Benelli sixes

[RupertB]

This must have been raised before, or at least passed through a lot of members' heads but here goes anyway.
I admit to being mentally ill, I have three Italian bikes to just the one Honda if you wanted proof. But I must be getting worse as I keep pondering about buying one of the Benelli 750/6 things. Yes, the ones with the dodgy gearboxes, that weigh too much, that are as much in fashion as flares and stack heels, but what the heck.
Anyway - while De Tomaso pretended it wasn't really a rip off of the 500/4 with 50% nailed on the end, we all know it was - right down to the bore and stroke as I recall. So in the possible event of me actually remaining mad for so long that I acquire one, does anyone know for sure which if any parts are a straight swop? Oil filters spring to mind as a possibility, but what about stuff like valves, pistons, wheel bearings, points, exhaust gaskets etc? All info gratefully received.

[K2-K6]

I've no experience other than reading stuff over the years but understood that it's mainly the motor that has a close relationship as a virtual copy of 500-4 dimensions.

I guess if you work it through logically then you'd need to design the frame and running gear more in line with a 750-4 to cope with load torque etc and it seems that the cycle parts are more off the shelf Italian and as such I'd have a punt at no specific equal to Honda stuff for non engine parts.

Your comment about a weak gearbox seems relevant as a starting spec to make a gear train would have max torque and vehicle weight as primary considerations. If the 500-4 origins are true and the box is at that spec then it efectively has been overloaded with 750 sized demands put through it. You'd expect to best manage this assuming the components are in good order by using the best quality bearings and lubricant to keep the assembly tolerances at optimum.

Heared they still make the pipes for them as well.

I do think they look fabulous though and would love to own one.

[mick]

I recall seeing a picture of a Bennelli six motor in a 750/4 frame on our sister site in the US not that long a go  , cheers Mick

[SteveD CB500K0]

You mean this one?

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=82762

[RupertB]

I like the way this is shaping up - obviously the more info that appears, the better, but if nobody is sure what interchangeability there is, then I will just have to buy a 750/6 and find out. I'll just practice my lines - 'No dear, it isn't extravagance, it's research. And I will be able to help so many people with this work. It isn't for me you understand, it is for the greater good.'

Sounds convincing to me.....

[K2-K6]

Yeah like a public service of sorts!! I think that's a very good plan, also you'd have to ride out to spread the word of course.

I like that era anyway and all of those bikes Hondas 500-4, 750-4 Benellis 750-6, 500-4 look so nice I think, especially with the original multi pipes fitted.

I may be wrong but seem to remember quite a bit of the bright metal being stainless on the Benelli also.

[RupertB]

So frustrating- at the time of posting this query I was looking at a couple of 750/6 Benellis - a rough one with an allegedly rebuilt engine which needed a load of parts, and a Spanish import with very low mileage which was more expensive but in much nicer apparent condition. And after the conversation on this site I checked again thinking it was getting to 'make your mind up time' and boogie me - they've both gone! Saves money, but since when was that an aim of motorcycle ownership?! Still, others will no doubt pop up, but every time I decide on a bike they go up in value (or at least cost) just before I get my hands on one, and plummet immediately afterwards. I have the same effect on shares and any other investment.
Hey ho, not to worry - patience is probably the best course. At least I can get started on the Foale framed 750 soon. At the moment it is little changed from when I first posted here..... but have patience!

[RupertB]

Well the Foale 750 is off for stripping by someone who actually has a clue, and the frame is away for a bit of cosmetic work and mild non-structural welding, so that project counts as 'under way', but in the meanwhile I have had a serious rush of blood to the head and have ordered one and a half CB500s in the shape of a restored 750/6 Benelli from Spain. It is currently on its way North in a van, and arrives tomorrow all being well. The guy who restored it and sold it to me has answered my question - the oil filter on CB750 and Benelli 750 is an interchangeable item.
Expensive way to find out, but there you have it!
I now have a month on Spanish plates to confuse the hell out of North Welsh Police if I ride over the border...so I probably won't bother.

[K2-K6]

That sounds nice, you'll have to let us see some pictures when you get it.

There is one in a current bike mag that the owner has fitted a 750/6 motor into a benelli 500/4 frame that he says is a straight bolt-in so it seems that they are the same dimensions as the Honda 500/4 (I understand this is a virtual copy on the Honda) so the description of a 500+2 pots appears accurate.

Be good to get your impressions of what it's like to ride.

[RupertB]

Have put another post in the site, but some pics attached here too - not done many miles as I want to check out a rattle which I think is clutch basket and with luck not too serious, but need to be sure for my wallet's sake! First impressions of the bike are that it is wide but not too much so, and incredibly smooth - almost literally like an electric motor apart from one thing - the exhaust note. That is just unreal - all the lovely noise a stright six car engine but with the rortiness of a bike. Now I haven't ridden or heard a CBX6 so can't comnpare, but the Benelli is an impressive item. Riding position is a bit upright and feet forward after my other bikes, but not so much so that I would alter the setup with rearsets or suchlike.

[K2-K6]

Very nice, also really a SOHC, cousin perhaps is the right description.

I've ridden the CBX-6 but not the Benelli but guess the smoothness must be quite close and as you say like an electric motor.

It's a bit of a hybrid really as it seems a straight crib from the 500-4 Honda plus an extension. But I think the engine was manufactured by Moto-guzzi when De-Tomaso (of car fame) owned both marques. could have been called anything from that lineage I guess but Benellis Sei seems perfect though.