Amazon I checked few of theproduct reviews & details to understand the functioning. One of my teammate was at onsite so while coming back to India he brought it along with him.It cost me $94.42 on Amazon. Official price is $149.95. And since I also have agood solid cable lock when I’m out for official duty I can lock both mymotorcycles with a Cable Lock & Bully U-Lock.
       Sometimes (when watchman isaround) I remove the battery & use only the U-Lock & Cable.
       The remote has a coverage of around 800+ meters so if the alarm is triggered accidentally& I’m not at home then anyone at home can switch it off with the remote. Functioningis simple as that of TV remote. Build quality is good enough & works well. Below are few photos:
       The Box:
       
       
       The box includes: Main Lock, Aremote, Batteries for lock & remote, Leather Case for remote, A screwdriver for installing the battery, A a small reminder cable & a user manual.
       
       
       Remote/Pager:
       
       
       U-Lock:
       
       
       
       User Manual:
       

I’m no motorcycle or motorcycle touring expert, but I see many people going gaga-over just by the sound, but this motorcycle is much more than that. The people who are switching over from everyday motorcycle needs to understand the characteristics of this motorcycle. It’s not a Duke or a Ninja. It’s quite humble motorcycle not nimble like Duke, beyond 5K-6K RPM it shows it’s real character & it’s wonderful to ride it on open highways. Within city you need to be patient which sometimes will test you.
Also it’s not good to blame the build for one of the issue & judge overall quality of the motorcycle. It’s a machine, having lots of moving parts & state of the art electronics so it will not be completely solid & free of issue. I’ve once seen a BMW bike not starting because of an electronics problem & eventually being towed away but that does not mean that all the BMWs are bad. If the same problem is repeated in most of the motorcycle then definitely it will raise questions on the overall build quality of the motorcycle.
And being CKD, there will be issues related to sourcing of the parts, same is the case with many such CKD/CBU motorcycles. Having said this you have every right to confront DSK-Benelli regarding the motorcycle issue, but you should be more interested in the root cause & resolution rather than just making noise over the quality. As a part of after sales, customer is also equally responsible.
I’m no Benelli fanboy, but I respect Benelli as a brand & want to give them chance to resurrect the brand image back to its full glory. It is one of the five motorcycle makes that have celebrated a 100th anniversary. With two Grand Prix world championships and a six-cylinder production bike to its credit, Benelli owns an impressive heritage. So much was greatness of the brand that once it was known as motorcycle barracuda. India as a market is very important for Benelli & set back here will be really painful. Both DSK & Benelli understand this well & working towards it. I’m not sure how much you guys are connected with DSK folks but during the buying discussion I was very upset with the sudden price change & confronted one of the person handling west zone directly. I was not very convenience with the explanation but never doubted the quality of the end product. In the recent discussion I came to know that Italian counterparts are still very much involved in the operation, doing the audits every now & then. As per my information the motorcycle was designed & prototype was made in Italy & later manufactured in China to effectively cater the needs of the Asian markets. DSK is also trying to manufacture accessories within India, but for every accessory they need the approval from Italy/China.
As far as DSK-Hyosung issues goes I’m not interested as it's a different issue & Benelli guys are fully aware of it as well, so I leave up that issue here only.
CEO of Benelli YAN HAIMEI said that, as part of the Qjian Jiang Group, Benelli Q.J. needs to be focused on the booming Far East, Southeast Asia and South American markets. The BN302 was conceived with a perceived quality that will establish an outstanding value for money that will attract also the European markets. The BN302 is not a sophisticated bike. It is a highly spirited bike, with great, solid quality in every detail, but it’s not sophisticated by any means. We did not use any special alloy steel for the frame, we just over-engineered the whole project, to make sure that the BN302 will be able to stand the rigors of many Far East markets. I am pleased to confirm that we are about to re-establish Benelli in the US market. This will happen prior to the end of 2015. Returning to a market as competitive and selective as the American one will require that we further refine and increase our efforts, adding more personalized models and looking back to our history. Motorcyclists are conservative people, here and in America.
P.S. sorry for the long post but looking at the thread I had to write & yes, before you guys think that this guy has not faced the problems which we did, I would like to tell you that my Benelli is in workshop since a week with cracked rear alloy. I too didn’t have RSA number at the time of accident but Devang from dealership helped me for the number. I was stupid enough not to keep it with me thinking that I’ll never need it. Thanks to a Punjabi family I could call up my wife & RSA. It took 2 hours for RSA to reach to the spot & pick up me & my motorcycle. It was pouring down heavily in Mumbai I was standing on the roadside with all wet clothes, helmet on & water till my knees. It was frustrating for me as well. In fact I almost lost it when they gave the drop address of Hyosung workshop at Thane. I had to explain that it's a different motorcycle brand & eventually they understood & asked RSA guys to drop me home as MIDC workshop was closed. But I had to be patient. Fortunately it was within city limits else it could have taken more time. But I had to be patient as it was not a Splendor or my Fz-S which any roadside mechanic could have fixed it. RSA dropped me & my motorcycle to my house & next day came to pick up the motorcycle & dropped at the workshop. I too had to follow up RSA guys, insurance guys, dealer guys & DSK folks for the replacement part.
Hopefully motorcycle will be ready in next few days & I’ll do what I’m good at…travelling on 2 wheels. & the cracking of the rear alloy, well, it’s not the build quality which is at fault (it doesn't matter how hard I stress this still some may connect it with the inferior build), because along with me at least 8-10 cars went down with the same problem, that too with both front & back wheel! Pothole was the root cause...period.
Once I said to someone, reiterating here…you need to be patient, it’s not the end of the world, there are things which are beyond our control, so we need to only look after & react to what is in our control. Think & react because a just the beginning of the relationship, do not spoil the start unnecessarily.
@experimentalhead I’m sorry for the issue you faced, hope you will get your TNT soon.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience


