The good folks at Moto Morini have built a tasty-looking new scrambler, but you’ll probably never see one in Canada.
Of course, scramblers were all the rage at EICMA last year and the year before, with manufacturers falling over themselves to throw high pipes and knobbies on all sorts of unsuitable street bikes, and proclaiming them offroad-worthy. The skinny-jeans-and-flannel set swooned, but in 2017, the fad seems to be dying out, and some sense seems to be slowly returning as riders realize you can’t just throw wide handlebars on a street bike and expect it to rock in the dirt.
Of course, this isn’t Moto Morini’s first time around the scrambler circuit; in fact, it was building scrambler bikes before everybody else got on board with the current trend, which actually lends the company more hipster cred …
Anyway, for 2018, the machine has got a redesign, with new trellis frame and swingarm, a liquid-cooled 110 hp V-twin, dual-disc brakes up front (with ABS), and 17-inch wheels. Despite the aggressive-looking Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR rubber, the small front wheel indicates the machine isn’t intended for serious use in the dirt.
Want to ride one? You’ll have to book a flight to Europe to try one; nobody is importing Moto Morini to Canada, sadly.
GALLERY
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