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The Benelli TNT’s 1130cc in-line DOHC triple motor oozes torque, slamming some 86ft lb through its rear tyre, making overtakes on this motorcycle a cinch in any gear and it’ll pull cleanly from as little as 2000rpm in top.  Allied to a smooth gearbox you can wring some 118 rear wheel bhp from the Benelli TNT – if you can hang on. From 2005 the Benelli TNT motorcycle range was fitted with switchable engine mapping.

Reliability on this motorcycle has occasionally been an issue, with electrics shouldering most of the blame, but new Benelli TNT motorcycles come with a two-year warranty and breakdown assistance.

Despite its lack of adjustment the Benelli TNT handles extremely well. It’s a composed, agile and well balanced motorcycle, with real flickability thanks to those wide bars. The Benelli TNT has very poor steering lock, which makes turning the motorcycle around in Britain’s narrow streets a pain. Great Brembo brakes are very reassuring, but high pegs will cramp your legs on longer rides if you’re an above average height biker.

For this kind of motorcycle you’re always going to have to pay a bit more – more to buy it and more to run it. But the Benelli TNT’s scarcity on British roads will keep the residuals high, too, so you shouldn’t lose too much on your Benelli TNT, certainly it’ll be no worse than motorcycles like the Ducati Monster S4R.

Benelli can supply a suspension adjustment kit, soft luggage, carbon fibre wheels and hugger and a bespoke cover for the TNT should you so wish.

Although the same basic architecture remains, the old 899cc in-line three cylinder Benelli Tornado engine gets new internals to make the Benelli TNT 899S more tractable, less fierce and simple to live with. It boasts a new cylinder head, pistons, cams and revised ignition mapping and unlike Benellis of old, all the on/off jerkiness has gone when you’re feathering the throttle at low revs. This makes the Benelli TNT 899S lovely to ride around town and much more predictable through the bends too. Acceleration isn’t up there with the Triumph Speed Triples and KTM Super Dukes of the world as it only has 118bhp and is quite heavy (it weighs 199kg), but there’s still plenty of performance to be had and a screaming exhaust note to savour at high revs. This brilliant new motor makes the Benelli TNT 899S seem like a completely new model, despite its familiar clothes.

Gifted test rider Gianluca Galasso and ex-factory Bimota rider is in charge of the development at Benelli nowadays and his mark is all over the TNT 899S. No longer are TNTs set up like a plank of wood, the suspension on this one is beautifully plush. The Benelli TNT 899S rides the bumps beautifully, but when you turn up the wick through the bends it stays nice and composed. Around town, the roomy, upright riding position is comfy and the wide bars give you lots of control. Non-radial brakes are up to the job, but the high all-up weight of the bike stops the Benelli from scoring a perfect five.

£7649 buys you a lot of Italian-built style, attitude and exclusivity and now, excellent build-quality and, we hope reliability too. If you’re in the market for a super naked that’s different, but easy to live with, the Benelli TNT 899S won’t disappoint. It’s just a shame that Benelli left it this long to give us what we wanted. We hope it’s not too late.

You get a lot of nice toys with the Benelli 899S, like fully adjustable suspension, Brembo calipers, carbon fibre infil panels and front mudguard. The swooping tubular steel trellis frame with its cast aluminium swingarm pivot still looks great after all these years and the tubular steel swingarm, complete with its eccentric adjusters are a work of art too.

The liquid-cooled in-line triple in the Benelli Tornado is rorty and the 140bhp available is a pleasure to work, thanks to the motorcycle’s almighty exhaust soundtrack. There’s plenty of torque on tap, and a slipper clutch helps smooth out any awkward downshifts. The first model Benelli Tornado suffered from a slightly snatchy fuel-injection, but from 2004 onwards the motorcycle is much improved.

The Benelli Tornado’s components are straight out of the top draw, but mechanically and electronically Benelli struggle to match the rival motorcycle Aprilia RSV1000, let alone motorcycles from the Japanese manufacturers.

The 50mm Marzocchi forks and Extreme Tech rear shock on the motorcycle make short work of smooth surfaces, but can be a little harsh on pot-holed British A-roads. The Benelli Tornado’s riding position is somewhat tiring after a hundred miles or so as your wrists and back take the abuse of the motorcycle’s aggressive bum-up, head-down ergonomics.