Nopes, the bike does not have a gear indicator. Ideally it should have been provided. Sometimes I fumble with the gears as I forget which gear I am riding in. Also the slotting in the neutral is a pain at traffic halts, somehow it doesn't slot into place. The rest of the slots are butter smooth, its only the neutral that has a problem.

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@abhijitkn First of all, welcome to the club. And amazingly drafted points which I and Classic86 tried to highlight in my previous posts. Mine is also the green. How often do you ride? Can we meet up and ride sometime soon? Devang, Mark and Joslyn are immensely helpful. Its because of these three individuals that I took the plunge.

DO NOT QUOTE THE ENTIRE TEXT!

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

gear indicator is available on eBay geb of 1500 buks

just saw this post below is there a Benelli workshop in MIDC andheri?

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Hey guys checour some nice mods done to the tnt3 found it in on vietnamese forums

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Guys, please don't quote the entire post while replying. It will become tedious to read on mobile device. It's a request.

Thanks.

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Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

I ride whenever I get time, whether it's pouring or light rain, so mostly riding is limited to Home-Office-Home & sometimes on week ends. Only after the pothole incident I'm little careful. Let's see once I get my motorcycle we will definitely meet up & do a short ride.
MIDC workshop address:
Shree Adaya Car Co. Pvt. Ltd.,
Unit No.1, Plot No. 38/39/40,
Udyog Sadan Cooperative Housing Society,
Marol Ind. Estate, Andheri East.
After entering into the gate take left. On the right side there is Yamaha SVC, on the left you will find Benelli workshop.
Here is the location on Google Map.
Also why you need gear indicator? RPM & speed will give you the same information.
You will need to fiddle with the existing wiring or if it's plug & play then you need to plonk it directly into the existing connector.
But in both the cases check with the showroom if it impacts warranty. These motorcycles have sensitive electricals & any spike will cause unnecessary damage. If you find it's worth the risk then you can opt those.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

You are right I won't install 1
but I am getting a LSL urban headlight for sure

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience


You should've been welcoming us all but yeah... welcome [MENTION=37519]abhijitkn[/MENTION] Congratulations to you too!!!

Never experienced this. I've been using both front & back combination. Put those front dual discs to work

To me this the best sounding 300. Period. That was one of the selling factors also. Ofcourse a motorcycle is much more than that.


This.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

I feel so bad for people who get injured cause of these potholes. We pay the unnecessary taxes for each and every thing yet when it comes to even the basic necessities they are non existant. There shud be a law. If someone gets hurt because of these potholes or gets his stuff damaged the govt should pay for the loss occurred to The concerned.

