Re: Benelli 302R Owners Reviews and Experiences
Nicely compiled, welcome to family brother
Even i was anxious when 302R was launching and crawling web/videos for any launch update
Can u please remove 2nd last photo of riding without basic gear, its against the xBHP policy
#RideSafe #RideON
Nicely compiled, welcome to family brother

Even i was anxious when 302R was launching and crawling web/videos for any launch update

Can u please remove 2nd last photo of riding without basic gear, its against the xBHP policy

#RideSafe #RideON
Originally posted by zain_andrabi
View Post
Hello everyone,
Novice Xbhpian here, but i want to share my joy of owning this beautiful machine the best way i can. Ill try keeping it short, but its 1 years experience that i have to dot down.
Lets get down to it.
HERE IS MY PRECIOUS GINA
[ATTACH]242551[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242552[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242553[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242554[/ATTACH]
ALRIGHT ENOUGH TEASING!
[ATTACH]242555[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242556[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242543[/ATTACH]
THE PRELUDE
I have always been a car-guy, not that I hated motorcycles (can't hate anything that has an engine) but my parents always had a fear of motorcycles because of vague, distant stories of fatal accidents, so I couldn't get a bike until recently. Not having owned a bike i was never attached to them, however, In my undergraduate years i worked on tuning an R6 engine (which was awesome FYI), since then i was really intrigued by the character of a motorbike engine (mainly the crazy redline
). I started studying bikes and their engineering aspect but never the biking aspect of it until around May 2017 when I spent a couple days with one of my friends Hyosung Gt250R, while he was out of town. That bike, with its big bike feel, fully committed ergonomics and that V-twin characteristic exhaust can be charming to someone not interested in biking. In the couple days i realised that, I can follow my passion (performance motoring) in bikes for much more cheap than i can in cars. Most hyperbikes come under 30 lacs, which is the average cost of a luxury sedan. So you guys get why i decided to get a bike.
After that decision started an uphill battle of convincing my MOTORCYCLOPHOBIC (thats actually a word i looked it up) parents to allow me to get a bike. it included everything from crying to fighting, from casual discussion to powerpoint presentations on safety gear and so on. They had a persistent response overtime i talked about the bike, and it was very monotonous and monosyllabal. overtime i said I would like a bike please, they constantly replied with "NO!" THATS IT, NO EXPLANATIONS NO DISCUSSIONS. After some gruelling months of emotional rollercoasters my dad finally agreed
, which leads us onto the decision making process.
The decision making process was very simple as this was the time of the whole 'lets cause minor inconvenience to the public by forcing BSIV norms in the name of environmental benefit" (just kidding i stand by the BSIV norms, but that just sounds funnier). i had worked on an R6 engine for over 2 years, there was no way i was going o be happy with the rattly exhaust note of a single cylinder, which weeded out the extremely common KTMS and CBRS. The BSIV norms meant the Hyosung which was my impulsive choice was out of stock and the Yamaha R3 which would've been the ideal choice was discontinued. Which left me with the option of either waiting for the Hyosung or the Ninja 300. I went to the Kawasaki showroom to test ride the Ninja, but again was not impressed with the bike as i felt it lacked character. Yes, overtime i would come to love it with its Intricately detailed engineering, but in the moment to me it didn't justify its price tag. Not to mention the lack of ABS which for me as a novice rider was absolutely essential. Disappointed, i left the showroom and strolled to the Benelli showroom right next to it. They had the TNT300 and the infamous 600i, and they were kind enough to give me a test ride on both even though i mentioned the 600 is out of my budget (almost bought it though). The TNT300 sounded wicked to me, i was like how could this be sounding better than a Kawasaki? I was pleasantly surprised.
This is where i would like to share that i was only interested in a fully faired sports bike (because they look cool haha). I said this to the salesmen at Benelli and was about to leave, when he mentioned there might be a fully faired version coming soon. *DUM DUM DUUUMM* PLOT TWIST. They informed me about the 302r tornado (albeit secretly), i looked it up and as i heard a 300 fire up in the background i thought, this could be it! Incase you are wondering how strong of an intuition that was, I went ahead and booked the bike the next day, NOT HAVING SEEN THE BIKE, THE BIKE NOT HAVING BEEN LAUNCHED! To top it all the launch date wasn't even confirmed. this was then followed by a painfully long waiting period of around 2 months where I patiently and very calmly, harassed the sales person ten times a week, and probably slowed down DSK's website looking for launch clues. what can i say, i don't like to be kept waiting.
The day finally came where the bike was in the showroom under covers waiting to be launched. The photos on the top of the post is after we took the covers off. i got to see it in the godown a day earlier and decide which colour i wanted(more on that later). GINA was going to be the first 302r to come out of the showroom in Mumbai, and i liked that exclusivity. There was a huge party at the showroom on launch day, they did really treat their customers well. there was a cake cutting, and then the big key was handed over, which was followed by the first crank, i can still hear it roar. It looked absolutely gorgeous, hardly anyone can disagree.
[ATTACH]242557[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242558[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242559[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242560[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242561[/ATTACH]
