History of Morini

The Morini story

Moto Morini was started in 1937 by Alfonso Morini and based in his home town of Bologna in northern Italy. Initially building three wheeled trucks, after World War 2 they designed and built small capacity 2-stroke motorcycles.  Alfonso was very keen on racing and developed a range of successful racing machines, culminating in the 250GP which was to become the worlds fastest ever quarter litre four-stroke single, capable of almost 140mph and which very nearly won the 1963 World Championship with Provini in the saddle.

After Alfonso’s death in 1969, the business was run by his daughter, Gabriella. Soon after, the engineer Franco Lambertini joined the company and started work on the modular V-Twin engines which powered the legendary 3 1/2. The modular engine design allowed the factory to produce 250cc, 350cc and 500cc versions of the V-Twin and, using the front cylinder only, 125 and 250cc singles. Most of our Club members own one or more of the bikes from this era.  Gabriella decided to sell the family firm to the Cagiva group in 1987. Cagiva installed the now ageing 350 motor into one of their own chassis to produce the Morini Dart. Lambertini worked on a new water cooled 750cc V-twin, but when Cagiva realised this was a better engine than the Ducati 900 (Cagiva owned Ducati at this time), they stopped further development.

Lambertini left the company and Cagiva produced a range of custom-styled bikes before they lost interest in the Morini marque.  In 1996, Morini and Ducati were sold to the Texas Pacific Group. Nothing was heard of Morini for several years until, in 1999, TPG sold the name and manufacturing rights to Franco Morini Motori. Franco is Alfonso’s cousin and he started his own business in 1954 specialising in the manufacture of two and four stroke engines. The links back to Morini’s past continued when Lambertini subsequently joined Franco Morini.

 At the end of 2003, Morini Franco Motori and the Berti family, owners of the Sinudyne brand, announced the re-launch of the Moto Morini name. A new factory was built next to the Morini Franco factory and a range of bikes was announced based on Ing Lambertini’s all-new V twin design. The first of these ‘New’ Morinis was the Corsaro 1200 launched in 2005, followed shortly by the 9 1/2.

2007 saw the Morini family buy out the shares of the Berti brothers, and the subsequent formation of Moto Morini SpA- A brand entirely controlled by the Morini family. New models based around the glorious 1200 engine follow- Granpasso, Sport and Scrambler, and with them Morini’s racing success returns; Frank Zenatello winning the Italian Roadster cup aboard a Corsaro Veloce in 2008 and again in 2009, whilst Hans Leitner rode a Scrambler to a surprise victory in the Streetbike class at the 2009 Erzberg Iron Road Prologue. The Granpasso was also impressing at the same event, Francesco Catania setting good pace before a nasty fall ended his race.
Unfortunately, race success, fantastic bikes and decent press reviews were not enough to secure sufficient sales, and after a year in which the whole Automotive industry suffered globally, Moto Morini were forced into liquidation at the end of 2009. At the end of 2011, Morini enthusiasts the world over were glad to hear of the aquisition of the Moto Morini brand by Eagle Bike, and the wheels at Moto Morini were turning once more.

‘Eagle Bike’ was the name of the company formed by two entrepreneurs, Sandro Captosti and Ruggeromassimo Jannuzzelli, to restart production in 2012 of a reduced Morini range. Over the intervening period the liquidator trustee had stripped the warehouse to build a limited number of Granpasso and Scrambler models. The first new model was the Rebello 1200, a strictly ‘limited edition’ heavily restyled Corsaro with fly screen and electrically adjustable single/dual seat which was shown in 2012.
In 2014 the lease on the factory at Casalecchio ended and production moved to a new site at Trivolzio, Pavia – still the European heart of the Company; in 2015 the Company became wholly owned by the Jannuzzelli family. Initial sales were purely over the internet and production rates of the core models (Corsaro and Granpasso) were low.
New models designed to comply with the revised Euro4 standard were launched to the public at the Salone de Milano in 2016, when the Corsaro ZZ, Super-Scrambler and Milano were presented; a derivative of the ZZ called ZT followed. A UK ‘Country Manager’ – Ben Wylie – was employed in 2017, which led to the sale of the new models from a select range of UK based dealers.
Announced ahead of EICMA in 2018, Moto Morini joined the Chinese Zhongneng Vehicle Group, beginning a new chapter focused on innovation while honouring its’ heritage. In 2021, the highly anticipated 650cc X-CAPE Adventure-Touring motorcycle was launched, immediately meeting with success in Italy and across Europe, making the brand a household name again.
From 2023 the new Moto Morini range, including the SEIEMMEZZO Street and Scrambler 650s, Calibro and Calibro Bobber 700s aimed to widen Morinis’ appeal across new rider segments. From 2022 the bikes had been imported into the UK through Moto Mondo, but this company ceased dealing with the brand at the end of 2025.
At the start of 2026 a new UK importer – Moto73 Ltd (part of the MotoGB Group) – was appointed to handle Morini sales in the UK. As well as the existing models the new Alltrhike 450 and X-Cape 1200* models will be available from Spring 2026.
All of the current machines available in the UK are now visible on the importers’ website; https://motomorini.uk

*[The 1200 uses an updated Evo V-twin engine developed from the Lambertini-designed engine launched in late 2005 with the Corsaro and 9½ shown for the first time at the Salone de Bologna in that year.]