Dancing the Polka

It’s pretty unlikely that I’d ever buy one of these. I’d say it’s equally as unlikely that I’ll ever see one being ridden in the wild. But I’m fascinated by it nonetheless. 

This is the Benda NapoleonBob 500, a 476cc liquid-cooled V-twin motorcycle that’s set to arrive in the United Kingdom late this summer. 

Looking like an AI-created mix-up of the Triumph Bonneville Bobber and Harley-Davidson‘s weird ‘plastic engine’ aesthetic that it uses on modern Sportsters and the Pan America line-up, the bike claims to deliver a peak power output of roughly 47 hp and 31 lb-ft of torque.

Benda is a Chinese outfit and, as with a lot of Chinese manufacturers, it’s kind of difficult to unpick its full story. This is an element of Chinese bikes that puts me off. Chinese manufacturers are often so loose with their IP that they damage the veritas of their product – allowing their bikes to be sold under so many names or tied-in with so many other brands that nothing seems authentic or real. 

To me, it all feels fly-by-night, like buying a motorcycle from a high street pop-up shop.

If you don’t live in the UK, there is a weird phenomenon here where a shop will suddenly exist in a hitherto abandoned storefront in a way that makes you wonder if the people running it actually have permission to be using said abandoned storefront. These shops sell a mishmash of no-name electronics, perfume, phone covers, vaping accessories, and jewelry that looks fake even from 10 meters away. Everything is stacked on fold-away tables, signage is handwritten, and just as the shop appeared overnight it will disappear as quickly. Usually, the whole thing comes and goes within the space of two or three days. It feels like a fencing operation for stolen goods, and an excellent way to hand your credit card details to low-level criminals.

Anyhoo, as best I can work out, Benda is the motorcycling (or possibly overall motoring) wing of Hangzhou Saturn Power Technology Co., Ltd. Which is based – as you might have guessed – in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province, on the eastern coast of China. Hangzhou Saturn Power Technology Co., Ltd. has been around since 2016. I’m not sure how long Benda’s been operating.

In some sort of way that is not entirely clear, Benda is connected to Keeway, the company that is partnering with Harley-Davidson on its only-available-in-China X350 and X500 motorcycles. Keeway is also known as QJMotor and is owned by Qianjiang Motorcycle Group. Which is the same manufacturer that owns Benelli. 

Benda and Keeway are both based in Zhejiang province. Beyond that, I don’t really know the nature of their connection but for the fact that in the UK, Benda motorcycles are being sold via Keeway’s website – along with bikes from Benelli and Morbidelli. The latter of which, incidentally, is what initially led me down this rabbit hole. I was interested in finding information about the T1002V, a 997cc V-twin that looks like the product of a one-night stand between a Triumph Tiger 1200 and a Honda Crosstourer.

But then I found this thing, and it intrigued me more.

Searching the interwebs, the NapoleonBob 500 has existed for at least a year in China (and maybe some other places?) as the NapoleonBob 450. The Chinese moto-vlogger Dizimini does some stuff in English, and in his review of the model he observes that it gets outgunned by pretty much every other bike in its class.

But I don’t suppose that matters in Western markets. You don’t buy a 500 for speed. Especially not a cruiser-styled 500. I’d think that most people considering a cruiser- or modern classic-styled 500 are interested in owning a bike that looks good but doesn’t cost a lot. 

At £5,699, the NapoleonBob 500 is relatively low-priced. Although, it’s worth pointing out that it costs the same as a Honda CMX500 Rebel. That would be a deal killer for me. The Benda looks cooler (in a quirky, ‘may not appeal to everyone’ sort of way) but it lacks the performance, known quality, and dealership network of the Honda. In fact, I’m not entirely sure there are any physical Benda dealerships in the UK. It appears that if you want to buy this bike you’ll need to do so online.

Also, where does that name come from? Why Napoleon? What weird AI-driven market research belched that name out as a suggestion?

One aspect going in the Benda’s favor, however: belt drive.