New Italian V-twins

MotoMorini has used the Bologna Motorshow to officially launch its long awaited new bikes.

The 9 ½ and the Corsaro 1200 have been on the cards since the company relaunched a year ago but this is the first time we have seen them as finished bikes.

The two naked bikes are both based around the same v-twin engine design but the 9 ½ gets a shorter stroke to limit the capacity to 998cc while the Corsaro gets the full 1200cc that the design is capable of.

The 9 ½ has been developed as homage to the classic 70s 3 ½ but follows the lines of the modern naked bike with high and wide bars and an underseat pipe.

The Corsaro is a much more aggressive looking bike than the 9 ½ and gets twin underseat pipes as well as a double headlight.

Both bikes hang the engine from a trellis frame with the Corsaro putting out 140bhp at 8500rpm and the 9 ½ managing a respectable 105bhp at 9000rpm.

The designers have tried to make the 9 ½ appeal to as wider audience as possible, combining sporty performance with a comfortable seat and riding position. But the Corsaro goes for the all out naked sport market with a split level sports bike style seat unit and aggressively sculpted tank designed to make moving around on the bike much easier.

Both bikes are expected to be available by the middle of next year with the 9 ½ costing around £7500 and the Corsaro pitched at £8250.

Get full details of both these bikes and all the news from the Bologna show in next week’s MCN, out December 8.