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Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Hi,
There is already a Law ...you can sue the Govt or the NHAI...but its a very very very lengthy procedure....AFAIK you can sue anyone and company and even the govt.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

There's always a provision but the thing is it will drag on for such a loooong time that you will curse yourself for suing them in the first place. I meant a fast track court thing. Justice delivered within 45 days or so..

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Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

Sure..I would love to see those headlights.
Yes, I thought of writing it before but didn't spend much time with the motorcycle so couldn't write. Initially I had issue with front breaks. Had to bleed them. Added that above.

Hi All,
Also above I've added details of the lock which I purchased.
It's Pager Alarm Lock from Bully. You can find the rest of the details (reviews, instructions) on the web.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

I kindly request the patient lot to show same kind of patience for this lengthy post


First, let me clarify:


1. I am on this forum as I love the passion and attitude of the people who are running this. Of course, also there are many who add a lot of value to this forum with the wealth of their long accumulated experience,which makes people come here seeking information which emanates from their fountain of knowledge.


2. I am not here expecting empathy when I face an issue. My chest does not swell when some one appreciates me over anything. What gives me joy is motorcycling and travelling, and my travelogues are a very minute part of that joy.


3. I am here to share my experience which also reflect my emotion according to the situation. If I am feeding upon the information, I feel that it's my responsibility to share my experience and also information available to me which may help others. It may not be of any use as well. I just post. How you perceive it is up to you. But, do not say what I feel is bad or good. Because you were not in my position and you do not even know me.


4. I do not believe in exaggeration. You may like or may not like. It does not concern me. However, I am forced to post this as people are here preaching on patience.

5. I took good amount of time and put good amount of miles before starting this thread. I am patient enough to wait and then post facts. I do not post out of love or hate for a particular machine


Now coming to the issue:


a. I have spent my hard earned money. I don't know about you and it's none of my business. I had to stretch my budget by a good one and a half lakh to buy this beauty. So, every penny matters and every penny should be worth it. I don't know about you.


b. My theory is simple, you go to a five star hotel, you better get a five star experience there. No compromises.
If you find a cockroach in your favorite dish served by a five star hotel, you could be patient enough to remove it and say it happens and continue to eat without highlighting it to the hotel management.I do not belong to that category. My analogy may not be great, but hope the point is driven home. By not highlighting the issue you are cheating yourself and also doing injustice to the business org as well as they would not know till the users tell them. How they take the feedback or a complaint decides how long would they be in business. Tell me who would you complain to - to the waiter or to chef or some one higher up


c. Somebody said they know how people who manage business websites and pages work. People sometimes talk as if they are omniscient and know everything. I have a humble knowledge of social media and communication and my work is linked to it in a way. If somebody posts a complaint on Facebook or tweets about it, solution is not to delete it. By deleting the post you are digging your own grave. That shows your attitude and the way you approach your problem. You can delete facebook post but can you shut the mouth of people who witnessed what one went through which involves your product. The best example is the way a food product company last year (they are involved in dairy products) tackled a complaint on facebook and won many more customers' confidence by being transparent and factual. Nit by deleting the post.


d. I did not post on facebook, the moment I was stranded. Not next day or day after. I posted on fifth day as company were not even aware of what happened. And, I posted after lot of deliberation with fellow Benelli owners. We are not here to tarnish the image of a brand. I was full of praises for my bike when I started this thread. Nobody objected to my over joyous self.But the moment I post a grievance, people are preaching about patience and give a breathing space.


e. Someone posted that he was stranded for two hours and showed great patience. My friend, I was stranded on highway for more than six hours and was fully drenched. Not for a moment I lost my pateince with the RSA who were not easily accessible or with service manager, even though it took six hours to arrange for RSA in a location which was just 190 km and that too on highway. I did not expect the RSA to appear in front of me in half an hour. I patiently heard the silly suggestions given by RSA executives like leave the bike near a hotel and leave, when they could not arrange a custodian, and after every conversation I was told have a nice day sir, and I patiently said 'you too'. Even though service center is hardly 10 minutes walk away from my office, I did not go to showroom as I wanted service team to be not under any pressure and let them have a look into this and sort out. Do not preach about patience. Everyone has their threshold.


