May I introduce you to my ride? And to the one I will hopefully soon be stepping out on her with.. The heir and the spare, so to speak... I put up pictures of both.

The Tornado Tre and the Naked 1130. purrrrr..... Yes. I do need two. One for the track. Bite your tongue.

If you have a clever little "aww, look, a wee little leprechaun bike for a wee little Irish girl" cracks, put your mouth to better use. I've heard them. All of them. Ha ha and ha. Say it louder, please. At 155 mph it's hard for me to hear your wittiness.

There is nothing "wee" about these beasts. I was leaning towards an MV Augusta (wouldn't have been a bad lean- great bikes) and then nearly swayed after a visit to the Ducati factory in Borgo Panigale last year to slide over that way.... but then I met the Benelli. Oh. My. God. I was in love.

It was a bright and cloudless day. My mood was, as usual, volatile with just a touch of narcissism and an underlying base of genetically encoded guilt. I was moseying to my car when suddenly... god I still smile when I think of it... a Benelli pulled in next to me.

I know a bit about bikes. I even go to bike shows with all the shiny, happy new models. And have always been prone to the Italian stallions. But I had never, ever seen a Benelli.

The gentleman who owned it was kind enough to let me fondle it unabashedly. Had there been a side table, I would have left some money on it when I walked away. I really, really loved that bike.

And it turns out that I'm not the only one who gets hot and bothered around them. Fast forward a bit and now it is my baby who gets manhandled when people see it. It's a truly stunning bike in person and very rare to see on the road. So if you're in the market for something to free your mind and let your soul have a bit of fun, give Benellis a look.

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From the site:
The Benelli Tornado Tre was first seen in 1999, and heralded the revival of the Benelli superbike.

One of the most striking features of the Benelli Tornado is its futuristic design. Including stacked headlights, flush mounted indicatiors, aggressive side panels, and angular seat unit with an under-seat mounted radiator with fans visible from the rear.

Powering the Benelli Tornado Tre is an inline three-cylinder engine producing 140 horsepower. This is mounted in a chrome-moly steel tube and cast aluminium frame.