Sizes Available: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14m
Sizes Tested: 9, 12m
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. This versatile Freeride / Crossover kite is light to the touch and provides a precise and linear power delivery. This year the Moto is built with our new Nano Ripstop canopy, which will be the new bench mark in durability, stability & responsiveness. Double strength, same weight. The lighter weight and quick response are 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.
Visit for more info: https://www.cabrinhakites.com/collections/kites/products/moto
Our Testers Say:
“Clean build, snappy turning with light bar pressure and really good upwind ability, super stable and easy to relaunch with good drifting down the line.” // Dan Lerer
“Speedy Gonzales comes to mind, with light bar pressure, excellent turning speed, middle of the pack lift and hangtime, and really good upwind ability with high-quality kite construction and bar.” // Roland Erni
“If you can only get one kite, this does a little bit of everything. Super stable, goes upwind really well, I like how you can over pull on the bar and the kite doesn’t stall or lose power.” // Kelly Grief
TKB Says:
The Moto is Cabrinha’s 3-strut medium aspect do-it-all platform that offers pure easy to use performance bridled with a crisp feeling that dials in the perfect blend of versatility that can satisfy the needs of big air, surf, freestyle and foilboard riding. This year the Moto gets an upgrade with Cabrinha’s new Nano Ripstop canopy that uses a smaller cell pattern for increased stiffness as well as two treatment process that ensure durability and longevity. The Moto comes with Cabrinha’s large diameter bayonet-style inflation valve that requires no nozzle on the end of your standard pump hose for a quick and easy pump up. The Moto features a single setting fixed bridle that doesn’t use any pulleys to change the kite’s angle of attack. The front bridle pigtails end in larks heads and the wingtip pigtails end with three knots to fine-tune your power setting, with clean labeling to point out the stock setting. There are two options for setting the wingtip attachment point, clearly labeled for choosing between light impulse/increased depower travel and direct impulse/shorter depower travel. The factory setting comes attached to the light impulse connection closest to the wingtip.
From the day the Moto came out to its most current iteration, it has steadily offered better, cleaner and faster crossover performance. The first thing we noticed about the Moto is its incredibly crisp turning response, with the connection between the bar and the kite feeling perfectly dialed with almost instantaneous turn initiation at the kite. The turning speed on the Moto is also very impressive which makes it incredibly easy to put the Moto exactly where you want with a tighter pivot style turn, which puts the Moto always in the right place at the right time. When it comes to big air, while the Moto may not deliver quite as much lift or hangtime as the Switchblade canopy, yet the Moto’s user-friendly and predictable precision steering can deliver boosts that will still half-literally knock your socks off.
The Moto features light to medium bar pressure, which is adept at delivering both comfort on your hands and arms at the end of a long session, yet, with that comfortable bar pressure, you get quite good kite feedback. The new Nano Ripstop material feels noticeably crisp in your hands and adds to the fine-tuned responsive feeling of the kite. The Moto has a nice progressive bar sheeting throw, with very predictable and smooth power delivery through the movement of the bar, and at the end of the throw, the Moto delivers nearly complete depower, more so than what you get with the Switchblade. This kite also scores well in stability and good drift for down the line wave riding, which makes this a great crossover option for surf and foilboarding.
The Moto loves to go upwind with a middle forward position in the wind window and we found the water relaunch to be incredibly responsive. From nose down in the bottom of the window, the Moto bar required a little pressure on one side of the bar and the kite rotated onto a wingtip and released from the water into the air, for a really easy relaunch.
The Moto platform feels light and responsive with excellent power delivery that makes it feel a bit faster and more agile than the Switchblade for crossover into the surf and general freeride cruising. It’s ample depower, drift and responsive handling make it a great foilboarding option and definitely checks the boxes for the all-around kiter that wants to do a little bit of everything. The Moto is that trusty high-performance friend that is easy to use, with a good wide wind range that brings smiles to riders of every skill level.
Our Moto came with two options to choose from in the control bar department. The Overdrive Quickloop 1X Trimlight and the Overdrive Quickloop 1X Recoil. The primary difference between the two bars is the Trimlight option offers spectra power tuning with a cleat and the Recoil system offers a power strap with spring-mounted extension handles. It’s also worth noting that the ‘Quickloop’ label is Cabrinha’s standard push away release with a chicken loop, but you can also get these bar configured with the “Modular” quick release option which is a broader system based on Cabrinha’s Fireball connection system which has been expanded to offer a couple of different connection points to your kite (see their website for details on Modular/Fireball system).
The Overdrive Quickloop 1X Trimlight features a new bar chassis this year that offers the benefits of an adjustable length bar by a different means than the Overdrive system that was used in the past. If you recall, the Overdrive allowed you to adjust bar length on the water by pulling a tab and releasing a locking mechanism that would cock the bar end in either direction, but that convenience feature came with extra weight. This year the Overdrive is being offered as an adjustable length system that can be changed on the beach by pulling out a plastic insert from the bottom of the bar end and rotating it to change the effective length of the bar. This feature is easy to use and creates a smaller, cleaner and lighter bar end. The Overdrive comes with a low V in the center lines and the Trimlight system above the bar uses a power tuning cleat with a bungee built into spectra line to keep the excess slack from getting in the way. The center lines end in knots and the outside lines end in a larks head loop. The kite safety system depowers along a single centerline safety depower that runs down the PVC coated throw line, through the bar and out through the center of the quick release, for a cleanly routed safety system that is well designed and highlights safety. The quick release features a red push away handle along with a hand swivel that doubles as travel guard. When you push on the quick release it remains cocked open, waiting for a reset. This is a really nice feature if you’re trying to reset in the water. Since the gate remains open, you just stick the end of the chicken loop back in and shift the release so it slides back down. The standards for quick release reconnection are higher these days and the Quickloop’s cocking feature definitely makes that reconnection process easy. The center of the bar is aluminum and features a Cabrinha logo etched into the metal on one side so that the rider can tell when the bar is being held the correct way. The chicken finger is a molded plastic piece and is removable with an Allen screw for those that are doing freestyle. The bar ends feature integrated molded foam floats, ample space for cleanly wrapping your lines and a bungee for keeping your lines cleanly stowed.
The ergonomics of the bar grip feature asymmetrical bumps that nestle between your fingers with firm EVA that has the right balance between plush comfort and firmness with small textured indentations. The rubbery bumps on the top make the bar feel grippy, so it feels like your hand is pretty well planted on this nice comfy grip. Overall, the changes made to the Cabrinha bar this year offer a streamlined design with lower weight while keeping a key mix of functional and safety-oriented features for a very comfortable but versatile control experience.
The Recoil version of the Overdrive Quickloop 1X sports the same streamlined bar chassis with the smaller bar ends. The main difference with the Recoil version bar is that the depower system uses a power tuning strap coupled with two extensions that put the controls well within your reach. There’s a powerup knob and a depower knob, both held in place by a spring system. The Recoil gives you extra throw distance while keeping the controls within reach. For those that don’t like cleat systems, the Recoil is the answer with its color-coded knobs that allow you to easily tune the kite with small or large adjustments. Some find the Recoil to be bulky compared to the Trimlite, most notably when wrapping up the bar, and some riders commented on having to push against the spring-mounted controls to get the full access to the bar’s depower, yet others highlighted the ease of tuning and the convenience of having the controls so close.
Visit for more info on the bar: www.cabrinhakites.com/collections/bars
Want to view all our 2020 Freeride, Light Wind and Wingsurf Gear Reviews in one convenient digital guide? Get free access HERE. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you for your support! Log into your account to view our 2020 Freeride Gear Review Guide.