When it comes to great affordable mid-sized adventure motorcycles, it’s tough to beat a quartet of brands from Japan.
After all, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha all offer good-looking, nicely appointed 649cc to 776cc bikes for $11,000 or less.
That being said, a recently revived Italian-born, Chinese-backed brand would like a word.
It’s called Moto Morini, and its souped-up new X-Cape 700 Gold Edition has much to offer at a price point that should still fall well within the four figures.
Rising from the ashes
So what’s Moto Morini’s deal,, anyway? While the name isn’t as familiar to US moto fans as, say, Ducati or even Moto Guzzi, it boasts nearly as much history.
While those two brands date back to the 1920s, this one was founded by Alfonso Morini in Bologna in 1937.
