a bit rare .... Benelli 350 RS

I've never seen one, rather lovely. I emailed the link to Keith in IoM, he
seems to like Benelli 4's.

 

http://tinyurl.com/2pzdmv

Not seen one of these in years,


--
Steve Parry
Kawasaki ZX12-R <here>
07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650
87 Yamaha FS1
Sukida SK90PY
91 Kawasaki AR50
07 VW Passat SE Estate for comfort
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

There have been a couple of Benelli 350s on Fleabay in the last few
months, but I don't recall an RS. That is very pretty. especially with
the spoked wheels.

<Looks closer>

Is that handlebar fairing the same unit as fitted to the Guzzi V50
Monza? It looks absolutely identical. The clocks are the same, too.
Not surprising, as De Tomaso owned both companies at the time: there
were a lot of common parts.

<Googles>

Yup, exactly the same units. I bet the forks are the same, as well.
And the brakes.....

I'm watching that auction now. Something like that would make a lovely
pair to the 400 Four.

 

It pretty much *was* a 400/4, wasn't it? ISTR that the Benelli fours
of the 70s were re-engineered Hondas. Alos, the Italians has some
sort of licence/category cut, which meant they got 350 versions of
some bikes with larger capacity in other markets - I distintly recall
seeing a Honda 350/4 in Italy in the early 80s.

 

You're nearly right. The Benelli 500 Four was close to a Honda copy, but
not an exact copy.

Both had exactly the same bore and stroke at 56 x 50.6mm, but the
engines were not identical. I think bore centres were different, and
obviously the crankcases.

The Benelli 350 had a bore/stroke of 50 x 44mm. The Honda 400 Four was
51 x 50mm. In layout, etc etc, the engines were very similar.

The Honda CB350 Four was the precursor of the 400 Four, and had the same
stroke but a smaller bore (47mm). To get the 400 Four, they just bored
the engine out for a capacity of 408cc.

But there was more to it than that - the 350F had a five-speed box. The
400F had six speeds. Maybe bigger valves and a hotter cam, but I'd have
to check and ICBA right now. Other than that, though, the engines were
effectively identical. They're certainly interchangeable within the
frames.

Italy had a licence break at 350cc (still does, I think). Hence things
like the Guzzi V35 and even the Ducati 350cc parallel twin, But the
Honda 350cc Four you're thinking of wasn't a sleeved-down 400. It was
the bike the 400 was developed from. They sold it elsewhere on the
Continent, and also in the US, but never in the UK.

The CB350F was styled like the 500 (and the 750). Rather staid, with a
4/4 exhaust system.

The Honda 400 Four never sold well in Italy because it was just over the
350cc limit. In Japan, where they had a 400cc licence break, they sold
it in 399cc capacity.

 

I have a Benelli Sport 354. Originally bought it to use the nose
fairing for
my Lemon 1 .... Pretty, low, & light compared to other stuff in the
garage.
Not common now. Shame, as interesting piece of development history.

Colin