Dancing the Polka

I guess this is another one of those “Look at the price tag” bikes. That’s the exact phrase I’ve used in reviewing a number of Chinese and Indian motorcycles in recent years.

The BSA Bantam 350? Didn’t fall in love with it, but look at the price tag. Appropriately, I also used the phrase when describing the QJMotor SRT 600 S and QJMotor SVT 650 X. I say “appropriately” because QJ’s parent company owns several brands, including, wait for it… Morbidelli.

The Morbidelli T1002V wears an historic Italian badge but it is in every way a Chinese machine. The common insult I’ve seen on Reddit and the like is that it is as Italian as Prego sauce. But not being Italian doesn’t necessarily mean not being good. Or, at least, good enough. And many of the criticisms that I have about the T1002V can be dismissed by focusing in on its £7,000 asking price.

Indeed, it may be best to simply ignore the badge. Pretend it’s not there (as hard as that is, because, man, does this thing have a lot of badging). Italian branding sets expectations that can’t be met. This bike was made by QJMotor and in its design, components, and performance it is very similar to other QJMotor motorcycles that I have ridden.

So, the TLDR version of my review is this: if you accept this bike for what it actually is (a motorcycle from QJMotor) it’s not bad. Depending on your use case, it may even be a good choice. Or, at least, a reasonable one. Or, you may be better off with a used Suzuki.

And with that ringing endorsement, let’s dive deeper into this V-twin adventure-touring machine.

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Some background

Morbidelli was founded in 1959 by Giancarlo Morbidelli in Pesaro, Italy. In that strange ‘this doesn’t connect with that’ way that so many motorcycle stories begin, the company had started in the field of woodworking – making furniture and such.

Something, something, something, it entered Grand Prix racing in 1969. Information on Morbidelli is sparse and not terribly reliable, but as best I can tell it limped on in some form or another until 2020, when Giancarlo passed away at the age of 85. Highlights included designing a motorcycle that was so expensive it couldn’t actually be put into production, as well as a never-completed V-12 motorcycle. But it clearly wasn’t a big player (I’d not even heard of Morbidelli until about a year ago).

In 2024, the brand was bought by Keeway, which is one of the many subsidiaries of Qianjiang Motorcycle, aka QJMotor. The T1002V was first introduced to the world in early 2025 but didn’t start showing up at UK dealerships until several months later.

First impressions

The T1002V is a formidable machine. Images don’t quite do it justice. In person, it has a presence, a kind of brutish physicality, that is greater than what I’d expect from other machines of similar capacity. I’m not entirely sure why.

Aesthetically, it’s derivative. I’m seeing flavors of Ducati and Triumph here. I like the tail view, but I think the stock Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires are doing most of the heavy lifting there. The best parts, I feel, are the stylish Morbidelli logos and badges.

I may be in the minority, though. Every time I stopped while out and about on this bike I would find myself having conversations about it with gentlemen of a certain age. Guys who were 50+ and often the sort who was on an extended break from motorcycling. They had ridden when they were younger, life had happened, and now they were keen to return to that sense of freedom without the idiocy of their earlier years.

Chinese bikes are particularly appealing to this sort of rider. They represent the opportunity to return to full, big-bike motorcycling without the full, big-bike price.

Look closely at this particular big bike and it is relatively well put together. Like all QJMotor bikes, its switchgear has been stolen from a toy factory but other components are robust and well-known. Pirelli tires, KYB suspension, Bosch ABS, J. Juan brakes, etc.

Throw a leg over the 820mm seat and the rider triangle is very comfortable for a 6-foot-1 rider. This is a good machine for big miles. Feet fall comfortably to pegs, hands to bars. Looking straight ahead, your view is dominated by a 7-inch TFT dash, with an adjustable windscreen beyond that.

Engine and transmission

The T1002V is powered by a 997cc liquid-cooled 80-degree V-twin that, as far as I can tell, isn’t a copy of an existing powerplant. Morbidelli claims peak outputs of 88.5 bhp at 7750 rpm and 65.6 lb-ft at 5250 rpm. Those numbers aren’t great from a liter bike and, to be honest, when you ride the thing you get the sense that Morbidelli is being optimistic in its stats.

The engine has a fantastic grunt when you crack the throttle, but the physical experience doesn’t match the audible experience. It’s mostly noise rather than power. The engine feels like it has been politely but firmly strangled by its own ECU. You get the sense that there may be rowdy V-Twin trapped inside, furiously waiting for an aftermarket remap to set it free.

One of the distinctive features of all Chinese motorcycles at the moment is that their throttle mapping sucks. They are about 15 years behind everyone else when it comes to making motorcycles that are both able to meet stringent European emissions regulations and capable of delivering smooth, consistent throttle.

As a result, throttle delivery is snatchy – especially at lower speeds. Morbidelli’s solution to this issue seems to have been to completely neuter its V-twin so that it’s soft and boring at all speeds and in all modes. I tried switching the bike to Sport mode, for example, and all it delivered was more noise. 