f. Indian customer expectations and experience are changing. People are ready to spend money which is bringing all big names to Indian shores. That does not mean that product is of current technology and service is still of my grandfather's generation. I have spent my money on bike and also have paid for RSA. I am not asking for a free service in terms of RSA. I have paid for RSA.


g. Travelling, especially on a motorcycle, comes with an element of risk. I am very much aware of that. a vehicle can break down anywhere. It's beyond my control. I know that too. But, I do not appreciate a new bike breaking down in less than two months, especially when bike comes with lot of promises and you spend a bomb on that. Now who should be held accountable for a fault in a new machine. And whether the manufacturer should be informed or not.Informing a call center executive, service engineer or a sales guy would be of any help? Go figure! Your feedback is crushed at the ground level, and never reaches the top brass.


h. Times have changed my friend who said it's a new brand and there will be teething problems in the beginning and we need to be patient. These brands are not run by some local grocery vendor. It is run by people who boast of big degrees from big universities pocketing huge sums of salary. You have umpteen precedents to learn from the mistakes of others. You do lot of research and marketing, and also one is expected to be ready to keep their promises. While making promises, you do it at the time of launch with a big smile. But to keep the promises, you need six months' time. Why? Did you not test your system before implementing it. You need to post where big shots could hear. Bangalore is where most Benellis are sold and it's common sense to have all spares stocked. You need to be proactive especially in early days instead of being reactive.


i. Someone said my perseverance of a week got a call from south India service manager. Isn't that itself a long delay? for a new brand with few hundreds of bikes on road with lot of promises like customer first. Isn't it funny coincidence that South India service manager called me only when I posted on facebook. That shows that incidence and seriousness never reached them or even if it reached it was taken casually. I leave it to you how you perceive it.


j. I am not here to do charity. If I was promised quick service, I better get it. I leave it to respective owners whether they wanna share their experience if they have any issues. But, it's none of my business. I will talk about my experience only


k. People never said that I was acting as a free advertiser when I was heaping praises. But label that I was impatient and should not have done that the moment I post my grievance. I shared here with all of you just because if I was highlighting good things then I must share negatives as well. I leave it to Benelli and others concerned about how they take this and approach. If they are here just to sell and make quick bucks, then they delete complaints. If they are here to stay, then they will pay heed to issues and take responsibility of niggles and fix them and put in all effort to convert a dissatisfied customer into a satisfied one. I am here neither promoting some brand nor putting anything down.


l. Boss, I am using my Avenger for last four years and I have taken it to some tough terrains and it never broke down. That's what I will tell if anyone asks me what do they think of the bike. I will not say hey you know what there are some X number of Avengers on road and some Y number had issues and you figure out. It all boils down to personal experience. BMW broke down. Was it less than two months old. Without complete facts don't comment. I understand any machine can break down anytime. But I will not appreciate, if it breaks down under less than two months.


m. Finally, I got my bike back and yet to take it for a long ride. I will continue to share my experience whether you like it or not, keep it to you and don't bother telling me. They also wanted to take a signature on satisfaction letter stating that I am pleased with prompt action taken by DSK services. Let me tell you these are all well documented by brands just in case...hope yu get the point. I signed the letter only after mentioning where they need to improve like poor RSA and poor spares availability and mentioned that if I have to rate them on ascale of 1 to 10, 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, I will mark them 6 only because of efforts of Service manager Sunil, which means I am not pleased with the way DSK responded.


n. I was told that it was due to a faulty bulb. I would take it as a low quality bulb. Bulb melted due to heat and caused the wiring to short which led to both original and spare fuses blowing off.

Last but not least, someone mentioned that they spoke to so and so from Benelli, now please tell me which brand will talk about niggles or these kind of issues with a prospective buyer. I was also told lot of good things at the time of buying and I am just asking them to keep their promises.

Re: Benelli TNT 300 Ownership Experience

I forgot to add. The key chain you made looks smashing. Neat piece of work there! Cheers!

Thanks for the update [MENTION=49942]experimentalhead[/MENTION]. I was curious to know what reason they'd mention.