Far North adventure had been on the table for some months , then along came a couple of cyclones to thwart our plans ! My riding mate , Simon , and I kept an eye on road reopening progress and made a short-notice call to grab a small window of opportunity for a two-day overnight backroad excursion . We ’ d been wanting to check out some of the North ’ s gravel roads we ’ d not yet ridden , along with some of the fantastic ones not ridden for some time . The plan being to record routes for future multi-day adventures . I ’ d also promised KR HQ I ’ d test the long-term demo Moto Morini X-Cape 649 fitted with factory luggage , to provide a real view on how this popular middleweight adventurer performs in its intended terrain . Others in the KR team have scribed specs , thoughts , feelings and observations on the X-Cape , so I will simply offer feedback on the ride-ability of the bike on our wonderful backroads and how the luggage performs as a part of the package .

DAY ONE Loaded up the smart-looking Morini aluminium pannier cases with gear and tools . The cases seem well made and look the part with Morini logo embossing . They are also easy to fit and remove , and once locked into place give the impression they won ’ t budge even on the worst of roads or tracks . I opted to leave the top-box behind – with only two days of gear required it would be superfluous to requirements and I prefer my luggage kept low when planning to ride a fair amount of gravel . Time to head north and , to get a feel for how the bike was going to handle on gravel with the panniers , I opted for the obligatory Mountain Rd short-cut from SH1 to Maungaturoto . The X-Cape felt great , the handling nice , smooth and neutral . It ’ s not a light bike , but the suspension is compliant and it ’ s actually quite easy to hustle along , sitting or standing . With the rubber peg inserts removed , the stand-up position is very good . Having previously ridden the bike without luggage , I found the panniers and their contents promote a more relaxed

KIWI RIDER 87