I can’t stress this enough, but the middleweight segment’s clearly where it’s at right now. It doesn’t matter whether you’re into sportbikes, naked bikes, adventure bikes, or sport-tourers, nearly all manufacturers have been setting the 650cc to 900cc class on fire.
And while nearly all manufacturers have been focusing on punchy parallel-twin engines, there are a few that continue to break the mold. More specifically, they’re rocking V-twin engines instead of the now-ubiquitous P-twin. I am, of course, talking about Ducati and its groundbreaking new V2 engine which is lighter and more performance-oriented than ever before.
But what if you can’t afford a new Ducati Streetfighter V2 or even a Ducati Monster, but you really, really wanted a 90-degree V-Twin-powered naked sportbike? Oh, and maybe you’re finding the Suzuki SV650 to be a bit too vanilla and want something that boasts Italian styling, too. Well, perhaps the new Moto Morini Corsaro might be the bike for you.
Now, this thing made its debut at EICMA, but it’s by no means a brand-new model. Those of you familiar with the brand might have come to know the Corsaro nameplate as a powerful, 1,200cc, V-Twin muscle bike—something like a weird, alien-like Ducati Monster 1200. Well, that bike is gone, and in its latest reincarnation, the Corsaro takes the form of an angular and athletic naked streetfighter.
Clearly, bulky and swole is out, and lean and cut is in.
Instead of reworking the 1,200cc V-Twin, Moto Morini has stuffed a new, smaller engine into the Corsaro. It’s now rocking a 750cc, 90-degree V-Twin with 96 horsepower on tap. It also comes in a restricted 48-horsepower version suitable for younger A2 license holders.
The engine is housed in a lightweight aluminum frame paired to an aluminum rear frame and steel subframe. It’s all pretty promising as Moto Morini claims a wet weight of less than 200 kilograms, too.
Clearly, given the fact that Moto Morini chose none other than EICMA to unveil the all-new Corsaro, it has intentions of introducing it to the global market. Remember, although Moto Morini is an Italian brand, it’s owned by the Zhongneng group, a Chinese motorcycle manufacturing conglomerate, and so it certainly has the production capabilities to satisfy the demand of the global market, not to mention, price its bikes incredibly competitively.
And while the Corsaro looks thoroughly promising on paper, whether or not it stacks up in the real world is a whole different story. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Source: Moto Morini
