It's a great machine, but there are some concerns.
Thank you to MCM for their review on our Benelli TRK 902 Stradale, by
Both share the same 904cc parallel twin engine and steel trellis frame, but shorter travel suspension and 17in wheels provide the £8k Stradale with the means to mix it up with the likes of the Triumph Tiger Sport 800, BMW F900XR and Yamaha Tracer 9. Can it really compete with these stalwarts of the segment at a fraction of the cost?
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - static right hand side
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Is the Benelli TRK 902 Stradale right for you?
Reasons to buy:
+ It is attractively priced at £7999.
+ It comes well equipped with heated kit, radar and cruise control.
+ The chassis feels stable and entertaining on smooth roads.
Reasons to avoid:
– Poor low-speed fuelling.
– The engine and chassis need further development.
– Cheap-feeling switchgear and rider interface.
Benelli have stepped up to the mid-sized tall rounder market with their biggest bike yet, the TRK 902 Stradale. Built by QJMotor, it’s essentially Chinese engineering in a smart Italian suit, and with a price tag that’s just a pound under £8k looks set to tempt buyers from the more established mainstream.
It’s got all the toys, from heated seat and grips to fully adjustable suspension and a punchy (on paper) parallel-twin – not to mention a rear-facing radar for blind spot detection and collision warning.
One look at performance figures will tell you that the Stradale isn’t quite up to the level of the established competition, and with that in mind, the only bike that it can really go head-to-head with is the QJMotor SRT900S – which rolls out of the same factory in Wenling, China, and is just a six-axis IMU and some swoopy bodywork short of being essentially identical.
It even rolls on the same rubber, Pirelli Angel GT. So it seems rather apt that we’re riding the Stradale solo, where we can find out exactly what you get for your money.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - riding on the road
From the hot seat (quite literally, the three-stage heated saddle comes as standard, as do heated grips – and they’re more than capable of keeping your bits warm), the view is of a 7in TFT and generous, electrically adjustable screen.
A long press on the left-hand switchgear’s backlit D-pad up/down buttons coaxes the latter’s elaborate mechanism into life to find the optimum angle, but it’s hard not to mash the heated accessory controls while you’re doing it.
The dash flashes red to indicate that ABS and TC are disabled and states the fact in the upper right corner of the screen. It’s a bit off-putting on the first ride and has us scrambling through options, but it clears once you pull away, just like the traditional warning light blinking off as the sensors calibrate and set. Which is a challenge in itself thanks to a spiky throttle response and juddery clutch.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - dash close up
Fuelling feels all over the place at low revs, with the engine hunting, dipping and surging depending on throttle position, and none of the three rider modes (Normal, Sport and Rain) do anything to alleviate the issue.
Finding that out is compounded by the fact that nothing seems to indicate which mode you’re in, and you can only switch between them at standstill when the option to do so is unlocked – it’s frustrating, to say the least.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - close up of the engine
There’s never a time on the Stradale when the connection between twistgrip, throttle bodies and engine response feels natural, whether it’s dipping and surging as you roll it on or hunting when trying to hold steady, even with cruise activated. A factory update or specialist remap could well iron it out, and the grunt is certainly there to be enjoyed, but as is the delivery is sub-par.
Out of town, things don’t really improve, as even winding the throttle on hard only highlights the fact that the Stradale feels somehow restricted, as if it can’t quite clear its throat to crack on. It’s inconsistent with the Xplorer we’ve already ridden, which, granted, also has patchy fuelling, but mainly at lower revs.
A quickshifter and slipper clutch are OE fitment, but although gearchanges are precise, there’s a deliberation to the way it operates that makes shifts seem no faster than the traditional unassisted method.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - quick shifter detail
On the plus side, the Stradale shares its stablemate’s inherent stability and is fun to swing about – providing you have a decent road surface to play on. With the limited time on test, we couldn’t find a happy medium within the range of adjustability offered by the Marzocchi units to dial in adequate high-speed damping, but there may be scope for a professional suspension setup to solve this.
The Brembo brakes supply all the stopping power required when called upon, either for grinding to a halt or adding balance through turns, if a little lacking in feel.
A steel trellis frame, 43mm Marzocchi forks and an adjustable shock give the chassis a taut, sporty feel, and it’s balanced well for both flat, twisty roads and distance work, but again we found limitations that hold the Stradale back from being a top performer, compounded by the fact that it’s got that inherently gutsy engine.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - Brembo brakes
Comfort is good, with wide bars and a slightly forward-leaning riding position, and we didn’t find any untoward vibrations that would hamper long-distance work.
With a decent seat, heated equipment and an electrically adjustable screen, and the twin LED headlights checked out as acceptable when we had the opportunity for some night miles.
Build quality feels good, especially for the price, and with its Italian-penned lines, the Stradale certainly has some presence. We can’t help feeling that, with a bit more development, though, it could make a much stronger argument.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - Seat detail
Feast your eyes
Screen test
Benelli have styled the screen mechanism to make it a focal point, and with stepless electronic adjustment there’s ample scope for fine-tuning. It’s a long way forward to prevent turbulence entirely, but it works well enough.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - wind screen detail
Illumination express
A stylised headlamp pod provides a bright white glow to ride by, and the twin LEDs cut an effective swathe on unlit roads. The taillight works in conjunction with the radar to warn off tailgaters by flashing if they get too close.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - front lamp detail
Control cluster
Cruise control, heated seat and grips, screen adjustment – the Benelli is well appointed. Menu access and mode switching can only be accomplished at standstill, though, and it’s easy for a gloved thumb to be overzealous.
2026-on Benelli TRK 902 Stradale - left hand switch gear cluster
MCN Verdict
Although it’s a smart-looking machine, and build quality suggests it’s well put together too, there’s no getting away from the fact that the Benelli TRK902 Stradale feels like it’s crying out for a polish beneath the surface to finish it off.
The engine has the power to perform, and the chassis the inherent prowess to entertain, but it needs further development to get the best from either. At £7999 with a potential monthly PCP payment of £100, there’s a lot of bike to attract a thrifty buyer, so if you could budget for a specialist suspension setup and remapping of the ECU without affecting warranty or finance, it could still be a bargain.
There are, of course, people who will be perfectly happy to ride around that and make do, just to have something a bit different, in which case the attractively priced Stradale may well make perfect sense.
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