Hi I also have an Imperiale 400. I live in the UK. I bought this about 6 weeks ago. So far quite pleased with it, reminds me of the B31 I had as a teenager. A little surprised of the cost of the 600 mile service at the dealers (£143.00). I am a retired motor mechanic, and tried to purchase a workshop manual but was told that Benelli have not released this for public sale !
Throttle appears to work like a switch on shutdown, either on or off, are they all like that ?

 

Just noticed that yours has fork gaiters and different decals. Were these standard. This is a picture of the one I own.

 

Where are you based. I’m in East Sussex.

 

Hello Grant, sorry for the late response I've had a very busy week again with work and everything, seems to be the way these days! I'm down in not so sunny Bournemouth where the weathers turned particularly nasty today. How are you getting on with your Imperiale?

Jerry

 

Here’s a couple of my 2021 imperiale

 

Hi Grant
I live in Hampshire, about halfway between Guildford and Portsmouth. I have a friend who lives in Burwash, who I visit in the summer, are you near there ?

 

Yes I’m about 10-15 miles max so not far

 

Hi Jerry
Just wondering how your Imperiale is holding up in this cold and wet weather. I am lucky as I don't have to ride in the cold or wet, so my Imperiale is staying in my shed until next month.
Regards
Brian

 

Hello Brian. My Imperiale has been incredibly reliable all winter, It's still riding well and since I 'fiddled' with the throttle cable adjustment I've had no issues at all with the 'jerky' throttle response. Unfortunately corrosion has become a bit of an issue, basically anything that's not painted black has corroded including the wheel rims. I've addressed most of the corrosion issues but I'm not sure how I am going to deal with the wheels yet.

Jerry

 

Another owner here, well its my second one first one I had was a Euro 4 model in Silver and just didn't like it in that colour, so after wrapping pipe, adding bar ends, removing exhaust heat shields and the mounting lugs and adding fork gaiters I sold it on after about 6 months of ownership. As always goes, instant regret sat in, so this month I purchased a Euro 5 model in black, sadly from the grandson of a guy that bought one and passed away. The plan is to remove the top box and huuuuge screen it has on, wrap the pipes and add bar ends again. Can anyone confirm that the Triumph T100 for gaiters are the correct fitment. I seem to recall I had HD ones on my previous Imperiale. Will be adding pics in time, happy riding everyone

 

Hello fellow Imperiale owner, there's not many of us so we seem to be a bit of a breed of our own. Yes T100 gaiters are a direct fit, I bought some from ebay last summer for £26 but I've recently noticed that they are starting to perish so HD ones might be a better option but then I suppose it depends on the quality of the rubber. I saw your bike up for sale on ebay a couple of months back, and I do think they look better in black although the top box fitted on yours doesn't really suite the style of bike but then that's just my opinion. Why are you wrapping the exhaust?

Here's a link to the gaiters I bought although the seller wants £30 for them now FORK GAITERS + clips Triumph T100 Hinckley Bonneville heavy duty rubber A9638018 | eBay

 

Hi Lads.I'm really enjoying this discussion. Hopefully getting this 400 in the next month or so.

Can't wait to post a few pics when I do.

Ger.

 

Hi Lads.I'm really enjoying this discussion. Hopefully getting this 400 in the next month or so.

Can't wait to post a few pics when I do.

Ger.

Hello my friend. The Imperiale is a great bike, they've got there 'quirks' but then I think that gives them a bit more character. I think you'll have great fun with one.

 

Well. Just put my deposit down on Friday. Hopefully collecting in the next week or two 😁

 

I think you'll enjoy owning your Imperiale, great bikes to ride! Be a bit wary of corrosion mind you. I rode mine through the winter and had corrosion issues on the rear shocks, front brake disc, those funny little grab handles that you use to put the bike on the centre stand and the spokes and wheel rims, a bit of a list I know! I rebuilt the shocks and 'addressed' the rust issues, this cost me about £40, difficult to explain what I did so when I get chance I'll put some pictures up. I covered the grab handles in that black electrical heat shrink tubing and I think they come out quite well, that cost me about a fiver, I resprayed the front disc and I've just had a pair of stainless wheels with stainless spokes built for mine and interestingly the wheel builder told me that he's had a couple of 6 month old Yamaha Tenere's with rusty spokes and corroded rims to rebuild so I don't think this is purely because it's a Chinese built bike, it seems Japanese bikes suffer from the same issues these days. The shop that refitted my tyres also said newer BMW's suffer from the same problem as well so the German stuff aint much better! Another thing to keep an eye on is the rear pads, mine gave up at 3500 miles which was bloody annoying but the front's still have loads of life left in them.
Don't worry when your exhaust down pipe discolours and goes quite 'blue' these polish up nicely with Scotchpad and some Autosol.

