[TusharK]

Italian bikemaker Moto Morini has partnered with Adishwar Auto Ride India (AARI) to enter the Indian market.



Moto Morini’s product portfolio includes the X-Cape ADV and the Seiemmezzo roadster. The latter is offered in two variants – STR and SCR.

Both bikes are powered by a 649cc, parallel-twin engine sourced from CF Moto. This engine makes 60 BHP and 56 Nm in the X-Cape and 59 BHP and 54 Nm in the Seiemmezzo.



Both the X-Cape and Seiemmezzo come equipped with 298 mm dual discs at the front and a single 255 mm disc at the rear along with switchable Bosch ABS.

Moto Morini was founded by Alfonso Morini in 1937. The brand is currently owned by China-based Zhongneng Vehicle Group.

Link to Team-BHP News

[srini1785]

Moto Morini and Moto Guzzi are two of the most iconic Italian brands after Ducati. Their brand name would definitely help in indian markets.

Only just don't mention this :

The brand is currently owned by China-based Zhongneng Vehicle Group.

Hope they don't bring some rebranded Chinese motorcycle as Moto Morini.

[lordrayden]

Originally Posted by TusharK

The brand is currently owned by China-based Zhongneng Vehicle Group.

The link on Moto Morini's website which is supposed to contain the press release of this this acquisition is nowhere to be found. I wonder why .
http://motomorini.eu/en/zhongneng-ve...to-morini-srl/

The page is archived here, loads extremely slowly though:
https://web.archive.org/web/20191107...to-morini-srl/

[bf1983]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Moto Morini and Moto Guzzi are two of the most iconic Italian brands after Ducati. Their brand name would definitely help in indian markets.

Only just don't mention this :


Hope they don't bring some rebranded Chinese motorcycle as Moto Morini.

It's not rebranded but the X-Cape they are launching in India has a CF Moto sourced 650cc parallel twin. Moto Morini have traditionally had V twin engines. So this parallel twin is totally against the type of engines used by Moto Morini in the past. Even the design language doesn't seem to translate well under the new ownership. You can see the last ADV built by Moto Morini and the current new one don't seem to share any real common design language.

[nitro.1000bhp]

The CF moto 650 is based on the ninja 650 engine so reliability isn't a big concern. But most reviews abroad complain about the 5k km service interval ! That's a big bummer but I wonder why it's so short considering most modern engines that run synthetic oil have atleast 10k km intervals. Are they still running mineral oil? Could be the case me thinks.

Overall if reliability is on par with the Japs then this could be a good contender for a middle weight adv bike. Decent ground clearance and spoke wheels means it's better than the versys off-road, on paper atleast. 60hp is adequate too. Let's hope they don't price it out of contention.

[bf1983]

Originally Posted by nitro.1000bhp

The CF moto 650 is based on the ninja 650 engine so reliability isn't a big concern. But most reviews abroad complain about the 5k km service interval ! That's a big bummer but I wonder why it's so short considering most modern engines that run synthetic oil have at least 10k km intervals. Are they still running mineral oil? Could be the case me thinks.

Overall if reliability is on par with the Japs then this could be a good contender for a middle weight adv bike. Decent ground clearance and spoke wheels means it's better than the versys off-road, on paper atleast. 60hp is adequate too. Let's hope they don't price it out of contention.

So the Ninja 650 engine also has a relatively short 6 month/6000 km interval which is true for even the Versys 650 which is designed for long distance touring. One reason for this is because the engine takes just 1.8l of oil which is relatively low. The Trident 660 in comparison takes almost double the amount of oil of around 3.2l of oil and that bike has a much longer service interval (16k kms or 12 month interval).

The recommended oil is the Liqui Moly fully synthetic oil and now the Kawasaki branded fully synthetic oil so its definitely not recommended to use mineral oil.

[RT13]

Well on paper, the ADVs seem decent, if a little underpowered. The 19 inch front wheel, fully adjustable suspension and spoked wheels in the X version on paper may give it an edge over the thus far undisputed Versys. Designwise I’m a little undecided. They seem interesting but marginally retro futuristic (like how one may have designed concepts for the 2020s in the mid 2000s). Lacks the ‘Italianness’ one would wish for although that’s unsurprising I suppose. Wish they’d slapped a couple of twin domes on the front to imitate their old sister brand Cagiva. Would’ve made a helluva difference imo. Now one just has to buy the Desert X for that ��. Let’s see what weight and pricing are like.

