Imagine this: you’re a die-hard cruiser rider who’s fallen on tough times. You scrounge pennies on the dime to keep riding your $30,000 Harley-Davidson Road King, all while covering life essentials such as rent, taxes, and a generally higher cost of living. Deep in your heart, you’re a die-hard cruiser rider who refuses to embrace the growing crop of middleweight offerings that are now entering the market.
You sulk, whine, and cry online about how the media targets your beloved Harley-Davidson, steadfast in the belief that the bar and shield is still the greatest motorcycle manufacturer in the history of the universe.
Meanwhile, younger folks are enjoying what the industry has to offer, all while spending what you would on gas for a year on a shiny new middleweight machine—a bike you by no means consider a “real motorcycle.” Of course, at the end of it all, the real loser here is you, because hot damn, is the middleweight segment on fire lately. We’ve been seeing all sorts of new entrants into the market, particularly when it comes to cruisers from the likes of Kawasaki, Honda, and CFMoto.
And now, Italian manufacturer Moto Morini stirs the pot even more with its new middleweight cruiser offering dubbed the Calibro. And here’s the kicker: 700cc is all it needs to do cruiser and bagger stuff—who’d a thunk it?
This thing made its global debut at EICMA, and just might be the perfect solution for cruiser riders who want long-distance, highway-munching capability in an approachable and sensible package.
Oh but EJ, nothing can replace the thunderous growl of a Milwaukee Eight striking fear into the hearts of motorists and pedestrians. Sure, but let’s be real, a 1,868cc—oh wait, 144-cubic-inch, coz ‘Murica—air-cooled twin isn’t exactly the most efficient thing out there, and you’d be lucky getting 40 miles to the gallon.
Plus, given today’s uncertain economic and geopolitical times, more and more people are becoming more sensible about their buying decisions, and nowhere is this more evident than in the powersports and motorcycle industries.
And so I’d argue that bikes like the Moto Morini Calibro serve a very important purpose. They’re essentially a huge percentage of what baggers like the Road King are, albeit at a fraction of the cost. You get 80 percent of what the Road King is for a price tag less than half. But of course, this would depend on your perspective.
Of course, having a smaller, more efficient engine means that this thing uses up less oil and drinks much less fuel. So yeah, savings all around.
Now, I’m not saying that the Moto Morini Calibro is superior to the Harley-Davidson Road King. I’m not an idiot, and I know that bikes like the Calibro have their place. They allow people on a budget to experience what big cruiser and bagger owners experience for a fraction of the cost—around 8,000 euros (approx. $8,600 USD), to be precise.
Because let’s be real, who even has $30,000 USD to drop on a fancy toy these days, anyway? Oh wait, you do? Tell me all about it in the comments below.
Source: Moto Morini