That's about it for now, let us know when you get your bike and how you get on with it.

Jerry

 

Here's some piccys,

I forgot to mention, the paint started to 'flake' on my gear change so I resprayed that as well.
As for the rear shocks, I removed the springs and got some grey large diameter electrical heat shrink tubing, are you starting to see a pattern here, and covered the centre 'shaft' of the shocks with it. I resprayed the chrome adjusting collars and I purchased 2 stainless steel thimble measures to cover the dummy gas canister things at the bottom rear of the shocks. If you're not sure what thimble measures are they are what pubs use to measure out spirits and I bought 2 chrome kitchen tap inserts to put in the tops of the thimble measures. When I refitted the shocks I bought 4 stainless steel domed nuts and stainless washers because these had started to rust also.
There is some rust starting to show up at the rear most or the swing arm and an engine mount so at some point I'll be getting the rattle can out again and giving these a going over. I ride my bike almost every day for commuting in all sorts of crap weather so what I am doing is trying to make it British weather proof, (probably banging my head against a wall with that one).
At present the bikes cost me £3900 to buy, £800 for wheels which included getting the tyres removed then refitted with new tubes, just under £40 to refurbish the rear shocks, around £20 for various stainless steel fasteners and washers, £21 for rear brake pads (still pissed about that), £15 for a black military style 'stuffa' pouch, you can't see this in the pictures 'cause I've mounted it on the other side of the bike, about £25 for spray paint, £15 for various stickers, £5 for black heat shrink tubing, £15 for the mirrors, I only fitted one so I've got a spare!, £12 for the indicators and £8 for a small number plate.
So all in my Imperiale has cost me a tad under £4900 to get it the way I want so far. Is the bike worth it I don't hear you say? Well to me definitely yes, no other manufacturer builds anything of this style other than Royal Enfield but I'm not really a fan of RE's.
Will I get my money back if I sold it on? No I won't but then to me that's not what it's all about.

You've probably fallen asleep after reading all this shit! so I leave it for now.

Jerry

 

Nope!
I haven't fell asleep. That's fascinating what you have done. The tubing on the grab handle is a great idea. That's thinking outside the box. I too will be interested to see how the impact of the Irish weather will have on the bike, Your list of improvements is really helpful. Looks like I have to reassemble my tool kit!!

The wheels? Did you purchase them? Or have them dipped? Just trying to understand the rebuild process?

Also. Your mirrors. That's neat. Fixed to the outside.

The bike looks smashing.

 

I had the wheels completely rebuilt by a local motorcycle wheel builder, this chap Facebook လော့ဂ်အင်ဝင်ရန်
he took my Imperiale hubs and 're-laced' them using stainless steel spokes and new stainless steel rims, there are company's online where you can send your wheels and they will rebuild them with new rims and spokes, here's one for example Wheel Building - Services

The mirrors I got from ebay

7/8'' 22MM Motorcycle Motorbike Round Handle Bar End Rearview Side Mirrors ！ | eBay

1 PAIR 7/8" UNIVERSAL ROUND BIKE MOTORCYCLE HANDLE BAR END REARVIEW SIDE MIRROR. Decorate your motorcycle, catch peopels eyes. 1 x Pair （L&R）Motorcycle Bar End Rearview Mirror. Motorcycle Bar End Rearview Mirror.

www.ebay.co.uk

When you get your bike you'll see that it's got bar end weights, a bit pointless on a 21hp bike but there you go, anyway if you take the weights off you'll see that there's a threaded insert in the end of the handlebars well with a little modification to the mirror mount you can use the threaded inserts to fix the mirrors to.

 

And off I go down the wheel rebuilding rabbit hole ..

