Suddenly everyone wants a piece of the mid-weight adventure market. After years when it seemed like monster adventure bikes were the norm, middleweight adventure bikes keep popping up. The latest, debuting at EICMA, is from Moto Morini, a storied Italian brand that never made it big in the United States.

The Trivolzio-based manufacturer surprised us with the X-Cape. The bike is powered by a 650cc, liquid-cooled parallel twin and features a six-speed transmission, beefy 50mm, fully adjustable forks with 160mm (6.3 inches) of travel and a seat height of 32.7 inches, comparable to the KTM 790 Adventure in the low position and at the low end of the adventure market.

It will come with either a “standard” or “limited” engine, the company says. Moto Morini didn’t publish horsepower figures for the standard, but says the “limited” will put out 48 hp. Morini also didn’t post weight for the bike, but from the spec sheet it seems like they are aiming at an accessible, beginner friendly adventure bike instead of a fire-breathing beast.

Not that the X-Cape is short on technology. It comes with dual front disc brakes, full ABS, a 7” Bluetooth-connectable TFT display that Morini says is among the biggest in the market, LED lighting and a large windscreen that’s adjustable with one hand. The bike rides on spoked wheels, 19 inches at the front and 17” at the rear, a combination that address both off- and on-road capabilities.

From a styling perspective, the X-Cape has a strong resemblance to the first-gen Honda Africa Twin, with a pronounced “swoop” from the high fuel tank to the low-ish seat. That means a lower seat height, but makes it tough to move around much. The dual front headlights blend into a fairing that should provide adequate weather protection, and there’s a skid plate, possibly plastic, that covers many of the essentials low on the engine but appears to leave the low-slung exhaust a bit vulnerable.

Founded in 1937, Morini isn’t new to the game. Although the company has been passed around among owners and sporadically out of business, it is still well known in Europe. There the company’s offerings include a naked bike called the Corsaro, a “modern classic” dubbed the Milano, the v-twin powered Super Scrambler, and a larger v-twin powered adventure bike called the Granpasso 1200.

In 2018 Moto Morini was purchased by the Chinese giant Zhongneng Vehicle Group. Production and design remains in Italy, but with an infusion of cash we could see a more global push from the brand. Whether that means Morini’s coming to the U.S. remains to be seen. Would you buy one?

Moto Morini X-Cape Specs

Author: Bob Whitby

Bob has been riding motorcycles since age 19 and working as a journalist since he was 24, which was a long time ago, let’s put it that way. He quit for the better part of a decade to raise a family, then rediscovered adventure, dual sport and enduro riding in the early 2000s. He lives in Arkansas, America’s best-kept secret when it comes to riding destinations, and travels far and wide in search of dirt roads and trails.