When I ‘started out on my motorcycle journey’ in the 1970s, Morini’s red and black, mag-wheeled, 3½ v-twin (right) was one of the coolest bikes no one rode. A mini Ducati 900SS for the price of a Bonneville which many more of us bought. Like so many modern classics, the ‘Fre an’a arf’ is supposed to be back one of these days and looks even better.

Chinese owned and manufactured since 2018, but designed and tested in Milan, out elsewhere and soon in the UK is Morini’s entry into the optimal 450cc travel bike segment, the Alltrhike 450. What a crippling neologism that looks like a typo more suited to a pair of trail shoes. In the US they’re calling it Vettore. Better. Why they didn’t just call it X-Cape 450, or even X-Cape 4½ to go with the X-Cape 700 P-twin and 1200 V? Costing just just £5300, the UK is getting the all-heated, up-spec version of the ‘All-Trike’

Based on the CF Moto 450
I got a little excited when I saw the weight of 170kg listed then parroted. Sadly, digging a bit deeper reveals a more realistic 190kg dry, so by the time you brim the 18.5-litre tank, that’ll be 204kg wet, not far off an XT700.
Look closely you realise It’s actually a based on the CF Moto 450 (left) which I ran from new a couple of years back and liked very much. The wheels are the same spoked tubeless (unlisted in official specs, despite being a huge asset). The 6-speed, 270° CF Moto motor is the same – a big plus, especially if they’ve ironed out the CF’s low-speed fuelling glitch. I’d also reckon the frame, pipe, JJ brakes and KYB suspension are the same too. That’s all a good thing.

Morini Alltrhike / Vettore 450 vs CF Moto 450 Ibex

Slimmer tank area, despite being larger volume
Snatchy low-speed fuelling sorted?
Rear seat drops down to make a smooth bench seat
Centre stand
Longer service intervals
Lots of heating
Cheaper than CF Moto in UK
Same proven engine and TL wheels
Adjustable bar and even foot pegs

Crap name (outside US)
Heavier than the already top-heavy CF
Screen adjusts forward and back, not up and down
CF Moto looks better

Based on nothing more than online data, below is a comparison table for the Morini Alltrhike / Vettore, CF Moto 450 and the nearly here F450GS. The BMW may end up a lot more than the base £7000, but if the wet weight of 178kg with 14 litres is to be believed, that will be a full jerrican less than the Chinese 450s. And you can be sure in a year there’ll be a F450GS Adventure with a 21-inch front, bigger tank and more suspension travel.

	Morini Alltrhike 450	CF Moto 450 (Ibex)	BMW F450GS (420cc)
Price	£5300	£5700	£7000
Dry weight	190kg	183kg *verified	165kg
Seat height	33″/840mm adj	32.5″/830mm *adj	33″/845mm adj
Tank volume	18.5L	17.5L *	14L
Engine / power	P-twin 270° 44hp	P-twin 270° 42hp	P-twin 135° 48hp
Service intervals	6000km	4500km	10,000km
Integrated nav	Yes	No	Yes?
Adj seat and screen	Yes	Yes	Option?
Connectivity	USB	USB and USB-C	USB-C
Centre stand	Yes	Option	Option?
Wheels	18/21 tubeless	Same	17/19 tubeless
Suspension	USD KYB 41mm/ 208mm, fully adj Rear KYB 190mm, preload and rebound	Same	Fully adj, USD 43mm and rear. 180mm all round
Brakes	Disc F & R (rear ABS switchable)	Same	Brembo / ByBre ABS