 

Don't get me wrong, like I said I rode my Imperiale all winter. It wasn't the rain that corroded the rims it was road salt that ate into the clear coat Benelli used on the rims and to be fair the front wheel was ok but I thought if I was going to change the rear wheel then I would do the front at the same time.

Jerry

 

Hi all,

Just wondering does anyone have any ideas or views on carrying supplies as in wet gear etc while biking, other than a back sack. I was thinking of try to get a plate for the end of the bike and sticking a small black aluminium case on the plate.

Any comments or advice welcome.

Thanks, Ger.

 

He's my baby. Picked it up yesterday !

 

Nice one! Sorry I've been a bit lapse on the replies, It's been a bloody hectic week. I hope you enjoy your new ride, keep us updated on how you get on with your Imperiale.

Going back to your earlier post about storage of wet weather gear I bought a 'Stuffa' pouch from amazon for £15 and strapped it to the black mudguard stay on the left of the bike just behind the chrome grab handle. The bottom of the pouch has breather holes that line up nicely with the black frame that comes out from behind the rear pegs so I cable tied the bottom of the pouch to that. These pouches aren't waterproof but I've put my gear in a carrier bag to keep it dry. I can't seem to find the Amazon item but here's the same on Ebay. These pouches expand and you'll be surprised how much you can get in one.

Pardon our interruption...

 

Hi Jerry. Thanks for that. Ya the bike is a growler. Would you have a photo of how the bag looks on the bike?
I'd be interested in seeing how it looks.

Thanks, Ger.

 

Yeah no problem, I'll take a pic on Saturday and post it on here for you. You will need to loosen the four large bolts that keep the mudguard stay in place in order to thread the two straps on the back of the pouch through but it's all pretty basic stuff.

Jerry

 

Hi Jerry. Thanks for that. I'll have a think about that. I took off the passenger seat earlier

 

These bikes do look good without the pillion pad. I've been contemplating removing mine and fitting some sort of rack in it's place. Maybe when I get a bit of spare time I'll look into the idea more.

Jerry

 

Hi Jerry,

How's the weather treating you and the bike? Good I hope. It's ideal (within reason) isn't it. I'm just asking you and other members on the board about preparation for the winter. Specifically raingear. All in one suit etc. Trying to plan to stay dry as the cold wet winter comes in.

And then tyres?

All the best everyone!

Ger.

 

I've been trying to locate a rack for that. They are available on SHOPPEE in India but they don't despatch to Ireland. I've tried ALIBABA but can't find it. If you knock across a supplier let me know.

 

Will do. There's similar racks to that on ebay, if you don't mind doing a bit of modification you could probably get one to fit.

 

Hi all. Good to be here. I have had my gorgeous Imperiale for about a month now and I absolutely love it. It really suits my riding style down to the ground and is perfect for commuting or pottering about up here in the beautiful Peak District. I am interested to see how the bike holds up against the coming winter for commuting. I gave it a good clean and wiped some ACF50 on to help but time will tell.

 

Happy riding Neil.

It's an amazing bike. I just recently WON a Tracer 700 in a raffle and am using it a bit. But it's an Imperiale. There's something special about that 400!

 

Hello all, bit of an update on the trials and tribulations of my Imperiale ownership. I've removed the metal frame work that went around the real wheel and 're-crafted' the tail tidy in order to raise my number plate and I've fitted a replica BSA M20 silencer which I think sounds rather good, after I fitted some baffles mind you! It's not all been good though, at the begining of December 2022 the bloody gearchange started playing up, the damn bike wouldn't stay in gear. Turns out it was a poxy little spring that had snapped on the end of the gear linkage located just behind the clutch, luckily my local Benelli dealer, Poole Moto, took the bike in straight away fixed it and I had my Imperiale back after just two days. It would have been done under warrenty but being a bit of a twat I decided to do the second service of the bike myself thinking that because I hadn't any problems with the bike in over a year of ownership then I should get at least two years with no serious issues. Anyway it cost me bang on 300 quid to get it repaired and that included an oil and filter change. Not sure what the cost of the second service is but all in all I don't think I came out of it to badly, lesson learnt mind you I've just adjusted the bikes valve clearances, the inlet was fine but the exhaust valve was way out, and I've given my Imperiale it's first wash and polish of the year, probably a waste of time cause they forecast rain for my area next week

