1980 Benelli 900 Sei

Despite a racing heritage second to none, Benelli was in financial difficulty by the late 1960s, falling into the clutches of Argentinian industrialist Alejandro De Tomaso in 1971. Under De Tomaso's stewardship the revitalised company was soon grabbing the headlines with a host of new models, none more startling than the 750cc Sei (Six) of 1972, the world's first six-cylinder production motorcycle. The fact that Benelli was able to produce the design so quickly despite lacking previous experience of this type of engine was easily explained: it looked like a Honda CB500 'four' with two extra cylinders, which in effect was just what it was. Even the bore and stroke dimensions were identical to those of the Japanese unit. Production proper began in 1974 but the Benelli was soon overshadowed by Honda's own CBX1000 six. The Italian company responded in 1980 with the 900 Sei, which used the original single-cam engine bored and stroked for a capacity of 905.9cc. Production of the 900 Sei ceased in 1987. Over the succeeding decades there have been only a handful of attempts to market a six-cylinder motorcycle and today such models are a rarity. The Benelli Sei is the great grandfather of them all.

This Benelli 900 Sei was purchased by the private vendor's late father in 1982 from Hughes Motorcycles in Wallington (South London) as an ex-demonstration machine with 3,700 miles on the odometer (the current reading 15,206 miles). We are advised by the family that the late owner would enjoy day trips to put both motorcycle and rider through their paces in the Welsh Valleys and other picturesque and stimulating riding environs. The late owner was a talented mechanical engineer with a deep respect and love of internal combustion engines, writing to Benelli about reducing the rear sprocket size to improve fuel economy. The machine has stood for some time but was started recently when a friend who is an experienced motorcycle engineer applied some first aid and it sparked into life which absolutely thrilled the family, if not the neighbours! Nevertheless, further recommissioning and additional restoration will be required before the Benelli returns to the road. The machine is offered with the original purchase receipt; a second set of original keys; bikini fairing; numerous invoices; the aforementioned Benelli correspondence; an old-style V5 registration document; owner's and workshop manuals; and letters from Motorcycle Mechanics magazine.
Offered with key