History

Formed in 1975 by enthusiasts of the then newly imported V-Twin, the Morini Riders Club exists to bring together owners and admirers of these fine looking and handling Italian motorcycles.
We offer technical help, spares, dealer discounts, road test reprints, club regalia, regular meetings and an annual track day- all designed to keep Morinis where they belong: On the road. Members also benefit from a regular magazine 'A Tutto Gas'.

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. Ing 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.
Ing 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 are turning once more.