Benelli has filed for trademark rights for the name ‘Imperiale’. This suggests that the Italian manufacturer has a new bike in the works.
The original Imperiale name was used on a MotoBi, a company set-up by Giuseppe Benelli after falling out of the family business. Although that bike was a 125cc single-cylinder, we can expect Benelli to use a bigger engine for the new Imperiale, just like it did for the Leoncino.
Benelli’s current range includes single and twin cylinder motorcycles from 125cc to 500cc along with the 600cc in-line fours like the TNT 600i and 600GT. The upcoming 750cc parallel twin and the naked 900cc triple will join the line-up in the near future. The QianJiang-owned company also recently patented a 1200cc shaft-driven three-cylinder tourer.
Benelli is likely to unveil the concept version of the Imperiale at the EICMA in Milan this year, where we are also expecting Benelli’s 750cc parallel-twin, Ducati Monster 797 rival.
