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. It was a mini Ducati 900SS for the price of a 750 Bonneville which many more of us bought. I haven’t seen a Morini since those days, but like so many modern classics, the ‘Fre’n’arf’ is supposed to be back one of these days, looks even better and probably runs a lot better too.

Chinese owned and manufactured since 2018, but designed and developed in Milan, out 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 or more suited to a pair of trail shoes. In the US they’re calling it Vettore. Better. Why not just call it X-Cape 450, or even X-Cape 4½ to go with the X-Cape 700 and 1200 twins? In the UK it’ll cost just just £5300 for the up-spec, all-heated version of the ‘All-Trike’.

Underneath, it’s a CF Moto 450MT
Look closely and you’ll see it’s actually based on the CF Moto 450 MT (left) which I ran from new a couple of years ago and liked very much. The wheels are the same spoked tubeless (overlooked in official specs). The 6-speed, 270° CF Moto motor is the same – another big plus, especially if they’ve ironed out the CF’s slightly annoying low-speed fuelling glitch. I’d also guess the frame, pipe, JJ brakes and KYB suspension are the same too. With such proven tech and engineering, that’s all a good thing which will help the Morini hit the ground in third.
I got a little excited when I saw the weight of 170kg listed and then parroted around. Digging deeper reveals a more realistic 190kg dry. By the time you brim the 18.5-litre tank, that’ll be 204kg wet, 7kg more than my old CB500X, and not far off an XT700. I wish CF or Morini or anyone had been bold to design a pannier tank, like the KTM 790/890. Nearly 20 litres is a lot of weight up high.

Morini Alltrhike / Vettore 450 vs CF Moto 450MT Ibex

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

Alltrhike is not a catchy name
Heavier than the already top-heavy CF
Screen pivots forward and back, not up and down
Not bad looking but 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 BMW F450GS. The BMW may end up a lot more than even the base £7000, but if the wet weight of 178kg including 14 litres is to be believed, that’s 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	Honda NX500 471cc, E-Clutch 2026
Price new UK	£5300	£5700	£7000	£7000
Dry/wet weight	190/204kg	183/195kg *verified	167/178kg	187/199kg
Seat height	33″/840mm adj	32.5″/825mm *adj	33″/840mm adj	32.7″/830mm adj
Tank volume	18.5L	17.5L *	14L	17.5L
Engine / power	P-twin 270° 44hp	Same	P-twin 135° 48hp	P-twin 180° 47hp
Service intervals	6000km	4500km	10,000km	12,800km
Pairable nav	Yes	No	Yes?	Yes
Adj seat and screen	Yes	Yes	Option?	No
Connectivity	USB	USB and USB-C	USB-C	Option
Centre stand	Yes	Option	Option?	Option
Wheels	18/21 spoked tubeless	Same	17/19 cast tubeless	17/19 cast tubeless
Suspension	USD KYB 41mm/ 208mm, fully adj Rear KYB 190mm, preload and rebound	Same	Fully adj, USD 43mm and rear. 180mm F&R	USD 41mm, shock preload only. 133/119mm F&R
Brakes	Disc F&R (rear ABS switchable)	Same	Brembo / ByBre Disc F&R with ABS	Dual front discs ABS