The Benelli TRK 702X is an entry level adventure bike priced at $13,590 ride away. It looks good, so how does it perform? Photos: Graham Bain/Pommie
Benelli has certainly moved with the times and improved over the years since my first experiences testing them, I’m glad to say. The TRK 702X is a massive step up over the old days and is an absolute bargain when you compare it to the Adventure competition….
There’s no denying that this is a good-looking bike, and as a total coincidence, it matches my AGV helmet perfectly in this Anthracite Grey colour. The bike also comes in Forest Green and Moon Grey. The lines are sharp and modern, with nice LED daytime running lights and integrated LED indicators at the front, making the TRK look way more premium than the price tag would suggest.
“The TRK 702X is a back-to-basics bike, meaning you don’t have any fancy features like quick-shifters, different map modes or cruise control, and that’s fine”…
The bike comes with a 5in TFT dash that can be set to a white or black background or auto adjust depending on light. It is crisp and clear and has the basics of what you need. It can be paired with your phone via Bluetooth, and through an app, it can provide basic navigation. You also get a convenient USB and USB-C port by the dash for easy charging.
Multi-function TFT dash, and a USB plus USB-C charge port located in a handy spot.
The TRK 702X is a back-to-basics bike, meaning you don’t have any fancy features like quick-shifters, different map modes or cruise control, and that’s fine. The only thing I would have liked is the ability to turn off the ABS for off-road riding, but for just light gravel forest trails, it’s fine. What you do get is a centre-stand, which makes cleaning and wheel removal a breeze.
Talking of wheels, you get a 19in alloy at the front and a 17in at the rear, both with stainless spokes. The TRK also has quality heavy-duty handguards and a nice luggage rack. You can option panniers too if you like. I also like the switchgear, which is illuminated blue—a feature that some bikes four times the price don’t have.
There were a couple of small negatives. I noticed the rear brake reservoir bracket was starting to rust, which is not good for a bike with only 3000km, and around the headstock was tarnishing a bit. So if the bike were mine, I’d be on top of that.
There’s no doubt that the Benelli TRK 702X is a stunning looking adventure bike… but there was some surface rust.
I think the engine powering the TRK 702X is the star of the show. With 698cc of parallel twin goodness, it offers plenty of torque for real-world riding to have a lot of fun. There’s 70Nm available from 6000rpm and a peak power output of 51.5kW at 8000rpm, which is 69hp in my language. They have also done a good job of reducing vibrations, and apart from the nice parallel twin pulse under acceleration, the engine is smooth and vibe free. The fueling is also nice and smooth.
The TRK 702X parallel-twin engine is the star of the show, Pommie loved it and loved the wheelies too!
I’ve always said that riding a bike has to be fun; otherwise, what’s the point? The TRK is fun to ride. It is a bit on the beefy side though at 218kg dry weight, which seems a lot for a 700 twin. However, the weight is only an issue when pushing the bike around, because once on the move, it feels nowhere near its claimed weight…
“I’ve always said that riding a bike has to be fun; otherwise, what’s the point?”
The engine has a nice deep rumble on start-up and blipping the throttle, you get a raspy bark from the exhaust. It does sound pretty good under today’s strangled emissions laws. Selecting first and letting out the cable-operated and span-adjustable clutch lever that has a nice light action, I headed off on my adventure.
“The weight is only an issue when pushing the bike around, because once on the move, it feels nowhere near its claimed weight”…
The ride position and seat comfort are good. The ‘bars are quite high, so even the shortest-armed riders wouldn’t have to stretch too far. The seat height, like all adventure-style bikes, is reasonably tall at 835mm, but I had no problem at 182cm, although shorter riders may.
The gearbox is smooth and clutchless gear changes are easy on the upshifts. The only issue I found was sometimes when selecting neutral at a standstill, the dash light was indicating it was in neutral, but it was actually still in gear. This happened four or five times over the three rides I did.
On the freeway, the bike is excellent. With a comfy seat and excellent ride position, you could easily tour on the TRK, especially if you added some panniers. At freeway speeds, the bike sits at a nice 4600rpm, and the non-adjustable screen does a good job of deflecting wind without buffering my helmet, which is normally an annoyance I get with some bikes with screens.
