Benelli 502c

One look at the Benelli 502C, and it will instantly remind you of another Italian big bike which transformed the cruiser motorcycle segment with its devilish design, the Ducati Diavel. The Benelli 502C bears a striking resemblance with the Ducati Diavel X with its low slung stance and blackened styling, which enhances its road presence even more.

However, to avoid complete resemblance, Benelli has heavily tweaked the body panels and components to give the 502C its own identity. The headlamp at the front looks quite long with its vertical and curved design. Apart from incorporating a projector bulb within it, the headlamp assembly gets a very unique daytime running LED pattern, which runs on its side edges as well as a Y-shaped lamp at its top center. There are LED blinkers mounted at the side bottom edges of the headlamp. 

Moving towards the side profile, and the Benelli 502C flexes its muscular appeal with its large and slightly curved fuel tank, which slopes down elegantly. There is a large exposed trellis frame just below it, which packs in the powertrain of the motorcycle. The large radiator mounted vertically ahead of the engine as well as a huge sump guard below the engine accentuates its muscular appeal even more.

The Benelli 502C resorts to minimalism while moving towards the rear. The curved single-piece seat with a small pillion perch flows quite smoothly in sync with the fuel tank, giving it a low slung stance. The tail lamp design, with its split pattern, tucked in below the pillion perch, is again something which looks very much inspired from the Ducati Diavel. The 502C gets slim dual exhaust pipes stacked one above the other, with the rear tire hugger getting the license plate holder as well as mounts for the LED turn indicators.

The Benelli 502C rider’s view is kept quite simple with a single piece wide handlebar and a small rectangular fully digital instrument console placed within a trapezoidal housing. This rectangular display shows readouts for speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, gear indicator, odometer, trip meters, and clock, and is flanked with tell-tale lights on both sides in a vertical fashion.

While the overall styling of the Benelli 502C looks quite captivating and mean, its similarity to the Ducati Diavel in terms of overall appearance is very uncanny and can be a turn off for some, leading to polarized opinions.

The Benelli 502C is armed with the best mechanical hardware a middleweight motorcycle can get. With 41mm upside-down telescopic forks at the front and swing arm with central shock absorber spring preload-adjustable at the rear, the Benelli 502C has got a supple ride quality, thus justifying its identity as a cruiser. Riding on 17-inch wheels, the motorcycle is equipped with dual 280mm disc brakes at the front and a single 240mm disc brake at the rear.

Powering the Benelli 502C is a four-stroke, liquid-cooled, inline twin, fuel-injected, 499.6cc engine, which is coupled to a 6-speed gearbox. It has a chain drive for transmitting power to the rear wheel, unlike in most of the other cruisers in the same space which do get belt drive. The engine pumps out a maximum power output of 48 PS and a maximum torque output of 45 Nm.

Save for the compulsory addition of a dual-channel ABS, the Benelli 502C doesn’t get any other noteworthy safety equipment on board.

With its Ducati Diavel-esque styling, the Benelli 502C looks quite controversial yet captivating to the eyes and surely garners a tremendous road presence for the way it looks. The low slung stance and soft suspension surely contribute to making it a good mile muncher, which is definitely aided by the torquey motor it is powered with.