Benelli has been around since 1911, with fluctuating fortunes. In Chinese ownership since 2005, it now has the financial backing to succeed but will people be able to look past the ownership issue and see the motorcycle for what they are?

Benelli Reveals 750cc Adventure Bike at EICMA

There aren't many motorcycle manufacturers that have cracked 100 years of continual production but, possibly the least likely to succeed - Benelli - is still with us, 110 years later. True, it might not be the powerhouse it once was and any racing success it enjoyed is now a very long time ago but at least it is still a going concern.

For a long time after the early 1970s, motorcycle development and production slowed to almost nothing and it remained that way until Chinese motorcycle group Qianjiang bought the company. In case you didn't know, Qianjiang is owned by Geely which also owns Volvo, Lotus and Smart, so you could say they have deep pockets.

Say and think what you will about the Chinese, but the enormous financial cushion that is available to companies such as Benelli is the reason they're still here. In reality, it's no different to Indian companies such as TVS or Mahindra owning Norton and BSA respectively.

As with Norton and BSA in the UK, Benelli still has a presence in Italy: the R&D department is still based there as well as a small production facility. Staff are a mixture of Chinese and Italian.

At the recent EICMA show in Milan, Italy, Benelli unveiled a brand new adventure bike , the TRK800. Also present were two street bike variants using the same engine. Previous to this, the largest bike in the range had been the TRK502's 499cc parallel twin.

The TRK800's engine is also a parallel twin, this time of 754cc. Unlike the TRK500, however, the TRK800 is a proper adventure bike, the TRK500 being more of an adventure touring bike.

The engine is an all-new design. It's a short-stroke, chain-driven DOHC, liquid-cooled unit producing 75bhp at 8500rpm and 49lb.ft of torque at 6500rpm. A six speed gearbox driving through a slipper clutch is fitted but don't expect to find a quick-shifter.

The chassis comprises a steel trellis frame and aluminium swing-arm, with a wheelbase of 60". Seat height is a practical 32.8-inches, which isn't tall for an adventure bike at all. However, it is heavy, weighing the same as a BMW R1250GS, albeit with half the power!

Suspension is by Marzocchi and is impressively sturdy: perhaps too sturdy! It is fully adjustable front and back. Wheel travel is 6.7-inches at both ends. Wire spoked aluminium rims wear Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres, that at least show Benelli's commitment to making the TRK800 a proper adventure bike, even with the front wheel being a 19-inch.

Brakes are by Brembo, with 320mm twin discs up front and a 260mm disc at the back. ABS is standard but there is no way of knowing yet whether it is switchable for off-road use.

The fuel tank holds nearly six gallons, and the 2022 Benelli TRK 800 is rated for over 50 mpg: this should give a range of 300 miles.

Chinese efforts at styling, despite the Italian influence, often leaves something to be desired but the TRK800 looks pretty damn cool, helped by the use of LED lights at the front. The engine is unusually tall but it has been painted black to try and disguise some of this bulk. It's always difficult to assess the quality of the finish of a bike from pictures but at least the pictures show a good-looking bike.

Also released were two other models using the 754cc engine. The Leoncino and Leoncino Trail. The Leoncino is a road-only model while the Trail is a scrambler in the same style as the Ducati Scrambler or the BMW RnineT Scrambler: in other words, not really a scrambler at all but a styling exercise.

The 2022 Benelli TRK 800 and Leoncino models won’t be on showroom floors anywhere in the world until the second half of 2022. Pricing is yet to be announced.