Benelli
Founded by the six Benelli brothers from Pesaro, Benelli produced its first bike in 1921. The little brother Tonino, put Benelli on people's radar with his wins on a 175cc four-stroke prepared by big brother Giovanni in 1937. Tonino soon retired by the Benelli's racing prowess continued apexing in Dario Ambrosini's victory in the 250cc world championship in 1950. Ambrosini died a year later causing major setbacks for the Italian firm. In the 1960s they returned with a four-cylinder 250cc machine. Italian riders Tarquinio Provini and Renzo Pasolini won many races on it throughout the 1960 but it was the Australian Kel Carruthers who did the best of all, winning the 250cc world championship in 1969.
Track success did not spell success in the showrooms for Benelli which soon sold out to the Argentinian car baron Alejandro de Tomaso. He had hoped the 750 Sei would help to put the Benelli name back on its feet. But neither that nor its 900cc brother could revive the dying brand.
Benneli 750 SEI
Featuring smart styling, Italian racing red colors and the unique draw of its six cylinder engine (highlighted by its glistening chromed exhaust pipes). The Benelli 750 Sei looked set to be an unprecedented success upon it's launch in 1975. However, due it's softly tuned motor which was no faster than Honda's CB750K introduced in 1969, led to it being overshadowed by more powerful superbikes from its rival Italian firms. The Sei wasn't a bad bike, infact it was a very good one but conservative engineering wasn't what people were expecting from a bike of Italian manufacture. The engine which was eerily similar to one and half Honda CB500s was remarkably slender for an inline six, partly due to the three dual-manifold Dell' Orto carburettors, and it made plenty of midrange power. But the peak output of 71bhp gave a meager top speed of 120mph (192kph), and even the Sei's excellent handling, road manners, and braking could not make up for that in the eyes of riders looking for an expensive Italian superbike.