November 2019 Update
Huge sale going on 2019 Cabrinha Motos! Best prices we’ve seen. These are from leftover stock from the factory itself. Limited quantities available so order today!
August 22nd 2019 Update
After a complete season of riding on and teaching on the 2019 Cabrinha Moto, we are super excited to continue to ride and teach on this kite in the upcoming season. As a brief overview, we love how light this kite is in the sky. We have a lot of 10-15mph days and the 14m and 12m Moto both perform excellent depending on the size of the rider and discipline. We observed brand new students easily water relaunching the Moto in 12mph of wind. When you position the outside lines on the last knot of the kite, the 2019 Cabrinha Moto is a difficult kite to stall. The Moto is a highly versatile kite that is great for freeriding, foilboarding and kitelooping.
Sizes Tested: 14m, 12m, 9m
Wind Ranges Tested: 8-45 mph
2019 Cabrinha Moto Review
What Cabrinha Says
Designed for riders who appreciate versatile, predictable kite performance, the Moto kite is a triple threat for any type of riding in a wide range of conditions. It excels in three of the most exciting disciplines the sport has to offer: Freeride, Freesurf, and Foilboarding.
The all-new Moto leads us into a new era of performance kitesurfing that smashes all conventional thinking. This versatile Freeride / Crossover kite is light to the touch and provides a precise and linear power delivery. The lighter weight and quick response is made possible with its 3-strut hybrid plan form.
The Moto performs its best in challenging wind conditions. Generous depower tames the gustiest winds and widens its wind range considerably. The Moto’s fast turning speed not only puts this kite into a performance category of its own, it enhances the kite’s amazing versatility.
Performance Range
Here’s the range from the most performance oriented kite to easiest to use kite.
FX -> Moto -> Switchblade
Moto vs Switchblade
The Cabrinha Moto is a lighter, 3-strut version of the Switchblade. The Moto knows how to boost. When you send this kite you get great hang time and a strong vertical pull. The Switchblade will still have more float than the Moto but the Moto makes up with turning speed. The Moto will have less bar pressure and turn noticeably quicker. The Switchblade will have a little more low-end grunt but the Moto will have more higher wind range.
Moto vs FX
At first glance we thought the Moto and FX were going to be similar but after flying the Moto for some time we can safely say they are different kites. The 2019 Cabrinha FX has different bridle tuning options that will affect how the kite flys so without speaking about each specific setting, we’ll compare the general feel of these two kites. The FX is a more performance oriented kite with characteristics that feel a lot similar to a C kite. The Moto will be easier to fly than the FX, it’ll be easier to park and ride. The FX unhooks much better than the Moto. The FX will slack at the apex of your jump where the Moto will drift then slack. The Moto will be easier to boost on, but both kites will give you great vertical pop. Bar pressure will be comparable based upon how you configure the bridle.
Interested in kiteloops? Check out the 9m Cabrinha Moto
Lightwind Foiling
The Moto is such a fun freeriding kite with a foilboard. While other people are riding big foil kites, we weren’t only able to ride but have fun in the 8 – 12 mph range with the Cabrinha Double Agent Foilboard. We did have to work the kite in the lulls to create power.
The ideal wind range for the 12m Moto and a low aspect foil is 9 – 15 mph. There are many more performance characteristics with the Moto than the Switchblade. The Moto has lighter bar pressure, turns quicker, drifts better and has less grunt than the Switchblade. For freeride foilboarding, it’s a lot of fun to have a kite that turns on a dime and still control the power. If you ride towards the kite, it will drift backwards and still be controllable. When overpowered it doesn’t feel like you’re getting ripped over the front of the board.
Cabrinha Moto Rider Profile
If you enjoy a light feeling, quick turning, big boosting kite then you’ll love the Moto. The Moto will have less grunt than a Switchblade so if you’re a bigger rider, want the most amount of power or want floatier jumps than the Switchblade is for you. The FX will slack better so if your focus is handlepasses then you’ll still want the FX. If you’re looking for a quick turning kite that has less bar pressure than a Switchblade that jumps great, kiteloops great, has great drift and nimble turning for foilboarding then you’ll love the Moto.
Where to buy?
Watersports West is offering the 2019 Cabrinha Motos on closeout. A selection of sizes and colors are still available.
