Rennie Scaysbrook | August 31, 2023
One of the original Italian giants of two-wheeled production, Milan’s Moto Morini, is back and ready to play in one of the most competitive segments in modern motorcycling.
Light ’er up! Tall and long, the X-Cape’s off-road capability is one of its many surprises.
Photography by Ryan Nitzen
I’m in a car coming back from a lovely seaside dinner on the Sicilian coast. It’s dark, what little streetlights there are illuminating the road are vastly outgunned by the four-wheeler’s copious light beams, and then this red flash rips past us at god knows what speed and into one of the waiting alleyways.
I ask my guide just what it was that scared all of us half to death.
“Oh, it’s just another guy thinking he’s Valentino on one of those Moto Morinis,” he says. “Those things are everywhere. People here don’t have much money, and they can afford them, so you see about 15 of them to every Ducati here.”
The thing I take away from what he just said is the affordability. Bikes these days are getting more expensive by the minute, and if some kid in the back alleys of Sicily can afford one, surely, they can’t be that bad?
At $8299, the 649cc parallel-twin, 60 hp/39 lb-ft Moto Morini X-Cape is nearly four grand cheaper than its nearest competitor in terms of engine spec in the Aprilia Tuareg 660, and a bit over $2k less than a Yamaha Tenere 700. Score two for Moto Morini.
This has to be one of the best-looking ADV bikes on the market today. Its price makes it look even better.
Fast forward six weeks, and I’ve now got that exact machine underneath me as Ryan and I spend our morning snapping photos in the canyon separating Orange County from the Inland Empire. This is a full-size ADV machine that doesn’t have the intimidation factor many bikes north of 800cc have by design, even though its seat height is up there at 32.3 inches.
The X-Cape is a handsome machine. The red and black bodywork’s sharp angles are a departure from the swooping curves of many modern ADV machines, its tall 4.8-gallon gas tank drooping back into a short but comfortable seat unit that marries to a pointy back end equipped with thick passenger hand-grab handles and all the bits needed to fit the aftermarket side cases.
Pirelli STR rubber comes standard on the X-Cape.
There are backlit switches, LED lights that look a little mean, a massive seven-inch TFT dash with full Bluetooth capability, and a screen that thankfully can be adjusted on the fly, even if it’s a little short for my 6’1” frame.
The ride is controlled by chunky, fully adjustable 50mm Marzocchi forks and a rebound and preload-adjustable KYB shock, although the brakes leave a little to be desired in the twin-piston Brembo calipers and small 298mm discs. Pirelli’s Scorpion Rally STR rubber completes the package, so off-road trails will be at least as much fun as those of the blacktop.
The seven-inch TFT dash is an excellent piece, well laid out with all the information you need and nothing you don’t.
The backlit function of the switches is nice but their appearance is a little cheap.
Moto Morini was founded two years before the start of the Second World War in 1937 and was a mainstay in the European motorcycling scene for generations. But, like many of the names of the time, it failed to make an impact outside its homeland and gradually fell from the riding consciousness until, in 2018, the Chinese came calling.
The Zhongneng Vehicle Group may not mean much to Americans, but they’re a big deal in the Far East. Zhongneng was created as an offshoot of the Donghai Machinery Factory, a company then known for producing fridges and household appliances starting in 1988. Electric bicycles soon followed, and by 2002, the company opened a 42,000-square-meter production plant for light motorcycles. That was the real beginning of the Zhongneng motorcycle journey, and with the rapid expansion of the small two-wheeled segment, and after witnessing the success of compatriot Qianjiang’s acquisition of Benelli in 2005, Zhongneng took the plunge in 2010 and purchased Moto Morini for the bargain price of $10 million after the company went into voluntary liquidation in 2009, but with the promise that the majority of the design and production remained in Trivolzio, Italy.
Gotta love those lines. The bodywork matches up nicely and the seat is plenty comfy for long-ish days on the road.
