Benelli Imperiale 400 – Exhibit Magazine Archives

Born to Ride | Automobile | Influncex’20

Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started your journey? How has this space evolved?

Lakshay: It’s been quite a long and treacherous journey and it definitely hasn’t been a bed of roses for me. Many things have changed in the sphere of digital blogging. Honestly, the biggest change that I’ve seen is that many young, talented individuals are coming forward and starting channels and profiles of their own. The digital blogging space is becoming more creator-friendly day after day and I hope that it will bring in a lot of new talent as we move forward.

Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe?

Lakshay: Well, to be honest, I don’t think I’d have done anything else apart from moto vlogging. I am extremely indebted to this as moto vlogging and the world of social media influencing has made me what I am today. So, I guess that the Lakshay in a parallel universe is probably vlogging on a Battlestar Galactica Gunship! 😀

Ex: A technology you wished you’d invented?

Lakshay: I honestly wish I could invent a motorcycle that would make gasoline out of thin air. I would never have to stop for gas that way!.

Ex: What does success mean to you?

Lakshay: For me, success means seeing my parents being proud of me and being happy with my work. It also means the happiness that I find in the thing that I do. I still maintain the principle that no matter how successful a person is, if they aren’t happy with the work they do, then there’s absolutely no point in all that success.

Ex: What is your dream car or motorbike?

Lakshay: Well, I’d love to own an RV someday and travel across continents. That would definitely be a dream come true.

Ex: As the current pandemic has seriously impacted the automotive industry, what does the future hold for automobile bloggers?

Lakshay: The current pandemic has hit us hard. As a matter of fact, every single industry is suffering huge economic losses in the lockdown. India, as a country is also suffering badly. So, I feel that for automobile bloggers the future is a little uncertain as of now, but like everything else this too shall pass and we will ride again and travel to the various corners of the country as soon as this pandemic blows over.

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Meghna Kaur | Top 100 | Influncex’20

Ex: Tell us about a change you’ve seen in the digital blogging space since you started out your journey? How has this space evolved?

Meghna: There are new trends coming in everyday, but you just have to be yourself and do what you’ve been doing since day 1, don’t change your authenticity because that’s what people admire you for.

Ex: Can you give us an insight into social media platforms that only an Influencer can know?

Meghna: It won’t be an insight anymore if I give it away, right?

Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe? (Alternate career options)

Meghna: I love what I do, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ex: If you were stranded on an island, what are the 3 gadgets you’d take along?

Meghna: Phone, laptop, Camera

Ex: A technology you wished you’d invented?

Meghna: nothing as such but I wish teleporting was an option.

Ex: What’s been your favorite encounter with a fan so far? (DMs included!)

Meghna: I remember my very first fan encounter, this girl came up to me and went “OMG I love you so much, I’m shivering” I was like “OMG same”

Ex: Social Media is known to expose vulnerabilities, with influencers being at the epicenter. How do you deal with the dark side that comes with the medium?

Meghna: Most of the time I get criticised for not being good at things but I don’t deny it, everyone is entitled to their opinion, I do it anyway cause it makes me happy and I want to explore myself. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if 10 people tell you you’re not good at it, there’ll be one person who will like it and you can contribute to their happiness.

Ex: Social media trolling is seeing an upward rise. Do you think this only increases with the popularity of an Influencer? How does one tackle this situation?

Meghna: There’s this song lyrics by Kanye west that says

“there will always be haters, that’s the way it is” so just move on, don’t give them a lot of attention cause in the end it’s what makes you happy.

Ex: What does success mean to you?

Meghna: Success means not knowing what day of the week it is.

Ex: Do you think Influencer Marketing is a fad? Where do you see this space in years to come?

Meghna: I feel if one platform goes another comes along and the amount of people who are coming in and trying new/different types of content are insane.

Influencer marketing is growing tremendously fast and will continue to do so.

Ex: The first destination you want to travel to post-pandemic & why?

Meghna: I really really want to go to Maldives.

Ex: What are the difficulties that you face when you’re on a solo trip?

Meghna: I’m really terrible with directions so solo travel becomes difficult for me and it can be a problem if you want to get photos taken when you’re on your own

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Benelli Imperiale 400 – Review | A Classic Motorcycle With A Modern Heart

The year 2019 has been pretty exciting for the Italian motorcycle brand Benelli as they have been on a launching spree in India. After the Benelli TRK 502 and 502X, the brand was not too late to introduce the Benelli Leoncino 500 and a Leoncino 250 which use the same engine from the TRK 502 and the TNT 250 respectively.

Benelli sure wants to get a stronghold of the Indian automotive market and this is why they have now launched the Benelli Imperiale 400, a modern-retro motorcycle from the house of the Italian two-wheeler maker.

The Benelli Imperiale 400 comes as a modern interpretation of the MotoBi models which Benelli used to produce in the 1950s. A first look at the motorcycle and you are sure to find many similarities with a few motorcycles in this segment. There are several chrome elements on the motorcycle which definitely lend it a character to it. The Imperiale 400 sports a round headlamp as well as round indicators and an oval-shaped taillamp. Like on most of the motorcycles we see these days, you do not get any LED lighting on offer. The twin-pod analogue-digital instrument cluster displays all information, tell-tale lights and also gets small digital panels for the trip, time, odometer, gear and fuel-level display.

The motorcycle looks quite impressive given the 12-litre teardrop-shaped tank. It gets a lot of black treatment as well on the engine as well as the side panels, silencer as well as the front and rear mudguards with black split seats with colour contrast stitching. Overall, it is a handsome looking motorcycle which reflects the retro out loud.

Powering the Imperiale 400 is an air-cooled, 374cc, fuel-injected SOHC engine which makes about 21 PS of peak power and 29 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. Now coming to the ride quality, the Imperiale 400 offers a good rideability both on and off the pavement, thanks to the relaxed seating position and the 19-inch 100 section front and 18-inch 130 section rear tyres shod on spoke wheels. The suspension duties are taken care of by 41mm telescopic forks at the front and twin shock absorbers at the rear with preload-adjustability. Braking department gets a 300mm disc at the front and a 240mm disc at the rear along with dual-channel ABS as a standard offering.

Coming to the ride quality, the rear suspension feels a bit stiff, especially at slow speeds but surprisingly handles Indian road conditions quite well. It is happy to cruise all-day at speeds up to 100km/hr without even breaking a sweat. Heating on the motorcycle is not really evident. At 205 kgs, it is slightly heavy, but you would feel the weight only when parking or in traffic doing dead speeds. Take it off the pavement and you will be surprised how well it holds on to the off-road patches despite having less ground clearance. The TVS tyres seemed to offer a firm grip even when being pushed.

The Benelli Imperiale 400 rivals the likes of the Royal Enfield Classic 350, the Jawa variants. Priced at Rs. 1.69 lakhs (ex-showroom), the Imperiale 400 is a strong contender in this segment for the price it is being offered for. What you get are solid build quality and a 3-year unlimited-kilometre warranty. The company is also offering free services for the first two years which makes it an even more interesting proposition for someone who is looking to buy a retro-themed motorcycle which can do touring as well as occasional rough terrains.

SPECS

Engine – 374cc,Four-stroke, Fuel-injected, SOHC, Air-cooled

Power – 21 PS @ 5500 rpm

Torque – 29 Nm @4500 rpm

Transmission – 5-Speed