Nice noise. Enjoyable noise. But just noise.

On a similar subject, in researching for this review I found a number of comments from people complaining that the T1002V hates cold starts. It apparently behaves like an old carbureted bike – coughing, sputtering, and hesitating – until the engine properly warms up. I did not notice this, but the mornings when I had the bike were not terribly cold.

Clutch pull is light and the six-speed transmission relatively easy and reliable. Relatively. At the end of a long day, when I was admittedly getting a little lazy in my shifts, I had a few instances of knocking down to neutral and then not being able to get it into first. Maybe it was a problem. Maybe it was me.

A heavy motherhugger

Morbidelli claims a curb weight of 265 kilograms – putting it in the same company as a BMW R 1300 GS Adventure. But the weight here is noticeable at all times: when you lift it off the sidestand, when you push it around, when you attempt to put it on the center stand, and, unfortunately, when you’re riding around.

On the point of the sidestand, it’s a bit short. That means the bike leans over pretty far when on said stand. That’s good if you’re parked somewhere windy, I suppose, but it creates an extra challenge when setting the thing upright. You really need to put your shoulder into getting this thing upright. Make the mistake of parking on a steep camber and you may need to call in an Enhanced Games participant to assist.

Meanwhile, I have never encountered a bike that was more difficult to heave onto its center stand. In my voice-recorded notes on the bike I described it as an “absolute f-cking ballache.” It requires you to commit your entire body weight, a prayer to the gods of leverage, and a profound acceptance of the risk of a hernia.

Chassis and brakes

The T1002V comes with fully adjustable KYB front forks and preload-adjustable rear shock. But you’ll need to have your own tools to make those adjustments. Whereas many manufacturers (Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda, and Royal Enfield, for example) will equip their bikes with tool rolls designed to facilitate standard maintenance, Morbidelli doesn’t even give you an Allen wrench.

That’s particularly annoying when it comes to adjusting the rear preload, which is the aspect of a suspension that riders fiddle with the most (there are plenty of us who will never touch the front forks). There is no hand adjuster for the rear shock; you need a C spanner.

You will also need to remove at least one of the aluminium panniers to access the shock. So, if you’re planning on riding somewhere with a passenger and luggage, schedule some extra time for the faffery of removing a pannier, adjusting the shock, replacing the pannier, filling it up with luggage again, having your passenger sit on it, riding around in circles, and repeating the process until everything feels right.

Be sure to also pack your C spanner, just in case – as well as a tool roll (I personally carry a Riderr Tool Kit, which is pretty handy and doesn’t eat up too much space).

Brakeswise, you’ve got a J. Juan set-up paired with a Bosch ABS system, which all works well, even in wet conditions.

What it’s like to ride

I mentioned the comfortable riding triangle and adjustable screen. Both of these things help deliver a very positive experience on long hauls. Morbidelli’s UK distributor is MotoGB, which, as I noted in my review of the LS2 X-Master suit, always means a 600-mile roundtrip for me. From that experience alone, I feel confident recommending the T1002V as a touring workhorse.

The only major caveat to that is the fact that the seat is a little too firm for my liking. I found that I couldn’t really go more than 90 minutes without wanting a break. I suppose the answer here is one of those AirHawk seat cushions. In fairness, the seat was not so uncomfortable that it’s a deal-breaker.

The OEM screen is surprisingly excellent, the cruise control markedly less so. It is inconsistent – allowing speeds to wander + or – 4 mph from the target speed, and is incredibly choppy on inclines. It’s a very rudimentary system that veers from helpful to annoying after about an hour or so. I eventually got sick of it and stopped using it. 

The bike’s weight helps it feel solid and planted on the road, and it’s really well-balanced. V-twins often offer the benefit of being easy to keep upright at slow speeds. But at higher speeds, somewhat similar to the weight of a big Harley touring bike, the T1002V’s girth is one that you have to learn to respect. You can crawl through traffic without putting a foot down, and feel pretty confident hustling through corners, but if things go wrong it takes a lot of effort and luck to salvage the situation.

The soft throttle means that zipping through corners isn’t quite as much fun as it should be. And at speeds below 18 mph, the throttle mapping still is not so soft that it vindicates the incredible nerfing of this V-twin. The T1002V won’t shudder like a Voge DS800X Rally, but there’s some snatchiness to contend with when filtering (or suffering the pain of being stuck behind an ultra-safe driver in a 20mph zone).

Fancy bits and technowhizzbangery

The big selling point of most Chinese motorcycles is usually that they come packed with tech and extras that would skyrocket the asking price of models from ‘traditional’ brands. Here you get heated grips, heated seat, a center stand, crash bars, a large and robust aluminum bash plate, adjustable suspension, full LED lighting, a 7-inch TFT screen, four riding modes (Standard, Sport, Rain, and Off Road), adjustable traction control, smartphone connectivity, and charging ports of the 12v, USB-B, and USB-C variety.

