The middleweight adventure bike segment is on fire these days thanks to an array of extremely capable and enticing models from a host of manufacturers. A decade or so ago, the adventure bike segment was dominated by 1000cc-and-up machines, these days the 700cc to 900cc class reigns supreme with machines like the KTM 890 Adventure R and Yamaha Ténéré 700 being fan favorites.
Other manufacturers, too, seem to have stepped out of the woodwork with the likes of CFMoto releasing the KTM-derived 800MT, and Aprilia, who hasn’t had a full-fledged ADV bike in its roster, releasing the Tuareg 660. This time around, a new player in the middleweight ADV game could soon be coming to us from Benelli, the Italian brand which is owned by Chinese motorcycle giant Qianjiang Motors, and the new TRK 702. Those of you familiar with Benelli would know that the TRK adventure bike, particularly in its 502 avatar, is extremely popular in Europe. In fact, the bike set some really impressive sales figures for the brand in recent years.
Rumors of a TRK 702 have been floating around for nearly a year now. In fact, we previously covered speculations surrounding this model. This time, however, it seems that the bike is actually coming into production, as the model has just recently been homologated in China. The details surrounding the machine seem to put it at a rather affordable price point, while still boasting some impressive components that could lead us to believe that the bike would be a pretty capable off-roader.
When it comes to performance, it appears that Benelli will be using a similar powerplant as that of fellow Chinese motorcycle manufacturer CFMoto. The 693cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, parallel-twin engine from the 700 CL-X neo-retro bikes looks like it’ll be making a reappearance under Benelli branding. Rated at around 75 horsepower, the upcoming TRK will likely have the goods to take on the other players in the mid-sized ADV game.
As for features, we find a different frame from the speculated model back in October 2021. More premium suspension components seem to be in the pipeline, too, with a long-travel inverted front fork, presumably with some degree of adjustability, taking the place of the conventional telescopic units from the 502 models. Furthermore, the production-ready TRK 702 gets wire-spoke wheels measuring 19 inches up front and 17 inches at the back. It’s also speculated that a road going version with 17-inch cast-aluminum wheels will also be made available.
