Benneli Adiva Road tests
ROAD TEST1
Review benneli 150
Benelli Car-Bike Hybrid offers best of both worlds
The Benelli Adiva is one of the most interesting new concepts in personal transportation for many years - a two-wheeled cabriolet scooter offering more collision and weather protection than any other available two wheeler, yet all the parking, accessibility and agility advantages of a small motorcycle. In European cities, where parking and road space is limited, this type of car-scooter hybrid is beginning to get a lot of attention as commuters are exploring new, more convenient types of personal transport.
Bringing immense credibility to the cause of the enclosed scooter is the BMW C1, designed by BMW specifically to solve the space problems of European cities and the inherent two-wheeled disadvantages of weather and crash protection.The C1 is remarkably similar to the Adiva in appearance, and comes complete with crumple zones, roll-cage and a crossover seat belt system, which BMW warrants make it is as safe as a car in a head-on collision.
Bikes such as the C1 BMW and Adiva are plentiful on roads in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, and are marketed there with a variety of accessories including sound systems, heated seats, sunroof and mobile phone holder. Unfortunately, disagreement on ADRs is likely to prevent the C1 from reaching the Australian marketplace. BMW designed the C1 to be ridden without a helmet, and Australian ADRs will not budge on its requirement that it is technically a motorcycle and must be ridden with a helmet.
Accordingly, the C1 is unlikely to ever come to market in this country. So if you like the concept of the enclosed motorcycle, the Adiva is the only game in town at present.For the experienced motorcyclist, by far the most significant difference between the Adiva and anything else on two wheels, is the protection from the elements - when it rains, motorcyclists and their passengers get wet in two main ways - the rain they sweep in front of them as they traverse through the air, and the rain that falls on them when they are at traffic lights and stationary.
The Adiva largely eliminates both types, and although there's some limited splash from around the sides of the windscreen and adjacent road-users (when the road is really wet), the problem of getting wet is largely eliminated.In keeping with Benelli's policy of innovative two-wheeled design in recent times (watch for an upcoming feature on the Benelli 900 roadster), there is far more to the Adiva than meets the eye.
The motor is a 150cc overhead cam four-stroke, which offers good economy, thanks largely we suspect, to the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). That's right - the engine operates in a narrow rev range and the transmission ratio varies.
That way, the engine can continuously operate at high efficiency, and hence the good fuel consumption figures. Overseas test reports suggest 25-30 kml (75-90mpg in old terms) can be achieved by the Adiva, but few magazines outside Italy have had their hands on an Adiva, and we suspect the figures were helped by the lower speed confines of Milan and Rome. We averaged around 20 kml (60mpg), which is still far better than you'll achieve in anything with four wheels, but not as much as we'd hoped for.
We rode the machine between the 500 km and 1000 km range of its life, so perhaps once the still-tight motor beds in a little, the Adiva's figures might get even better.
Riding a motorcycle without the wind in your face and with a CVT is an interesting experience. You look down at the speedo, note that you're travelling at the legal limit, and go back to riding. Next time you look back, you might be doing 80kmh - in some municipalities of the world, that's a lose-your-license offense.
This speed creep happened a lot in the early stages of getting-to-know the Adiva because the speed of the Adiva can increase without the engine speed increasing. On a bike with a conventional transmission, the cue to a change of speed is a corresponding change in engine revs.Once I got used to the Adiva, the speed variation problem was easily overcome by frequent glances at the speedo, though there's one thing you will never get used to on the Adiva, and that's the attention you get.
This humble scribe has been involved with testing motorcycles and cars for 25 years and in that time, I've driven and ridden most everything of note and NOTHING spins heads like the Adiva with the roof on.It is laugh-out-loud material - people point from the footpath as you ride down the road, and it isn't an isolated incident to see large groups of people turn in unison as one of their throng exclaims loudly upon sighting the Adiva. Park it in a built-up environment and you suddenly have people around you asking questions.
Everyone notices the Adiva, making it safe to ride because everyone watches it until it is out of sight - no kidding! The motorcycle-car hybrid aspect is actually quite a good way of looking at the Adiva - during the photographic session, photographer and rider trolled two-up around several suburbs for several hours, discussing various locations, commenting on different aspects of the Adiva, and - we were almost finished when it occurred to us that we'd been having a normal conversation, just as we would in a car, and we hadn't had to shout or ask anything to be repeated.
The windscreen and roof completely eliminate wind-roar around the helmets and allow good communication with the pillion, or - we suspect there'd be no problems with a hands-free mobile phone, or sound system. The speaker covers are already installed in the Adiva dashboard, and there is a nacelle designed to accomodate a radio/sound system too. Many people asked during the test whether the bike was top-heavy or clumsy - it may look it, but it's not.
Indeed, apart from being slightly more susceptible to side-winds, the windscreen and roof appear to make no difference to agility or handling.Acceleration of the bike is comparable with most modern cars up to 60kmh after which the car can accelerate past - the main point to make here is that the Adiva is transport for a built-up environment.
It will happily cruise at 100kmh, and can handle freeway conditions, but it doesn't have anything more to give once it has reached 110kmh and you'll only see 120kmh down a slight gradient. Around 60kmh and 80kmh zones, it is in its element, but despite the excess of luggage space, don't go expecting to go touring on the Adiva - it is a city machine which will make light of commuting duties, maybe even delivery duties, but not the open road.
Potential buyers who are considering a scooter because they don't want the mechanical upkeep of something more performance-orientated, will be delighted to know that one of the primary design criteria for the Adiva was low-maintenance requirements. The Adiva is new to this country but experience overseas suggests Benelli has achieved those goals and it should be hassle-free for the inexperienced.
