Rennie Scaysbrook | October 6, 2024
Cruisers are American, right? We invented the segment, that’s why we’ve got the best cruisers. But that doesn’t stop others from having a go at it, just like Italian-born Chinese brand Moto Morini.
Nice style, solid performance, and a happy price tag to boot. The Moto Morini Calibro 700 proves you don’t need to spend mega bucks to have a good ride under you.
We tested the excellent X-Cape 650 adventure bike last year and were thoroughly and happily surprised by the ride and build quality for an ADV steed costing under $7K. Moto Morini has now shifted its attention to the cruiser scene and is using an enhanced version of the X-Cape’s 649cc parallel-twin. The new motor is 693cc, offering 68 horsepower and 50 lb-ft of torque.
CFMoto builds that motor, the Chinese concern making all sorts of waves after finally breaking into the North American market recently after dominating much of Asia and having a solid presence in Australia and New Zealand for nearly two decades.
The new Calibro, in base guise as tested here, will set you back $5999, putting it $800 cheaper than its nearest competitor in the Honda Rebel 500, $1900 cheaper than the Kawasaki Vulcan S ABS and an impressive $2900 less pricey than the Yamaha Bolt R-Spec 942. Incidentally, the Moto Morini has more power than all of them.
It also comes with a three-year unlimited-mile warranty (the others have one-year warranties), LED headlights, 18-inch front and 16-inch rear tires, a 28.3-inch seat height, and a maintenance-free belt final drive.
So, on paper, things look pretty rosy for the new kid on the cruiser block.
In the metal, it’s a good-looking little thing. That massive LED headlight, the fork gaiters, nicely upholstered seat and decent quality paintwork all bode well for the Calibro.
The Kawasaki-designed, CFMoto built, Moto Morini-badged 693cc parallel-twin is an excellent little engine that you’d have to try hard to kill.
The ride quality is a mix of great engine but with suspension that leaves a little to be desired. The motor is actually Kawasaki’s previous generation Ninja 650, which is now free of niggling trademark issues, and in 693cc guise it offers excellent performance—especially given that you’re spending less than $6K MSRP before taxes and dealer fees.
There are no riding modes, no variable throttle maps, just a nicely metered response at the twist grip. There’s a reason the Kawasaki twin has been so widely used by so many different manufacturers—it offers solid performance with even greater engineering solidity—so it’s unlikely you’ll ever have mechanical issues with it.
The ride quality from the suspension could certainly be better, but, again, you’re dealing with a bike that costs less than $6K. It’s the light road corrugations that the Calibro struggles to filter out, and I feel this is probably a combination of basic front suspension and the Timsun tires I have absolutely zero experience on.
The front suspension offers 41mm forks with 4.7 inches of wheel travel with no possible adjustment, while the dual shocks will give you 4.0 inches of rear wheel travel and preload adjustment.
If you start to push the Calibro fast, you can almost ride over these issues, but that’s not the aim of a cruiser such as this. At cruiser pace, the Calibro could certainly be improved if Moto Morini were to give higher-grade equipment. But, as we all know, nothing comes for free, and any such move will jack up the Calibro’s very competitive price.
The paintwork on the Calibro is deep and nicely detailed.
The single, twin-piston caliper, clamping a 320mm disc up front and a single-piston caliper biting a 255mm disc at the rear, is adequate for the task as long as you use both brakes simultaneously. The front doesn’t have a lot of bite to it but when combined with the rear, and the Bosch 10.0MB ABS system, the braking performance is decent enough. Again, for the price.
The Calibro 700 is a competitive entry into the hotly contested middleweight cruiser class, but Moto Morini will have an uphill battle to convince buyers to take on a Chinese brand when the Japanese brands have a hard enough time as it is.
However, the ride experience is a good one. Moto Morini will have a new bagger version coming in October for $6799, one that offers some decent luggage capacity as well as a bit of added attitude.CN
VIDEO | 2025 Moto Morini Calibro First Ride
2025 Moto Morini Calibro 700 Specifications
| MSRP |
$5999 |
| Engine |
4-stroke, parallel-twin |
| Displacement |
693cc |
| Fuel injection |
Electronic fuel injection system |
| Transmission |
6-speed |
| Clutch |
Wet, multi-plate, slip and assist |
| Electronics |
ABS, Traction Control |
| Chassis |
Double steel cradle |
| Front suspension |
41mm forks, non-adjustable |
| Rear suspension |
Twin shocks, spring preload adjustable |
| Front tire |
130/70R18 |
| Rear tire |
180/65R16 |
| Wheelbase |
58.6 in. |
| Seat height |
28.3 in. |
| Fuel capacity |
3.9 gal. |
| Weight (dry, claimed) |
440 lbs |
