Moto Morini Corsaro 1200
First UK test
After staff members at 3X motorcycles, two members of the MRC were the first to ride the new Corsaro in the UK. Download a PDF document to find out what they thought.
Pre-production road tests - Riding impressions
TWO WHEELS ONLY - October 2005
The Corsaro feels aggressive from the moment you climb aboard its fairly tall seat and slightly leant forward riding position. The big V-twin spins up quickly at the touch of the throttle, and rumbles through its pair of big, high-level conical
silencers. During the launch on the roads around Bologna there was never any chance of mistaking the Corsaro for a laid
back roadster. This is a mean naked machine that kicks out 90.7lb.ft of torque - well up on rivals such as MV's Brutale 910.
There's smooth low-end power, heaps of midrange, and a thunderous top-end charge that has you hanging on tight as the bike
rips towards the horizon and a top whack approaching 160mph. The solidly mounted motor is reasonably smooth too,
though there is some tingling through the footrests approaching the 9500rpm redline.
The riding position means wind blast becomes a pain at three-figure speeds but at least the screen gives some protection.
Predictably for such a new bike, there were a few glitches. Snatchy low-rev power delivery was one, caused by imprecise
mapping of the Marelli based fuel-injection system. Veteran chief engineer Franco Lambertini insisted it would be sorted
before production begins in a month or so's time. The gearboxes of the two low-mileage Corsaros I rode were slighly notchy
and gave trouble finding neutral, although other bikes were fine. Could be that the boxes will loosen with use.
Handling was as good as you would expect of a bike that weighs a respectably light 198kg dry. Steering was precise and
neutral rather than super-sharp, but those wide bars give enough leverage to get the Pirate-bike tacking rapidly from side
to side.
Throwing out the anchor had the desired effect too. The four-pot Brembo set-up had plenty of power and feel.
Suspension at both ends was on the firm side and very well damped, with plenty of scope for tuning.
Most other details were excellent; neat multi-function instrument panel, wide spaced mirrors, decent switchgear
and span-adjustable levers. Paint finish, in either black or red with silver, looks good. Less impressive were the
mediocre steering lock, and the high and thinly padded pillion seat. Then again, the Corsaro is a sporty bike that is
intended mainly for the rider only. A more comfortably appointed dual-seater will be added as Morini work towards a
five-model range in a few years time.
Impressed by Moto Morini's comeback machine, but expecting a sky-high price tag? Be prepared for a pleasant surprise;
the Corsaro is likely to cost under £8500. At that price it will be a serious rival provided Morini sort out the
pre-production glitches.
Verdict - Morini has done a great job getting a bike into production in two years. With minor faults sorted it should be a promising start.
SUPERBIKE - October 2005
We left the small, neat Moto Morini factory, cocooned in a throaty V-twin roar, like some well-heeled bike gang. But
at the first traffic light, three or four bikes stalled at the lights, and the idiosyncratic starter system left us stuck
there like a CBT group on its first lesson, surrounded by hooting Italians, unable to get moving again. Eventually all
the bikes sputtered into life, and we were off, following Rudy, the rapid Morini test rider.
The first few miles of any new bike ride tells you a lot - particularly about the engine performance. And it's mostly good
news from the Corsaro. Sure, the stalling and poor starting is a faff, and the fuelling just off idle isn't really sorted yet.
But get past 3500 rpm, and the thing just takes off, roaring towards the hard rev limiter at 9500 rpm. The power delivery is
pretty abrupt, but that's more a function of the engine's strength than anything else. Pulling out of dead slow hairpin bends
needs a careful hand, and even a dip of the clutch in first gear, just to smooth your progression. But I've not ridden anything
that allows you to take the piss so easily, lifting the front wheel on the way out of a corner, then hauling it upright onto
the straight. Massive pulses of torque lift the front wheel in first like a hairy old 500cc two-stroke motocrosser. Even second
gear is power wheelie territory with a flick of the wrist, and while it's not as natural a wheelie bike as Triumph's Speed Triple,
it'll still have you popping ever-improving monos every time you ride it.
The irresistible urge of the 1187cc V twin becomes more addictive the further we ride. Indeed, at times, it's almost too strong
for the narrow mountain roads we're on. A nanosecond's wandering concentration has you arriving at a bend 20mph too quick, and
hauling desperately on the brake levers, then the bars to get round yet another tight bend.
The rest of the bike is your ally here though. That fearsome engine is housed in a pretty friendly chassis - a simple steel tube trellis frame with aluminium swingarm, monoshock rear suspension and upside down forks. If you think that sounds like Ducati's Monster or Cagiva's Raptor then you're right - the Corsaro follows a tried and tested Italian roadster design. From the comfy seat, you reach forward to wide, classy aluminium handlebars, and down to neat rearset footpegs. That riding position is slightly forward, and you are given a good commanding spot to direct proceedings. The steering is pretty quick and direct, as it should be on an unfaired roadster, but on long sweeping bends later in the day, it also manages to feel very stable indeed; a neat trick when you can manage it.
