Emergent Class

The Benelli TRK 502 may be a fully dressed adventure tourer, but its modest 500cc powertrain makes it a friendly and easy-to-live-with – yes, even for new riders. But, does it cut it as the perfect middleweight tourer?

- Andrea Padovani

Adventure tourers are increasingly gaining traction among motorcycle enthusiasts these days. And why shouldn’t they? This breed of motorcycles can take you on every kind of journey, dismissing every obstacle, topology or challenge that you’re faced with – including going off tarmac. Of course, depending on the scale of your adventure, there are several versions available on the market. You have full size adventure tourers featuring 1,0001,200cc engines, and smaller ones with 650-750cc engines. But, what if you want something even smaller?

Up until now, the only available option came from Honda’s stable in the form of the much-appreciated CB500X – it’s a different story that it’s not available in India. However, of late, there have been an onslaught of new small-to-medium engine capacity adventure touring machines in global markets. Some of these will also make it to the Indian market. And the first one of this new breed of affordable adventure tourers that’s expected to arrive on Indian shores is the Benelli TRK 502.

So, can it carve a niche for itself in a nascent market like India? Well, we’ve tested this 500cc motorcycle on and off road to find the answer.