With some Benelli Tornados available secondhand for as little as £4000, the Benelli Tornado represents an amazing chance to grab a seriously exclusive motorcycle for seriously common money. Japanese litre-class motorcycles offer better value for money and performance, but they can’t hold a candle to the Benelli Tornado’s sweeping curves, underseat radiator fans or motorcycle meet cool.

The Benelli Tornado has top drawer Brembo radial brakes. Popular modifications for this motorcycle include aftermarket race-style cans, which really let the Benelli Tornado’s motor sound at its very best. Leo Vince offer a re-map and titanium exhaust option for this motorcycle for about £700.

Big Benellis have rasping in-line-three-cylinder engines and the Tre K is no different. Its 1030cc motor is also used in the Café Racer, TNT and Tornado but for the Tre K is retuned for mid-range usability. As well as making a beautiful high-pitched racket like a NASCAR on helium when you thrash it, there’s a nice spread of usable power right through the rev-range too.

There are plenty of nice touches on the Benelli Tre K such as a beautifully made tubular steel frame and swingarm, the styling is funky and quality items like Marzocchi forks, Brembo brakes and an Extreme Tech rear shock come as standard. With new management, a new UK importer and stricter quality control, Benelli is addressing reliability problems of old.

One of the things that makes the Benelli Tre K so good is its versatility on the road. An upright riding position, soft suspension, comfy seat and decent wind protection make it easy to live with but it also rewards when you want to play. The Benelli Tre K’s supple suspension offers lots of control and the chassis won’t go all wobbly at the knees during bouts of hard riding.

Costing £8349 the Benelli Tre K is a lot of bike for the money. It’s fun, easy to ride and versatile; the badge on the tank adds extra kudos too. This could be the bike that takes Benelli forward into the 21st Century.

Standard fare is on par with the Benelli Tre K’s closest rival: the Ducati Multistrada. There are no real juicy gadgets or ABS but you get a decent half-fairing with adjustable screen to keep off windblast on long journeys, and there are panniers and sat nav available as options.

The basic architecture of this fuel injected, liquid-cooled 105bhp three-cylinder engine can be traced all the back to the original Benelli Tornado superbike. Last year it also featured in the TNT899 super naked, but in this guise the motor is tuned for lots of real-world grunt and has a nice flat torque curve. There’s a healthy kick of power at high rpm and a wailing three-cylinder soundtrack to die for. The throttle response isn’t completely smooth at low revs but Benelli put this down to the fuel mapping they’ve had to use to pass Euro 3 emissions tests. This motor doesn’t have the slipper clutch of its bigger 1130cc brother, so there’s lots of engine braking off the throttle, which isn’t a problem, it just takes getting used to.

In today’s market, the Tre K 899 looks good value for money. For your hard-earned you get exclusivity, a historic badge on the fuel tank, a rasping soundtrack, practicality, comfort and lots of fun. In short, it’s a superb machine.

The spacious riding position is perfect and the pegs and handlebars couldn’t be placed any more naturally for comfortable riding. The seat is nicely padded and there’s excellent wind protection from the manually adjusted screen. There’s a 20.7-litre fuel tank for big miles and it comes fitted with Dunlop’s brilliant RoadSmart sports touring tyres, which is MCN’s 2008 tyre of the year. The leverage offered by the wide bars make the Tre K 899 easy to flick through tight, twisty flip-flop corners. It’s as agile as a big supermoto, like the Ducati Hypermotard or KTM990SM or SMT. With a chassis set-up perfected by test rider and ex-Bimota works racer Gianluca Galasso, the Benelli is stable in the corners and offers lots of feedback, despite have non-adjustable 50mm Marzocchi forks and a Sachs rear shock adjustable for preload and rebound damping only.

There’s no denying Benelli had some quality and reliability issues in the past, but with the new Chinese owners aboard things have changed at Benelli. Although outwardly the Italian firm’s basic line-up doesn’t seem to have changed over the years, there has been a lot of research and development behind the scenes to make their motorcycles more rugged and reliable. Build quality on the Tre K 899 is very good, we’ll have to wait to see how it stands the test of time.

To keep costs down, the Tre K 899 doesn’t have fully-adjustable suspension and is missing some of the fancy panels and bellypan of the Tre K 1130, but there’s still an impressive level of equipment, like 50mm Marzocchi forks, Brembo brakes and a manually adjustable screen. There’s a full range of aftermarket goodies available from luggage to Ohlins suspension.