Since then, Moto Morini has been on the slow, gradual return to prosperity. Chinese manufacturing money can do wonders these days as the world hankers after inexpensive but good-looking transportation, and Moto Morini seems to be grabbing that baton with both hands. Currently, there are three bikes on sale in America—the X-Cape, the Seiemmezzo STR naked bike and the Seiemmezzo SCR scrambler, all powered by the same 650 twin. Those with a mechanical feeling might think this engine a tad familiar, and you’d be right. This is the previous-generation Kawasaki Ninja 650 motor, the rights of which were acquired for use by Zhongneng to be mass-produced.
As such, the X-Cape has a robust feeling when you twist the throttle. There’s an on- and off-road mode within the ECU that also changes the traction control algorithm, but at 60 horsepower, it’s not going to scare too many of you. Instead, what you get is a nicely balanced throttle response, with the best performance reached between 5000-8000 rpm. That’s a nice spread of performance for off-road conditions, enabling you to leave it in third and fourth gear and cruise between 40-60 mph and still have enough on tap to wick it up sideways on the dirt.
What you lookin’ at?
It also makes for quite a nice touring machine. Click it up to sixth gear, hit the road and the lack of vibes from what is admittedly an older engine design gives a nice, smooth ride, and you quickly forget about the lack of a quickshifter for the six-speed gearbox.
The ride position lends itself to long days in the saddle, and the seat doesn’t get overly hard after 45 minutes on board. This is a bigger boon than you’d expect for a bike of this price, as many more expensive bikes can feel like you’re sitting on a plank after that time.
Those chunky 50mm Marzocchi forks handle just about everything well enough, although the top of the stroke does have a little harshness to it. You can tune this out by backing off the compression damping a touch, but they are set up for both on- and off-road conditions, and Moto Morini has done well to reach the right compromise.
On-road comfort is superb although the taller accessory screen would be a one of the first things we’d fit.
The brakes, however, are the weak point. The performance of those two-piston calipers is below that of the rest of the machine, and although you’re not going to ram up the back of the car in front of you due to a lack of stopping power, the feel at the lever is vague and doesn’t inspire the confidence I’d have liked.
This is no doubt one of the reasons the X-Cape costs what it does, cost savings need to be made in manufacturing if you’re going to have some dollars back in your pocket, but the brakes would be my first port of call for an upgrade should an X-Cape permanently land in my garage.
That motor has Kawasaki genes but is now purely Chinese.
Those issues aside, the X-Cape is a very impressive machine for the price. The amenities like the seven-inch TFT dash that has the ability to run your phone and have maps displayed is something missing from the more expensive Yamaha Tenere (the rev-counter changes from a street tire to an off-road tire when you change the modes); the USB charging port, and the impressive aftermarket accessory catalog—that includes hard luggage, skid plates, crash bars and a lower seat—make for excellent value for money.
It’s nice when you get surprises in modern motorcycling because they don’t happen very often, even less when the surprise looks and performs this well. CN
2023 Moto Morini X-Cape Specifications
| MSRP: |
$8299 |
| Engine: |
Inline parallel-twin |
| Valvetrain: |
8-valve, DOHC, |
| Cooling System: |
Liquid |
| Displacement: |
649cc |
| Bore x stroke: |
83 x 60mm |
| Fuel injection: |
Bosch EFI |
| Compression ratio: |
11.3:1 |
| Exhaust: |
2-1 |
| Transmission: |
6-speed |
| Clutch: |
Wet, multi-plate, slip and assist |
| Electronics: |
Two Riding Modes, ABS, Traction Control |
| Chassis: |
Tubular steel |
| Front suspension: |
50mm Marzocchi fork, fully adjustable |
| Rear suspension: |
KYB monoshock, rebound and preload adjustable |
| Front brake: |
Twin 298mm discs, Brembo 2-piston calipers |
| Rear brake: |
Single 220mm disc, Brembo single-piston caliper |
| Front tire: |
Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR 110/80-19M/C |
| Rear tire: |
Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR, 150/70-17M/C |
| Rake: |
25° |
| Wheelbase: |
57.8 in. |
| Seat height: |
32.2-33.2 in. |
| Fuel capacity: |
4.7 gal. |
| Weight (dry): |
470 lbs. |
