Timing may not be every-
thing, but bad timing can
scuttle the best of plans.
Through most of the 1960s,
parallel twins dominated
the U.S. market for half-liter-
plus motorcycles. And while
Honda’s CB450 could give
a British twin a good run,
Bonnevilles and Lightnings
ruled the strip and the sales
charts. Not surprising, then,
that Pesaro-based Benelli —
then the biggest motorcycle
maker in Italy — would plan
a 650cc parallel twin aimed at
U.S. buyers.
Well established as the
supplier of Wards-Riverside commuter bikes, Benelli should
have had a strong tailwind. But U.S. importer Cosmopolitan
lacked an adequate dealer network, and like other makers of big
twins, Benelli hadn’t reckoned with Honda’s game-changing 1969
CB750 Four. Just when Benelli was gearing up for its new kick-
start-only, OHV, drum-braked twin, Big Red’s smooth four-banger
arrived with an overhead cam, electric start and disc brake. The
game was over before it started.
Not that the Tornado was a bad motorcycle. Designer Piero
Prampolini used his experience with racing engines to pen
a compact short-stroke, overhead-valve twin-cylinder engine
with horizontally split cases and wet sump lubrication. Below
the 84mm pistons were roller bearing rods driving a built-up
360-degree crankshaft with a large central flywheel running on
four main ball and roller bearings. A single helical gear on the
crank drove both the camshaft (also running on rollers) and the
mutiplate clutch. The 5-speed tranny drove the back wheel by
chain. The 58mm stroke sucked mixture through a single 30mm
Dell’Orto VHB carb. A DC generator supplied the 12-volt electri-cal system, with ignition by battery/coil and contact breaker.
Electrical components were by Bosch.
The power unit sat in a dual downtube spine frame with a
Marzocchi front fork and dual coil spring/dampers at the rear,
and spoked wheels running on Borrani alloy rims. A double-
sided, single-leading-shoe front brake and rear SLS drum pro-
vided stopping power. A makeover for the 1973 season included
a Bosch alternator and electric start — but the drum brake con-
tinued until production ceased in 1976.
The first Tornado prototype was shown in Milan in 1967,
though it took four more years for production machines to
appear. Cycle World’s tester reported that the 1971 Tornado usually
started first kick, but required a “healthy lunge” on the pedal. The
long-throw, right-side shifter (one up, four down) was “deliber-
ate rather than crisp,” and the clutch pull “fairly stout.” At low
speeds, the Tornado “handles extremely awkwardly,” feeling top
heavy, said the tester, putting this down to the engine being
located high in the frame. This was a result of Prampolini’s wet
sump design with the oil reservoir under the engine, raising theIn all of our searching, we came up with just two Tornados
that have been on the market in recent years. First up is the
1975 Tornado you see here. Little information is given about
the bike, but it appears to be original and complete. The
odometer shows just 62 miles, but no mention is made of
whether those are original miles or whether the bike has been
restored and its mileage reset. This bike crossed the auction
block at the Mecum Las Vegas motorcycle auction in 2018,
selling for $8,250. The second Tornado we found, was, curi-
ously, also a yellow 1975 model, and also showed very low
mileage. Missing a right side cover, the bike showed just 58
miles, and the listing stated that the miles were believed to be
original. That bike sold at the Mecum Indy motorcycle auction
in 2015, bringing just $4,250.ON THE MARKET 1975 Benelli 650 Tornado
ON THE
RADAR
12 MOTORCYCLE CLASSICS September/October 2019
Big Breeze from Italy: 1971-
Benelli 650 Tornado