Look familiar? Brixton Cromwell 1200 X is rereleased under the Morbidelli brand
It’s increasingly difficult to stay on top of the complicated web of brands and manufacturers emerging from the Chinese motorcycle industry and it’s made all the more baffling when one company rebrands an existing model from another. That’s what’s going on here with the newly-launched Morbidelli Timeless 1200 that’s just been unveiled in China.
Before we get into its background, let’s look at the bike itself. It’s an attractive, retro-style scrambler built around a big, parallel twin engine. Essentially a cheap, Chinese alternative to a Triumph Bonneville or Scrambler 1200. It chucks out 61kW at 6550rpm and 108Nm at 3100rpm courtesy of a 1222cc, liquid-cooled parallel twin. It’s bolted to a conventional steel double cradle frame, with right-way-up forks and twin shocks for a fairly convincing retro style, weighing in at a total of 235kg ready to ride.
Those specs are shared with its identical siblings: the European market Brixton Cromwell 1200 X and Chinese Gaokin GK1200. They’re all made in China by Gaokin, which is where things start to get a bit confusing. Morbidelli, which originally launched as MBP a few years ago, is owned by Keeway, itself a subsidiary of Qianjiang – parent to brands including QJMotor and Benelli and one of China’s largest and fastest-growing motorcycle manufacturers. However, instead of borrowing engines and tech from the existing Qianjiang model range, its bikes are based on Gaokin-built machines. Morbidelli’s existing V-twin cruiser, the C1000V, is a rebadged version of the Gaokin Thor 1000 sold in China, and the Morbidelli T1000VX adventure bike is based on the Gaokin Hawk 1000. In that light, the appearance of the GK1200/Cromwell 1200 X wearing Morbidelli branding shouldn’t come as a surprise.
For global customers, the bike’s appearance in the Keeway/Morbidelli stable means there’s a good chance that it will become more widely available in the future.
Also notably, in China the bike has launched with an impressive 6-year, 100,000km warranty to help offset fears that Chinese-made bikes lack long-term parts and servicing support. In its home market it’s also just a third of the price of a Triumph Bonneville T120.
