TRINITROTOLUENE
This is the definition of Trinitrotoluene, better
known in its abbreviated form as TNT: a powerful
but stable explosive that is insensitive to friction
and jarring and needs a detonator to set it off.
Benelli admitted at the time it presented the
new TNT - Naked/Cafe Racer that it aimed to combine
the dynamic qualities of the Tornado 900 Tre supersports
bike and the new three-cylinder 1130 cc engine
developed by the firm. The result was to be the
most explosive and powerful bike, but also the
most enjoyable and exciting on the market.
But the bike also had to be a logical continuation
of the Tornado range. It had to retain the latter's
unique character and style, an unmistakable Benelli
trade-mark.
The TNT's first dynamic tests allow us to say right
now that we have certainly achieved this.
The natural heir to the '70s Café Racer,
designed to burn up the road between traffic lights
rather than travel long distances or cruise at high
speeds, our Naked bike needed an engine that had
lots of torque even at low speeds and was very flexible.
That's what we were aiming for when we started developing
the new engine.
By increasing the stroke of our sports engine, we
were looking for good torque at low speeds but we
also increased the power. Today we can safely say
that we have created our first "Long Stroke"
sports engine.
DEFINITION OF THE BENELLI
TNT PROJECT
Four basic characteristics were identified at
the moment of project definition.
1. Appeal and exclusivity of design to heighten
owner pride.
2. Torque: the best in its category at low RPM
to ensure superb out-of-the-bend performance and
smooth handling on easier roads.
3. Making the TNT agile, to exploit the engine
and the chassis's superb potential on mixed-road
routes and under any circumstances.
4. Excellent high speed stability for good motorcycle
control on the motorway, allowing maintenance
of high average speeds, albeit at the expense
of aerodynamic comfort.
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