Moto Morni 1200 Corsaro Veloce

2008 Moto Morini 1200 Corsaro Veloce



Predatory and purposeful in its look and build the new Moto Morini 1200 Corsaro veloce (in effect the SP version of the existing Corsaro) is a street fighter to be reckoned with. Equipped with all the attributes and necessary equipment to make it a bike you don’t really want to get off.


The newly revived, now wholly family owned factory at Marabese in Italy (which after investment returned into the original family ownership from the Cagiva group in 1999), has drawn on its heritage and produced a thoroughly modern V- twin motorcycle that is such a grin to ride it’s almost painful.

The Corsaro is the 5th new Model in the small but perfectly formed factory line up that once again started production three years ago.

A quick straw poll of bikers I came into contact with over the ‘Corsaro weekend’ either hadn’t heard of Moto Morini at all or only remembered the seemingly legendary 3-Half sport and that was the extent of their knowledge. A case of out of sight out of mind.
Unlike Triumph for instance that is enjoying a remarkable renaissance, Moto Morini only ever made its mark in the minds of the few and though still lovingly remembered by the cognoscenti, their numbers are dwindling and the modern motorcycle audience has grown up without the brand presence over the last 20 years.

It didn’t stop all and sundry admiring the revival though, in fact whilst at a rather large auto jumble that weekend it drew a sizeable audience, attracted no doubt by the purposeful profile but probably more by the exhaust note produced by the under seat mufflers.
3X motorcycles who had supplied the bike thoughtfully equipped their demonstrator with un-baffled Termignoni’s and the accompanying dedicated ECU produced a ‘well proper’ motorcycle noise. This played a large part in my affection for the machine over the weekend, popping and blarting sound across the Romney Marsh area of the Kent countryside.
It wasn’t intrusive (to me anyway), and it really enhanced the delivery from the 1200cc V-twin motor.

The standard items on the standard Corsaro are fat organ pipes of quiet harmony conforming to the usual Euro nonsense and aesthetically in the eye of this beholder detracted from the overall profile.

The Veloce at £9,900 new would have to be worth digging a little deeper into the bank manager’s pocket to gain these performance pipes, not to mention a fine Ohlins rear suspension unit, which replaces the standard Sachs unit, slipper clutch, and Brembo equipment.
If I was looking for a street fighter with bags of character I could easily be cajoled into purchasing this black devil of a motorcycle.



The motor is not just an 1187cc 87 degree V-twin motor it is a Franco Lambertini designed Bialberto Corsacorta motor - Oh Yes!
The POS shamelessly tells us that since Franco left Ferrari in 1970, all the Morini engines are his by design. Well Franco, you are to be congratulated.

The motor is smooth, not at all lumpy in its power delivery, I couldn’t find much vibration to speak of, the power rolled in a steady and increasingly steep wave of pure fun with no glitches in the fuelling, (apparently a common gripe on earlier models).
Peak power is reached at 9,000 revs by which time the chassis suspension and tyres have to cope with 140hp of absolute wanton and hedonistic drive.

What else marks this bike as special? Well, the frame is a steel trellis, hard to find as a production preference outside of Italy, it’s almost a mechanized two wheel national signature piece, the nation as a whole must have the worldwide patents for this design style.
Using the motor as a stressed member and allied to the one piece cast aluminum no frills swing arm the mean black chassis delivers razor sharp handling with a wheelbase and rake that allows pin point aim and sure footedness.

The front forks are Marzocchi units, black, gripped by a muscular triple clamp bottom yoke, fully adjustable for rebound compression and spring rate at 50mm diameter.
I personally think suspension is a bit of a black art, so fiddling with factory settings at one end usually affects the ride at the other, unless you are a guru in this department my view it to leave well alone and rate the factory settings. The factory set up is bloody good, firm but pliant at speed, I had no desire to feck about and fiddle with either the front, or rear Ohlins suspension. It delivered most excellent performance right out of the crate - Its amazing how did they know my weight and the way I was going to ride it?