 

Hello all, bit of an update on the trials and tribulations of my Imperiale ownership. I've removed the metal frame work that went around the real wheel and 're-crafted' the tail tidy in order to raise my number plate and I've fitted a replica BSA M20 silencer which I think sounds rather good, after I fitted some baffles mind you! It's not all been good though, at the begining of December 2022 the bloody gearchange started playing up, the damn bike wouldn't stay in gear. Turns out it was a poxy little spring that had snapped on the end of the gear linkage located just behind the clutch, luckily my local Benelli dealer, Poole Moto, took the bike in straight away fixed it and I had my Imperiale back after just two days. It would have been done under warrenty but being a bit of a twat I decided to do the second service of the bike myself thinking that because I hadn't any problems with the bike in over a year of ownership then I should get at least two years with no serious issues. Anyway it cost me bang on 300 quid to get it repaired and that included an oil and filter change. Not sure what the cost of the second service is but all in all I don't think I came out of it to badly, lesson learnt mind you I've just adjusted the bikes valve clearances, the inlet was fine but the exhaust valve was way out, and I've given my Imperiale it's first wash and polish of the year, probably a waste of time cause they forecast rain for my area next week

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View attachment 39285

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Hi all Imperiale owners,

For the last 2 weeks i have been looking at the tail-end of my bike, and i think the whole plastic assembly could be deleted, numberplate could go to the left-hand side of the bike, i bought and installed the bracket already, i do not have a numberplate yet.

Then i was thinking about the indicator lights, @Cheerfulljerry i took your foto and painted my thoughts, ha, problem is all indicator lights on Shopee with M10 hollow tread is not 55 mm long, but if i remove the crash-bars like in your picture then it should shorten 15 mm so maybe 35 mm length ....

 

i need one pair of this beautiful rear view mirror,thanks

 

I agree… they are nice!

Cheerfuljerry, can you link us to those mirrors or are they stock oem kit?

🍻🤘🏻

 

Hello. I got the mirrors from ebay, the one's that I bought are no longer listed but here's a link to a pair that are very similar. Fitting is easy enough but you'll need to wrap a bit of insulating tape around the outer part of the mount that bolts into the bar end in order to get a nice snug fit. I fitted the mirror two years ago and it's held up suprisingly well to the British weather, the stainless bolts are still shiny and the black coating is still good.

1 Pair 7/8'' 22Mm Motorcycle Motorbike Handle Bar End Rearview Side Wing Mirrors | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1 Pair 7/8'' 22Mm Motorcycle Motorbike Handle Bar End Rearview Side Wing Mirrors at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Love Jerry

 

Hello. I got the mirrors from ebay, the one's that I bought are no longer listed but here's a link to a pair that are very similar. Fitting is easy enough but you'll need to wrap a bit of insulating tape around the outer part of the mount that bolts into the bar end in order to get a nice snug fit. I fitted the mirror two years ago and it's held up suprisingly well to the British weather, the stainless bolts are still shiny and the black coating is still good.

1 Pair 7/8'' 22Mm Motorcycle Motorbike Handle Bar End Rearview Side Wing Mirrors | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1 Pair 7/8'' 22Mm Motorcycle Motorbike Handle Bar End Rearview Side Wing Mirrors at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Love Jerry

Hi Jerry
Have you still got the Imperialle ? If so how is it holding up to the english weather. I like the silencer, is that the original front pipe ( I see that a company in India makes a decat pipe for the Imperalle). I've only done about 2500 miles on mine since I bought it. I thought that being retired, I would have lots of free time, but it doesn't seem to work like that.
Regards
Brian

 

Gentleman, let the slow proces of modifying begin

Added a charge point, if I fly to work I asked my wife to charge my Victory & Imperiale & merc320S battery's every weekend, untill all lights are green and "off" them again for week days

Before deleting the plastic mudflaps & plastic indicators

After deleting all the plastic, I cut the bag rack shorter for now ...

End result...... Looks wrather clean I think

The bag rack or protection I cannot delete yet coz I need M8 spacers, ordered them online , bloody expensive including shipping

Number plate bracket I still need a M12 x 50 mm long nut, then that is completed also ...