Ground clearance was a bit of an issue on these pre-production bikes, where a wrongly-sized header pipe grounds out early on
the right (this will be fixed on production models). On the left hand side things were better, but the sidestand does drag when
you get it right over.
The suspension feels a bit weird at first, like there's a mismatch between the springs and damping. There's a hint of harshness
over bumps on the road, together with a rather soft feeling. But as the day wore on and I got into the Corsaro groove, I actually quite liked it - the softness doesn't translate into vagueness, and on smoother surfaces, the wheel control is more than adequate for a naked roadster. Even when accelerating hard in second gear, with the front Diablo skipping over the road, the suspension absorbs the shocks, keeps the tyre planted, and basically helps you keep it all together.
Morini engineers told us they chose conventionally mounted Brembo four-piston calipers over radial-mount parts because they didn't want aggressive, super-powerful race-style brakes. And at first when I sampled the awesome power of the motor, I questioned their wisdom - this is an aggressive super-powerful engine. But, again, by lunch time I was won over by the power, progression and feel of the classic sporting setup.
So, the new Corsaro has a great, strong engine, a taut chassis, good brakes and it even looks pretty decent. Perfect eh? Well, no. These pre-production bikes had a few problems. We've mentioned the poor fuelling low-down, the rubbish starting, and the supply problems with the exhausts. Magneti Marelli is working on new fuelling maps and Termignoni has corrected the production problem with the rear cylinder's header pipe.
In addition, two bikes broke down (out of ten) on our ride. A Swiss journalist reckoned his motor broke something solid inside, but when my bike went onto one cylinder later in the day, It didn't sound so bad. Engineers later reported a fouled spark plug on my bike - down to the poor fuelling again, which was also creating black puffs of smoke from the exhausts, and giving the bikes a healthy thirst for fuel too.
The Final Analysis - The Corsaro is a great start for the new firm, with a superb engine and sound chassis. But Morini needs to nail down build quality and finish issues to match the bike's massive potential.
Telegraph 06/08/05
..Sadly, for all this the press launch was no different from countless others from resurrected marques. Only weeks ago we wrote about the Bimota DB5, a V-twin Italian sports bike from a resuscitated brand, which would have been fine if it had been finished. And now we have the new Morini Corsaro, a V-twin Italian sports bike that will probably be fine when they finish it...
The presentation was marked by the constant churning of starter motors desperately heaving 1,200cc twins back into reluctant life as they refused to idle with any dependability. The bikes will get better, says Morini, but the fuel-injection mapping isn't finished yet.
Or was that Bimota? Engines in two of the nine bikes on the test also failed to finish the day, which wasn't encouraging. Engineers claimed the mapping would be fully sorted by the time the bike went on sale, which is about now in Italy, but what else would you expect them to say?
This is such a shame because in other respects the motor is one of the most exciting, muscular engines of any format I've ridden for many years. In fact it's violently punchy in the lower rev range, to the point where on a cold, wet British road the bike will be difficult to ride, and it makes the case for those manufacturers that tame the torque and power delivery of their motors in the lower gears to make them easier to live with. Lord knows what Triumph's 2.3-litre Rocket 3 must be like without the engine management's softening program if a mere 1200cc V-twin can be so intimidating.
Having said that, on the dry and twisty roads to the south of Bologna the Corsaro 1200 was an absolute blast (once you got it started). Despite the aggressive force of the engine at low and medium revs, it also revs hard to its 9,500rpm red line, and the fuelling is fine once it's spinning too. So it explodes out of corners (but beware of losing rear grip altogether) then flies down the straights with a compelling bellow from the high-rise exhausts.
The handling is better sorted than the engine, with excellent stability at speed and even under hard (very, very hard) acceleration with the front tyre skimming the road (which it often does). The bike turns quickly and accurately, with firmly sprung suspension that stays in control on all types of surface. But for a wide turning circle, it also handles confidently in town. If you can keep the motor running, that is...
Most of the detailing is convincing, with a neat multifunction instrument display, mirrors that work well and a high-quality finish overall, although the exhaust pipes scrape the road hard and early in fast cornering - more work in progress, apparently.
It's a good-looking bike and should retail for about £8,000, but even Morini's engineers admit they'll still be developing it for another six months (after it's gone on sale!), so I'd suggest waiting until next year to see what it's really like. No UK importer has been announced yet and Morini is concentrating on Italian and German sales anyway, so let those customers help develop it and hope that it's properly sorted when it does arrive here.
Because if Morini fulfils its promises, the Corsaro will be the best bike in the class.