Naturally the faster you go, the quicker you need to stop.
I have to say I didn’t really test the brakes to a maximum, the engine braking and slipper clutch took care of most of the deceleration, In fact riding pal and fellow UKBike member ‘The Coghurst Boy’ remarked on the lack of illumination from the sculpted rear lens, querying an intermittent fault.
Following on his beautiful KTM Supermotard it was noticeable how little I used the brakes apparently.
We swapped bikes in order to gain a comparison, when we stopped roughly twenty miles down the route, he knew why.
His KTM felt soft and almost sports toury compared with the taut and sharp ride of the Morini.
If called into play though re-assurance was supplied by a pair of 320mm double discs, not equipped with almost de rigeur mono block sports bike oriented calipers but standard four pot Brembo units, (mustn’t grumble)! The skinny brake lines (probably Kevlar re-enforced- couldn’t find the actual spec) probably helped also

Comfortable? The wide bars and upright riding position only became uncomfortable on one part of my body and this was only at speed.
My neck muscles took a bit of a battering but only at speeds I’m not prepared to state in writing.
At average ‘hoon’ velocity it wasn’t an issue. No arse ache, no shoulder ache, no leg ache, in fact nothing but an ergonomically comfortable ride. The engineers must have far-sighted my physique and build and tailored it exactly to what I found comfortable, again uncanny - how do they do it?
I managed to cover just over 650miles in four days and it was a wrench handing the keys back.

View from the cockpit was of the open road, I had to consciously make an effort to check the information displayed on the digi dash and rev counter dial, to be honest on the open road I paid very little attention to any of it.
I don’t need this sort of information when on a mission, I’m usually too wrapped up in the ride to worry about random numbers, preferring feel and the soulful experience over harsh and unerring information that modern technology delivers these days.

Call me vain and over confident but after twenty plus years of virtually continual riding I think I can judge when I’m going too quick for the conditions I’m in without having to refer too much to the plethora of information that is available.
Riding a bike to me is about the visceral experience not about the data!

In town naturally it makes sense to behave revs and speed critical, but the bike behaved perfectly.
I do have a criticism though, the angle of the dash was such that in strong sunlight (much like the Ducati 1098 I rode a few weeks prior) rendered the information hard to see.
My personal view is that all concentration should be focussed on the way ahead, if it takes me a few extra seconds to focus on the wealth of information supplied which is even greater if I want to stab the miniscule mode switch repeatedly, I’ve taken my eye off the road.

Again call me vain, but I was conscious of the brand spanking new tyres fitted before my arrival and the light drizzle I rode away in.
Chicken strips were not an option, I had two days to scrub them in and have the confidence to hold my amateur head up high amongst the vanguard of proper paid up motorcycle journalists who had borrowed and no doubt ridden the wheels off the bike as I had tried to do.
I’m pleased (I suppose you could say smug) that the bike was returned spattered with decimated swarms of Kentish fly and a respectable non shiny surface over the radius of the rear tyre at least.
The Pirelli Diablos were adequate but for the next level, or, an impromptu track day, stickier tyres should be the order of the day. (Quite how much longevity you’d get however is another matter, but power and control and all that memorable marketing stuff, would be realised as a truism on this bike I reckon).

My wallet is empty and the planet is no doubt a few degrees warmer, it’s a thirsty big bore 1200cc motor fed by Magneti Marelli fuel injection and a relatively meagre (for any lengthy journey) tank capacity of 3.9 UK gallons which is just under 18 litres, average tank range about 110 miles for very nearly twenty English pounds.

Frankly though my dears I don’t give a damn about the mpg. The bike was a blast to ride and because I’m restricted to a word count (inevitably breached), I merely implore you to consider this bike in your next purchasing process. Don’t be put off by the relatively obscure name, it comes with a wealth of heritage a three year warranty, bristles with top kit that you’d only have to shell out for extra on a cheaper bike, and has the added kudos of exclusivity. And that absolutely perfect Termignoni aural signature….


Wanna try one? Talk to the top geezers at 3X Motorcycles Italian centre, they can supply in black, red (looks well flash) and |I believe they do a yellow, very similar to the Triumph gold sort of livery.
If you are considering a Ducati Monster (which I believe are in very short supply at present), KTM Duke, Triumph Speed Triple, Buell etc do yourself a favour, don’t buy until you’ve spread your wings on a Moto Morini Corsaro Veloce 1200


Doby Trutcenden 24.7.2008