BENELLI Tornado 650 S (1973-1974) Specs, Performance & Photos

The Benelli Tornado 650 was a motorcycle manufactured by Benelli from 1970 to 1975, powered by a parallel-twin engine. The bike was created to compete with the British Big Twins in the American market.

In 1972, following Alejandro de Tomaso's acquisition of Benelli, a revised version of the Tornado 650 was introduced, packing an electric starter. It was introduced under the Benelli Tornado 650 S.

In 1973, the Italian motorcycle maker released the Benelli Tornado 650 S, a motorcycle in its second production year that packed the same specifications as the previous one without any significant modifications.

Visually, the bike was characterized by standard features, such as a chromed front fender, a round headlight, a one-piece dual seat, side-mounted rear shocks, a dual chromed exhaust system with a silencer mounted on each side, and wire-spoke wheels.

The bike's front end was handled by a telehydraulic fork with a four-leading drum shoe. In contrast, the rear end was controlled by two side-mounted adjustable shocks and a drum braking unit, offering optimum suspension performance and braking power.

As for power, the 1973 Benelli Tornado 650 S had its heartbeat set by a 643cc four-stroke air-cooled parallel-twin engine that delivered an output power of 52 hp with a peak force at 7,200 rpm.

The power was sent to the rear wheel via a five-speed manual transmission and a final chain drive, pushing the motorcycle to 179 kph (111 mph).