The Adiva should also appeal to people looking at it as a commuter on the basis that it is easy-to-ride. It has a very small turning circle - so small that it makes light of stand-still traffic snarls, even though it is marginally wider than your average two-wheeler. It is extremely manoevrable, and can be ridden by anybody who can ride a bicycle - the brakes are both hand-operated disks, and are exactly the same as those on a bicycle - right-hand front and left-hand rear.
ROAD TEST2
Built to compete with the BMW C1, the Benelli Adiva has gone one better with a removable roof. It will protect you from the elements, but not accidents, as Paul Blezard reports
The scooter with a roof might be a rare breed - but Benelli has gone one scarcer by producing a model with a detachable lid. Yet within this tiny, esoteric market sector, populated by a handful of grey imports and BMW's well-publicised C1, the Adiva is pitched at an entirely different kind of buyer.
The most important difference between the C1, which has not been a success for BMW and will be dropped within two years, and the Adiva is that the Benelli is no safer than a conventional scooter, nor is it claimed to be. The C1 is a safety cell on two wheels and its roof is an integral part of that; it also happens to help stave off the weather. The Adiva's sole aim is to protect you from the elements, not accidents.
The Adiva has several advantages over the C1 because it was not restricted by such tight design constraints and is therefore more versatile. The roof can be removed, folded away into its own "boot" or re-erected in barely any more time than it takes to read this sentence. It can also carry a pillion snugly inside, rather than leaving them exposed, C1-style, to a possible drenching. The Adiva is a tight squeeze mind, especially with the roof up, and you need to be well acquainted with your passenger if planning to travel any distance. If you're not, you soon will be.
The Benelli is a bit short of power in 125cc guise, however, especially if you have a pillion. It uses the same air-cooled, four-stroke Piaggio engine as the hugely popular Vespa ET4 but is 75lb heavier. Ridden solo around town the Adiva gets off the mark reasonably well, but on the open road it runs out of puff at about 55mph and can struggle to stay above 50 against a headwind. The Rotax-powered C1 is significantly quicker, despite weighing 120lb more.
The 150cc version of the Adiva is noticeably punchier, although it's still no faster than a 125cc C1. The bigger Benelli is only £100 more expensive than its 125cc sibling but £400 less than a basic C1; its extra 25cc are well worth it, but you must have a full motorcycle licence to ride one.
As a learner-legal machine the smaller Benelli comes into its own, however, and novices will find it much less intimidating than a C1. I know several riders who found the top-heavy BMW hard to cope with, but felt that the light, low Adiva was no more difficult to ride than a conventional scooter, especially if they began in al fresco mode. Once you have gained confidence without the roof, it is a only small step acclimatising to life with it.
The Adiva's agility has a price, however. Being twitchier than a C1 and more sensitive to sidewinds, it requires confident handling to keep it under control. It also bangs and rattles over potholes while its front suspension and brakes are merely adequate, and not as good as the BMW's.
As for that roof, the Adiva does a better job of keeping rain off a rider's top half while the C1 does a better job in the leg region. BMW's laminated glass screen will also last longer than Benelli's, which is made of toughened plastic. Neither machine will keep you completely dry in a downpour if you're wearing only a business suit, but both offer much more weather protection than traditional two-wheelers.
The Adiva has a few foibles, however. The capacious 2.8cu ft "boot" is tricky to shut, while the bike's mirrors are much wider and more difficult to adjust than they should be. It also lacks any kind of rider backrest, which ought to be essential if you want to adopt the laid-back, feet-forward riding position that the machine's long, low layout encourages. I once rode the Adiva leaning back on my briefcase and mused that a blow-up doll might have worked better, although I didn't have the nerve to put this to the test.
It might not have the BMW C1's crash protection but the Benelli Adiva is a more practical commuter scooter. At less than £3,000 on the road it represents great value for money. Just don't buy one to go two-up touring unless your pillion is small and friendly, or inflatable...
>Benelli Adiva 125 [tech/spec]
Price/availability: 5600€ on the road. On sale now. .
Engine/transmission: 124cc, single-cylinder four-stroke with two valves; 12bhp at 7,750rpm, 7.4lb ft of torque at 6,500rpm. Fully automatic constantly variable transmission (CVT), V-belt final drive.
Performance: top speed 60mph, average fuel consumption 65mpg.
Come rain, you'll shine
Fellow motorcyclists giggled uncontrollably at the sight of the Adiva and you could sense their scornful glances at the traffic-light grand prix. When it rained, however, it was a different story and even dispatch riders paddled up and asked how much it cost.
In everything but a downpour the roof keeps your torso dry and the efficient windscreen wiper allowed perfect vision until the plastic screen started to scratch. Although the roof panel is removable, the open-air benefits are negligible and we tended to keep it in place. As an urban commuter, the 125cc Adiva is more than adequate. Where the permanently roofed BMW C1 is a heavier (and safer) machine, the Adiva belies its bulky appearance, being light and easy to carve through stationary traffic - although the mirrors protrude vulnerably. The huge boot carries a change of clothing, a couple of helmets and a briefcase, but it leaks and the floppy lid is a swine to open and close.
On the open road, however, the Adiva hasn't the power to keep up - on two wheels you need a 70-80mph capability to stay out of the way of trucks and cars. The lightweight machine is also susceptible to side winds and the draught from passing lorries. Even upgrading to the 150cc version (for which you need a full motorcycle licence) doesn't altogether solve this problem - the machine needs at least a 250cc engine to become a practical long-distance commuter.
Andrew English