Valheru Rides!

I don’t know about you, but there’s always something magical about a red Italian motorcycle tearing the road up as if its existence depended on it. While everyone thinks of a Ducati, my absolute favourite had to be the Moto Morini 3 1/2.

Regardless of the actual specs it looked fast, and while I never want to be leaning that far forward while riding a bike, you have to love the aesthetics of a cafe racer, and the world of motorcycles got quite a bit blander in its absence.

You can actually see one in a quick sweep of the ‘Italian wing’ of the Sammy Miller museum here:

Think how overjoyed I was when at EICMA 2025 Moto Morini unveiled the new iteration of this classic design.

Now I get that it is a bit street naked in it’s setup, especially in the exhaust department, but the essential DNA of the original 3 1/2 is still there, and can quite clearly be seen in the styling and overall appearance. If I was in the market for something purely for the fair weather, I’d be lining up to get a test ride the minute they landed in the UK, as I am sure an awful lot of people will be.

But what do you think? Is it true enough to the original? Or has it surrendered some of its originality as part of the modernisation?