Moto Morini Seiemmezzo 6 ½ Twins: First Look Review

The Visuals

If the X-Cape 650 commands good road presence, the Seiemmezzo twins, in comparison, feel a bit less imposing. That said, the design feels easy on the eyes and it does grab attention. The styling on both the bikes is largely similar with a round LED headlamp, sculpted fuel tank, and a slender tail section. While the low-set handlebar offers a commanding riding position on the Retro Street, the taller and pulled-back handlebar provides relaxed ergonomics on the Scrambler. What sets the Scrambler apart though are the 19/17-inch cross-spoke tubeless wheels, whereas the Retro Street makes do with 17-inch alloys.

If the X-Cape 650 is tall and daunting, the Seiemmezzo 6 ½ twins are more accessible and inviting. Both motorcycles get an accessible seat height of 795mm, which makes it easier to manoeuvre them in tight parking spots. As mentioned earlier, the seating ergonomics are sporty yet comfortable on the Retro Street, while they are far more relaxed on the Scrambler. In fact, the latter can also be leveraged during mild off-road riding, owing to the wider bars.

Coming to the build quality, both the Seiemmezzo twins provide good fit and finish levels. Even the quality of plastic panels and switchgear is good, and the paint quality isn’t bad either. However, we could hear some rattling noise from the tail section of both motorcycles when revved hard.

The Package

In terms of features, the Seiemmezzo twins get similar equipment levels. The list includes a full-LED lighting setup, a five-inch colour TFT display with Bluetooth connectivity, backlit switchgear, and a 15.5-litre fuel tank. The motorcycles share most of the cycle parts, save for the wheels and tyres.

Both motorcycles ride on 18/17-inch wheels at the front and back. While the Retro Street gets alloy wheels shod on Pirelli Angel GT tyres, the Scrambler features cross-spoke tubeless wheels wrapped on block-pattern tyres. Then, the suspension setup includes preload adjustable 43mm USD forks up front and a mono-shock at the back, again with preload adjustability. The braking setup includes dual 298mm discs at the front and a single 255mm rotor at the rear.

The Ride

The Moto Morini Seiemmezzo 6 ½ twins use a 649cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine, which is coupled to a six-speed gearbox. This is the same motor that powers the X-Cape 650, but it gets a different state of tune here. In these bikes, it makes 55bhp at 8,250rpm and 54Nm at 7,000rpm.

Now, the engine performance is identical on both bikes. The parallel-twin motor offers good low-end grunt, but the meat of the performance is delivered in the mid-range. Acceleration is punchy too, and there’s good poke throughout the mid-range. The motor pulls cleanly all the way towards its redline, however, vibrations creeping in at higher revs play the spoil-sport. What also hampers the overall experience is the heavy clutch, which could be a problem during slow-speed city riding conditions. Having said that, the gearbox offers smooth and precise shifts.

The suspension damping rates are similar as well on both bikes. So, out on the road, the ride quality felt absorbent at low to moderate speeds, but as the speeds increase, the front end starts bouncing as a result of the faster rebound. The rear, on the other hand, kicks back on larger bumps and road undulations. Now, we couldn’t test the high-speed ride owing to the limited time we had with both bikes.

The restricted timeframe also limited us from exploiting the handling capabilities of the bikes. However, the Seiemmezzo siblings felt planted on the only corner that we encountered on the short stretch of tarmac we tested the bikes on. Of the two bikes, the Retro Street felt more intuitive and natural to switch sides, thanks to its low-set handlebar, which offered better control.

The Scrambler, on the other hand, required some muscling owing to its relaxed ergonomics. But it excelled when we took it off-road. While the block-pattern tyres imbibed confidence to take on the slushy sections, the wider pulled-back handlebar offered good leverage when riding the bike standing up.

As for the brakes, the front offered excellent bite from the twin rotors, along with good feedback at the lever. The rear, however, could do with more stopping power. Even the ABS kicked in a bit too early than we would’ve liked.

Should you buy it?

The Moto Morini Seiemmezzo 6 ½ Scrambler doesn’t have any direct rival, whereas its sibling, the Retro Street, will go up against the Kawasaki Z650, Honda CB650R, and the Triumph Trident 660.

Now, the Seiemmezzo siblings offer good performance and provide a decent set of features. And although they don’t offer substantial road presence, the compact packaging makes it accessible for someone upgrading to the middle-weight segment. That said, the Seiemmezzo twins don’t excel in any departments when compared to its competition.

So, should you consider buying these? Well, if you are looking to buy a middle-weight scrambler, there’s nothing in the market apart from the Seiemmezzo 6 ½ Scrambler. As for the Retro Street, unless you are looking for a compact and accessible middle-weight bike, you have better options in the segment. Meanwhile, Moto Morini can play the value-for-money card if they price them aggressively at under Rs 6 lakh (ex-showroom) against the competition.

Photography by Kaustubh Gandhi