RIDING THE MOTO MORINI X-CAPE ADV BIKE: THE WRAP

We’ve had the Moto Morini X-Cape in the shop for a few weeks now. It’s a bike that needs a destination; you can’t just go out on a lunch ride with something like this. It deserves a real adventure, something like a LaPaz run or at least a Backroads Discovery Route. Finally, we broke down and took it for a ride in the San Bernardino Mountains. That might not be what the bike deserves, but that’s what time allows–for now.

If you don’t know what a Moto Morini is, that’s forgivable. It’s an Italian brand that was a very big deal in Europe back in the day, but never had much of a U.S. presence. In the ‘80s, Moto Morini became a part of the Cagiva group along with Husqvarna, Ducati and MV Agusta. Subsequently, it went through a number of ownership changes to eventually end up as part of an Asian investment group called Zhongneng. Now, the company maintains its design headquarters in Milan while manufacturing is in China.

The X-Cape is an entry-level adventure bike, but it’s a beautiful machine. You can tell that the Italians still have significant influence–it wouldn’t look out of place in a Ducati dealership. The price is your first big clue that it’s no Ducati. The X-Cape has a suggested retail price of $8299. Right now there’s a deal for $1000 off (or a free luggage set). That puts the Morini in the same range as a Kawasaki KLR650, and it’s much more of a motorcycle. It has first-rate components; Brembo triple disc brakes, a fully adjustable Marzocchi fork and a KYB shock. The 17/19” wheel combo has spoked rims with double-walls that can accept tubeless tires. The tires themselves are Pirelli Scorpion Rally semi-knobs with excellent off-road capability. The cockpit has a 7-inch tablet as its primary instrument along with two USB ports and an adjustable windscreen. Our bike had an accessory aluminum skid plate.

When you ride the bike off-road it’s a gas. The power is smooth and the Bosch fuel injection is seamless. It’s not the most powerful adventure bike–the motor is a 649cc twin manufactured by CF Moto. It makes about 60 horsepower, which is plenty in the dirt. Right now, the ADV world is full of preposterously powerful motorcycles that need traction control and various ride modes just to be manageable. The X-Cape occupies that middle ground where sophisticated riding aids aren’t especially useful. It still makes enough power to walk away from KLR 650s and Japanese 600cc dual-sport bikes with ease, but it won’t challenge a KTM 690 Enduro or a Husky 701. All of those bikes are singles, of course, and weigh considerably less. In the world of twins, the only two bikes we’ve tested in this range are the Suzuki V-Strom 650 and the Benelli TRK502. The Suzuki has slightly more power than the Morini, which has noticeably more than the Benelli.

Both the Suzuki and the Benelli are much more street oriented than the X-Cape. The Morini reflects some real off-road engineering. The riding position feels natural and the suspension isn’t half bad. It feels pretty cushy at low speeds, although it’s set up a little too soft for a fast pace. It does have a certain range of adjustability–far more than you would expect for a bike in this price range. Overall, it handles surprisingly well. The front end sticks and the rear end slides smoothly and predictably without getting scary.

That’s probably the greatest part about the X-Cape. It doesn’t scare you–physically or financially. The obvious flaw with high-dollar adventure bikes is that you don’t want to push the edge–not with a fat, hungry payment book at home. The X-Cape sells for the price of a 125 motocross bike, so you can afford to get a little loose. We plan on taking the Morini someplace cool in the near future to see how it holds up on the long haul, so stay tuned. The test will appear in the March Buyer’s Guide issue of Dirt Bike.

see you next week!