I will leave it at these pictures fellas, because they're worth drooling over (to me at least haha). I have had the bike for over a year now, and i will follow this post with an ownership review, which will include maintenance costs and worth of the bike and so on. I am new to forums so i apologise for errors, but i will make sure to write another post with all details. keep looking for it.
OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS
RIDE ON!
Novice Xbhpian here, but i want to share my joy of owning this beautiful machine the best way i can. Ill try keeping it short, but its 1 years experience that i have to dot down.
Lets get down to it.
HERE IS MY PRECIOUS GINA
[ATTACH]242551[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242552[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242553[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242554[/ATTACH]
ALRIGHT ENOUGH TEASING!
[ATTACH]242555[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242556[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242543[/ATTACH]
THE PRELUDE
I have always been a car-guy, not that I hated motorcycles (can't hate anything that has an engine) but my parents always had a fear of motorcycles because of vague, distant stories of fatal accidents, so I couldn't get a bike until recently. Not having owned a bike i was never attached to them, however, In my undergraduate years i worked on tuning an R6 engine (which was awesome FYI), since then i was really intrigued by the character of a motorbike engine (mainly the crazy redline
). I started studying bikes and their engineering aspect but never the biking aspect of it until around May 2017 when I spent a couple days with one of my friends Hyosung Gt250R, while he was out of town. That bike, with its big bike feel, fully committed ergonomics and that V-twin characteristic exhaust can be charming to someone not interested in biking. In the couple days i realised that, I can follow my passion (performance motoring) in bikes for much more cheap than i can in cars. Most hyperbikes come under 30 lacs, which is the average cost of a luxury sedan. So you guys get why i decided to get a bike. After that decision started an uphill battle of convincing my MOTORCYCLOPHOBIC (thats actually a word i looked it up) parents to allow me to get a bike. it included everything from crying to fighting, from casual discussion to powerpoint presentations on safety gear and so on. They had a persistent response overtime i talked about the bike, and it was very monotonous and monosyllabal. overtime i said I would like a bike please, they constantly replied with "NO!" THATS IT, NO EXPLANATIONS NO DISCUSSIONS. After some gruelling months of emotional rollercoasters my dad finally agreed
, which leads us onto the decision making process.The decision making process was very simple as this was the time of the whole 'lets cause minor inconvenience to the public by forcing BSIV norms in the name of environmental benefit" (just kidding i stand by the BSIV norms, but that just sounds funnier). i had worked on an R6 engine for over 2 years, there was no way i was going o be happy with the rattly exhaust note of a single cylinder, which weeded out the extremely common KTMS and CBRS. The BSIV norms meant the Hyosung which was my impulsive choice was out of stock and the Yamaha R3 which would've been the ideal choice was discontinued. Which left me with the option of either waiting for the Hyosung or the Ninja 300. I went to the Kawasaki showroom to test ride the Ninja, but again was not impressed with the bike as i felt it lacked character. Yes, overtime i would come to love it with its Intricately detailed engineering, but in the moment to me it didn't justify its price tag. Not to mention the lack of ABS which for me as a novice rider was absolutely essential. Disappointed, i left the showroom and strolled to the Benelli showroom right next to it. They had the TNT300 and the infamous 600i, and they were kind enough to give me a test ride on both even though i mentioned the 600 is out of my budget (almost bought it though). The TNT300 sounded wicked to me, i was like how could this be sounding better than a Kawasaki? I was pleasantly surprised.
This is where i would like to share that i was only interested in a fully faired sports bike (because they look cool haha). I said this to the salesmen at Benelli and was about to leave, when he mentioned there might be a fully faired version coming soon. *DUM DUM DUUUMM* PLOT TWIST. They informed me about the 302r tornado (albeit secretly), i looked it up and as i heard a 300 fire up in the background i thought, this could be it! Incase you are wondering how strong of an intuition that was, I went ahead and booked the bike the next day, NOT HAVING SEEN THE BIKE, THE BIKE NOT HAVING BEEN LAUNCHED! To top it all the launch date wasn't even confirmed. this was then followed by a painfully long waiting period of around 2 months where I patiently and very calmly, harassed the sales person ten times a week, and probably slowed down DSK's website looking for launch clues. what can i say, i don't like to be kept waiting.
The day finally came where the bike was in the showroom under covers waiting to be launched. The photos on the top of the post is after we took the covers off. i got to see it in the godown a day earlier and decide which colour i wanted(more on that later). GINA was going to be the first 302r to come out of the showroom in Mumbai, and i liked that exclusivity. There was a huge party at the showroom on launch day, they did really treat their customers well. there was a cake cutting, and then the big key was handed over, which was followed by the first crank, i can still hear it roar. It looked absolutely gorgeous, hardly anyone can disagree.
[ATTACH]242557[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242558[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242559[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242560[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]242561[/ATTACH]
I will leave it at these pictures fellas, because they're worth drooling over (to me at least haha). I have had the bike for over a year now, and i will follow this post with an ownership review, which will include maintenance costs and worth of the bike and so on. I am new to forums so i apologise for errors, but i will make sure to write another post with all details. keep looking for it.
OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS
RIDE ON!