The mirrors offer good vision behind and are relatively vibe free—better than some bikes I’ve tested lately that cost four times the price of this Benelli. The only drawback is lane splitting at the lights. The bike is more than capable, but you just have to be a bit more careful with the wider bars and mirrors that protrude slightly when going between the other cars.
If you had never ridden an adventure/crossover bike, you’d think that they would be rubbish to ride on a twisty road and that they’d only be good on a freeway or gravel road. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The TRK, with its wide spread of torque, is a hoot to push through a twisty mountain road.
I wasn’t too impressed with the condition of the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres fitted; they were well used, but that didn’t stop me from having fun. The bike does require a bit of rider input to flick from one side to the other, but this is easy with the wide ‘bars. A new set of rubber would improve this further, but carving through the corners at pace is fun, and the TRK does it with more purpose than it has any right to for a budget bike.
“Carving through the corners at pace is fun, and the TRK does it with more purpose than it has any right to for a budget bike.”
The suspension does a good overall job of absorbing the road bumps and undulations. The front 50mm forks are non-adjustable but have plenty of travel at 140mm. The rear has adjustability for preload, and you also get compression and rebound adjustment for a bit of extra fine tuning.
The brakes are twin 320mm discs at the front with twin-piston calipers and do a reasonable job of pulling the bike up. They are not the most powerful, but you wouldn’t expect the bike to be fitted with the latest Brembos. They do require a good pull on the span-adjustable lever, but once you get used to that, they work pretty well.
“With the 20L fuel tank, I didn’t have to fill up until I’d done 318km”…
I didn’t do a lot of hard-core off-road riding, that’s not what this bike is about, only a few light dirt roads, and it was fantastic on those and basic trails, it handles everything it is designed to when ridden within the limitations of the set-up. But it would have been nice to have the option to turn off the ABS once in the dirt, or at least turn off the rear ABS.
At the end of the day, there’s no denying that the TRK 702X has to be one of the most affordable adventure bikes in this class, and that alone makes it a bargain to buy. But it’s more than that, it’s a good bike too.
The engine is a ripper, sounds great and is fun to ride. With the 20L fuel tank, I didn’t have to fill up until I’d done 318km, which is impressive after a mixture of corner carving, freeway riding and spinning up the rear on dirt roads.
2025 Benelli TRK 702X Specifications
Price: $13,590 Ride Away
Warranty: Two years, unlimited kilometres, two-years roadside.
Colours: Anthracite Grey, Forest Green, Moon Grey
Claimed Power: 51.5kW (69hp)@8000rpm
Claimed Torque: 70Nm@6000rpm
Dry Weight: 218kg
Fuel Capacity: 20L
Fuel Consumption (Claimed): 21km/L
Fuel Consumption (Measured): N/A
Engine: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke, parallel-twin, DOHC, four-valve, 698cc, 83 x 64.5mm bore x stroke, 11.6:1 compression, EFI, twin 41mm throttle-bodies, Delphi MT05 ignition, Six-speed gearbox, wet clutch, cable-operated, chain final drive, two-into-one exhaust.
Chassis: Steel tube trellis frame, steel swingarm.
Suspension: Front: 50mm USD forks, 140mm travel, non-adjustable Rear: Monoshock, adjustable preload, compression and rebound, 173mm travel Brakes: Front: Twin 320mm discs, two-piston calipers Rear: Single 260mm disc, single-piston caliper, ABS. Wheels & Tyres: Front: 3.00 x 19in spoked wheel, Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR 110/80 – 19 Rear: 4.25 x 17in spoked wheel, Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR 150/70 – 17
Dimensions:
Seat Height: 835mm
Wheelbase: 1505mm
Length: 2220mm
Width: 925mm
Height: 1490mm
Ground Clearance: 205mm
Instruments & Electronics: 5in TFT display with Bluetooth and app connectivity, USB and USB-C ports, LED lighting, backlit switchgear
2025 Benelli TRK 702X Gallery
Ratings | Bike Review | 2025 Benelli TRK 702X
Great Fun!
The Benelli TRK 702X is an entry level adventure bike priced at $13,590 ride away. It looks good, so how does it perform?
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