I just really don’t like the looks of the street models at all. Rather downmarket imo. I think they’ll need to price them very aggressively for them to be successful at those power figures.

[nishkamm]

Looks like the Moto Morini bikes will be launched in India soon. The India website is already up and running and display the following four models and can be booked online for Rs.10000

https://www.motomorini-india.com/model/

XCape-650x
XCape-650

Seiemezzo- Scrambler
Seiemezz0- Retro Street

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by RT13

Let’s see what weight and pricing are like.
.

@215 kilos is not Going to be exactly light weight. Possibly the only saving grace is the relatively low seat height of 810mm which should make it reachable for riders.

Having said that, need to see how the product is actually on road when compared to V Strom since the front wheel n dimensions go head to head with the X cape 650x.

Service centres n cost to it will be another parameter. But again with the growing sentiment against Chinese products not sure how this will fly.

[no_fear]

Quite excited to see MM come back. The brand was owned by Cagiva and then by Ducati back in the 90s.

The engine is sourced from CF Moto, but the production and parts will be based in Italy. I am guessing it will come in CKD form to India and then "assembled" locally to keep the price low.

Unlike Benelli - this is not a Chinese bike with an Italian company name, but rather a full fledged Italian bike with a Chinese engine.

The brand has a lot of history and fan following. It is one of those names like Gilera, SWM and FB Mondial, that continue to survive one way or the other.

CF Moto is gaining good traction overseas and a lot of riders actually like the product. It is turning out to be like Hyundai of the 1990s-early 2000s. Time will tell if they can become a major force, but I am happy to see this vaulted names getting a 2nd life thanks to Chinese capital infusion.

[RT13]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

@215 kilos is not Going to be exactly light weight… V Strom since the front wheel n dimensions go head to head with the X cape 650x.

Service centres n cost to it will be another parameter. But again with the growing sentiment against Chinese products not sure how this will fly.

Well it’s a 650 twin. 215 is almost exactly the weight of the V Strom and a shade under the Versys. If one is comfortable with the top heavy Versys with a seat height of 840 +, this should be comparatively excellent to handle even though one gives up a smidge of power. If you get enough low down, this could very well be sweet. Add to that a fully adjustable front fork, preload and rebound adjustment at the back and spoked wheels and that’s a pretty good package depending on the price.

The ASS is definitely more of a factor than it’s provenance IMO. Despite being in the thick of the anti Chinese sentiment, MG has done very well for itself, mostly by just quietly delivering the goods with a very very good ASS experience. We are delighted with our Hector and I think, given the way they continue to ramp up, everyone will agree they’re here to stay. That fear of ‘will they leave’ has definitely dissipated, even going by the comments here on team bhp. Moto Morini will have to similarly demonstrate proper intent with ASS centres so potential takers don’t fear they’ll go the way of the Hyosungs of the world.

Originally Posted by no_fear

Quite excited to see MM come back. The brand was owned by Cagiva and then by Ducati back in the 90s.

The engine is sourced from CF Moto, but the production and parts will be based in Italy. I am guessing it will come in CKD form to India and then "assembled" locally to keep the price low.

The brand has a lot of history and fan following. It is one of those names like Gilera, SWM and FB Mondial, that continue to survive one way or the other.

+1!

Couldn’t agree more. I hope the execution and build quality live up to it. Twin domes would’ve harked back to the Elephant and the upcoming Desert X.

So much heritage there. It irritated the crap out of me to see idiot chapri comments making fun of the name on insta. Oh well, not aimed at them anyway I suppose.

And you’re right about CF Moto - seems to have a growing amount of credibility globally. Too bad they didn’t commit to the rollout here - would’ve really challenged KTM imo.

Looks like one or two peeps have started to get their hands on test ride bikes. And imo looks much better in this pic than the cleaned-up, photoshopped ones we’ve been seeing so far.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by RT13

The ASS is definitely more of a factor than it’s provenance IMO. Despite being in the thick of the anti Chinese sentiment, MG has done very well for itself, mostly by just quietly delivering the goods with a very very good ASS experience.