I got home and flaunted the bike a bit to my friends, obviously didn't let anyone have a ride till the break-in period was complete. One thing was clear this was my new baby that i would be caring after like a worried mother.
. Nevertheless I was loving the ride. I noticed a few things on my first few rides, before the first service. The tyres were excellent! Metzelers gave exceptional grip in the dry and were not too bad in the wet. I have heard people complaining about them in the wet, but only when they're comparing them to the Angel GT, apart from that i think its best-of-the-rest. Yes, the PILOT ROAD 4 gives higher mileage and far better grip in the wet, but then just doesn't come close to the Metzelers in the dry. Also i felt the Feedback from my tires was amazing in the wet. While switching lanes, crossing the white lines, I could feel the reduction in traction for that split second without having my heart in my mouth. That really developed my confidence a lot.
). Having completed the first services and break-in period, I was loving it and exploring the limits of my skill level. I knew Gina had way more potential since i was just starting to learn. I had spent time learning counter steering, reading TWIST OF THE WRIST (which i absolutely recommend if you want to become a fast and safer rider). But all of this was only leading to one thing.. As the riders in America tend to say "THERE ARE ONLY TWO TYPES OF RIDERS, ONE WHOS BEEN DOWN AND ONE WHOS GOING DOWN". Since i was a learning rider, some would say it was inevitable that i would be going down sooner or later.
), got on my bike and left for Lonavala with a buddy on his bullet 350.

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