Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1539926
tires or tarmac tires, the Pirellis are a good split between both and are hard enough that they should offer decent mileage for the owner. Brembo anchors take care of stopping, with twin 298mm floating discs up front and a 255mm single at the rear. However, just like on the 650, these brakes are a weak point, with the twin-piston calipers providing low feel and low stop - ping performance. At least you have switchable Bosch ABS as standard, but overall, the brakes leave a lot to be desired. The seat is slightly revised for 2026 with a broad, stepped shape, and given there's ample room from the seat to the foot - peg, you should be able to knock out big mile days, no worries. fully adjustable for preload, compression, and rebound, with 6.9 inches of travel. At the rear, a KYB monoshock offers 6.5 inches of travel, but isn't fully ad- justable and comes with preload and rebound damping, although you do get a remote preload adjuster on the left side of the swingarm, so well done, MM, on that one. Given the fact that the X-Cape costs substantially less than the bikes it's going up against, like the Yamaha Tenere 700 or the Triumph Tiger, the road holding offered by the Marzocchi/KYB setup is pretty good. The fork has a touch of harshness at the top of the stroke, but this is something I've noticed is a bit of a Marzocchi trait over the years on different bikes fitted with the Italian fork. Off-road, the setup works well. While not as sure- footed as a WP setup on a KTM, the X-Cape will hold its own for slow- to medium-speed trail rid- ing, offering a relatively comfort- able ride on the blacktop. (Top) The new exhaust is lighter and slimmer. (Middle) Tiny two-piston front brakes don't provide much feel and power on the road. On the dirt, they're not too bad. (Bottom) The screen is taller and wider, but almost more importantly, it has a new ratchet system that uses the silver bar in the center instead of the turning knob on the 650. Wheels are classic adventure spec 19-inch front and 17-inch rear, shod in Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR rubber. While they won't outdo purpose-built ADV P106 RIDE REVIEW I 2026 MOTO MORINI X-CAPE 700