So much heritage there. It irritated the crap out of me to see idiot chapri comments making fun of the name on insta. Oh well, not aimed at them anyway I suppose.

And you’re right about CF Moto.......

Kudos to this. I appreciate the practicality. We have very poor relations with our big neighbor, but world politics is not my forte, and I leave that decision making and handling to our elected leaders. In a global economy, it is sink or swim. As a consumer, the more choices for us, the better.

I hope models like the Corsaro and Milano can be re-introduced.

I also hope Benelli can be salvaged- as they made some really crazy and fun bikes. The Benelli Tornado and TNT 1130 are bonkers. There is a lot of Benelli bashing, and deservedly so, as the parent company has turned Benelli into a pedestrian Chinese brand with questionable quality control, exorbitant spare part pricing, and poor servicing.

[bf1983]

Originally Posted by RT13

Well it’s a 650 twin. 215 is almost exactly the weight of the V Strom and a shade under the Versys. If one is comfortable with the top heavy Versys with a seat height of 840 +, this should be comparatively excellent to handle even though one gives up a smidge of power. If you get enough low down, this could very well be sweet. Add to that a fully adjustable front fork, preload and rebound adjustment at the back and spoked wheels and that’s a pretty good package depending on the price.

Just to clarify the weight mentioned is the dry weight. The curb weight with 90% fuel is 232 kg so its around 15-20 kgs heavier than the aforementioned bikes. Not a huge amount for sure but still 20 kgs is substantial when you are comparing heavy bikes.

Now all that is left is the pricing. Hopefully it will be closer to 6l ex showroom. If they price it higher it will be a hard task for a relatively unknown brand to compete with the Versys which has a lot better service network, 3rd party accessories and more.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by bf1983

Now all that is left is the pricing. Hopefully it will be closer to 6l ex showroom.

+1 on this. I see the online bike media stating its priced around 6 lacs. The 2023 Versys is aleady 7.4 lacs ex showroom. The Versys is the same model being peddled by Kawasaki for the past 4 years (only updates is the TFT screen and some electro wizardry, correct me if I am wrong). Customers who are bored of Kawasaki's stale stuff can try Morini for a change.

If Aadishwar is bringing the bikes in, service centers will be the Benelli ones. They have a widespread coverage especially in tier 2 / 3 cities. All that remains now is the pricing and execution. Fingers crossed.

[RT13]

Originally Posted by bf1983

Just to clarify the weight mentioned is the dry weight. The curb weight with 90% fuel is 232 kg so its around 15-20 kgs heavier than the aforementioned bikes. Not a huge amount for sure but still 20 kgs is substantial when you are comparing heavy bikes.

Now all that is left is the pricing. Hopefully it will be closer to 6l ex showroom.

To my knowledge the other two also weigh in at 214-216 dry, not wet i.e. unladen. Which means they are all exactly comparable. Indeed a 20 kilo difference would be massive (10% more weight with 10ish% less power is a lot) but that is not the case afaik. I’m nearly 100% sure but happy to be corrected.

Agree on pricing but I don’t know if they’ll be able to achieve that.

Originally Posted by no_fear

+1 on this. I see the online bike media stating its priced around 6 lacs. The 2023 Versys is aleady 7.4 lacs ex showroom. The Versys is the same model being peddled by Kawasaki for the past 4 years (only updates is the TFT screen and some electro wizardry, correct me if I am wrong). Customers who are bored of Kawasaki's stale stuff can try Morini for a change.

Boredom is part of it. It’s top heaviness and height make it less than perfect for traffic and it’s in no way shape or form meant for anything off-road. If the Moto Morini is even in the same ballpark but has the right gear ratios to go with what looks like a very off-road friendly geometry and spec, it could be a compelling alternative IF there’s a reliable ASS (I’m not sure Adishwar inspires confidence). I for one have been in the market for a bit and really can’t seem to find something to meet this bill. The V Strom probably does but I can’t stomach the price. At 12ish in Karnataka, I’d rather pony up an extra 4-5 and look at the GS 850s. Sub 10 there is only the Versys and I’d be delighted to have an alternative which is more versatile.