On paper, it’s impressive as hell. But – as I’ve already touched upon – in application, some of it feels like a letdown. Along with the cruise control, center stand, rear shock adjustability, and lack of noticeable difference in riding modes, you can add the heated kit to the list of sighs.

The heated grips and heated seat each have three levels: Setting 1 is just a teensy bit too hot; setting 2 is identical to setting 1; whereas setting 3 is identical to setting 2. It’s all very QJMotor.

Navigation of the TFT screen’s menu is also very QJMotor, which is to say it’s not terribly intuitive. Another quirk of the bike is that it insisted the outside temperature was 10ºC when it regularly was not.

And, for what it matters, you cannot switch riding modes or adjust the screen while moving.

Maintenance

Morbidelli suggests servicing intervals of every 3,000 miles. That is a very short window. Whatever money you save in buying a T1002V will quickly be lost to the abundance of times you’re replacing consumables. That’s especially true if you’re paying a garage to do the work for you, which you’ll have to do if you want the two-year warranty to remain valid.

If you do the work yourself, you’ll need a good metric socket set, hex bits and a bunch of torx bits. Lifting the tank looks particularly daunting as there are several pieces of awkward fairing that need to be removed first.

Removing/replacing the oil filter is actually pretty easy – it’s located at the intersection of the “V” of the engine on the right side, held in place by three 5mm hex bolts. Unfortunately, you will first have to remove the bash plate to allow oil to drain. And that job looks like a pain because it requires a combination of hex and torx bits.

Verdict: The V-Strom 1050 dilemma

There is nothing to hate about the Morbidelli T1002V. It is a decent motorcycle at a very decent price. But there is also nothing about it to make a particularly strong argument against buying a secondhand Suzuki V-Strom 1050 instead. I’ve just had a look on Autotrader and have found 23 different examples of the V-Strom 1050 priced at or under £7,200 (the cost of a brand new T1002V with OTR added), with mileages as low as 1,600 miles. 

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A V-Strom 1050 has cruise control, which is arguably the only feature that makes the T1002V more attractive than an even more affordable secondhand V-Strom 1000 (you can find one of those for as little as £3,800). And in all the ways that count, both the 1050 and 1000 Stroms outgun the Morbidelli. Better engine character, more power, even better balanced, lighter (and the V-Strom is hardly a featherweight), more comfortable, and with a brand history and parts supply network that makes it a safer bet in terms of maintenance and servicing.

Most of the quirks of the T1002V can be ignored or possibly fixed with aftermarket bits. Certainly, hope springs eternal that someone – be it Morbidelli/QJMotor or an independent entity – will figure out how to remap the bike so that its engine can deliver on its promise.

The fact that the T1002V’s engine is so annoyingly understressed makes me think it will, at least, last a long time. Most of the other components should hold up, too. So, as I say, there aren’t a lot of arguments against the bike – especially if what you’re really looking for is an upright touring motorcycle. It’s just that there aren’t that many arguments in support of buying one.

Indeed, if you’re desperate to get a brand-new Chinese motorcycle over a secondhand Japanese one, I’d point out that the aforementioned Voge DS800X Rally is also priced at £7,000. Its 798cc parallel twin claims 93 bhp and although the throttle is very snatchy at lower speeds it is, at least, characterful. It also weighs less and thereby feels more manageable off road.

The three questions

Does the 2026 Morbidelli T1002V suit my current lifestyle?

Undoubtedly. It can carry lots of stuff and go far, and I have every reason to believe that, with regular servicing, it will continue to do that for at least another decade. Generally, that’s all you can ask of an adventure-touring motorcycle that costs £7k.

Did the 2026 Morbidelli T1002V put a smile on my face?

Well, every day that you’re on a motorcycle is a good day, but, no. There’s nothing in particular about the T1002V that I enjoyed more than I would on any other bike of its segment.

Is the 2026 Morbidelli T1002V better than my current motorcycle, a 2012 Kawasaki Versys 1000?

No. I mean, it’s a hell of a lot newer and it has cruise control and riding modes and such, but in terms of character, power, comfort, and servicing costs, my Kawasaki is superior

2026 Morbidelli T1002V specs

ENGINE	997cc, liquid-cooled, 80-degree V-Twin
POWER	88.5 bhp @ 7750 rpm
TORQUE	65.6 lb-ft @ 5250 rpm
TRANSMISSION	Six-speed
SEAT HEIGHT	820 mm
GROUND CLEARANCE	190 mm
WEIGHT	265 kg
FUEL CAPACITY	20 liters
FRONT TIRE	120/70-19
REAR TIRE	170/60-17
FRONT BRAKES	Double floating discs, 4-piston caliper, J.Juan
REAR BRAKE	Disc, 1-piston caliper, J.Juan
FRONT SUSPENSION	43mm KYB inverted forks (fully adjustable)
REAR SUSPENSION	KYB multi-link monoshock (adjustable)

Are you a crypto-billionaire looking to impress your friends by spending ludicrous amounts of money on frivolous things? Why not give £2 million to Dancing the Polka?