Moto Morini 1200 Sport and Scrambler push all the retro buttons

 Perhaps inspired by the wave of glowing nostalgia that greeted Ducati’s SportClassic and Triumph’s Scrambler, re-animated Italian brand Moto Morini have tweaked their 1200cc ‘9½’ v-twin roadster into two retro editions, the 1200 Sport and the Scrambler.

Fundamentally, not much is different from the 9½ - the new bikes both get a set of retrosexual twin tapered exhausts on the left hand side, the Sport gets spoked rims and the Scrambler gets a spoked 19″ front rim and runs road-friendly knobblies. Apart from that, these two models are pretty much the 9½ with paint jobs and a plastic condom on the headlight.

That’s no bad thing, though - I was extremely impressed by the 9½ when I tested it last year. The 1200cc CorsaCorta engine is at its most usable and friendly in the 117hp version these new models share, with loads of giggly, smooth power everywhere, and the handling, provided you’re not chasing laptimes, is impeccable. Comfort-wise, the 9½ fits a wide range of riders like a glove, and I see nothing to suggest the Sport and Scrambler will be any different in that regard.

Where the 9½ was possibly a bit lacking was in visual character, especially next to its highly strung supermodel sister, the Corsaro - and the simple retro treatment Morini’s gone for with these two new bikes might just do a Cinderella job in that area, giving a bit of much-needed desirability factor to a bike that’s already superb once you’re sitting on it.

Click on the photos to access high-res versions, they’re gorgeous. Make mine a Scrambler, even if those USD Marzocchi forks don’t leave any room for gaiters!