Welcome new forum members - introduce yourself

[OogieBoogie]

Hello all,

I'm Stu, and like many on here I've been biking longer than I care to remember (1979, damn, I just remembered!) I have owned my c1982 Italian import Kanguro X for about 8 years. It has a couple of non standard features, a handlebar fairing with vertically stacked twin rectangular headlights and a larger than standard (I think) glassfibre tank, these look like possible factory accessories as they were finished in standard looking paint and stickers etc.

Its looking a bit sad these days after being used as my sole transport for about 4 years then stuck away in my shed for 3 years.

Anyway, I'm looking to get it back on the road soon. Unfortunately the tank has dried out and de-laminated on one side a after being left on the sidestand with barely any petrol in the tank. I'm on the lookout for a servicable X or X1tank if anyone has a spare one.

The pic is from about 6 years ago when it was my sole transport, you can just make out the headlamp fairing arrangement, It looks a lot better than the standard shroud IMO, slightly better wind protection too.

My regular ride these days is a ducati ST2, nice on the open road but a pig for city commuting unlike the old 'roo.

[Gian_Maria]

Hello from Italy!

I'm Gian Maria from the Venice area, already a beemer but finally got my hands on a '76 Morini 3 1/2 Strada which now needs some work.

It's great to share the passion with you folks in Blighty, I hope my (tech) English will be good enough.

Here's the bike as it went down the van:

Rust is starting there and there, I will unmount everything, take the frame to be painted and wheels/exhaust/parts to a chromium bath, tank/side panels to be painted. Then comes the engine, finger crossed to when I'll uncork it

Cheers,
Gian Maria

[MarkB]

Buongiorno Gian Maria!

Welcome to the forum. That's a nice-looking project you've got - just don't make it so shiny that you're afraid to ride it as it should be ridden!

Mark

[corsaro chris]

Gian;

I have to agree with Mark - it must be unusual to find a Morini from the early 1970s that is still that close to original. How many km does it have registered?

I would have said that it was a 1974/5 model with that shape tank, original looking silencers and rocker covers - not many still around in original paintwork!

Good riding,

CC

[SupermotoDave]

I would encourage you not to respray the bike either,just clean it well and ride it. If you absolutely must have new paint try to get another tank and panels and have those painted instead. Original bikes are becoming very rare and will be the valuable ones in the future.
Change the cambelt, the oil and the spark plugs, balance the carbs and then ride it until it is obvious that something needs doing. Just opening an engine out of curiosity is also a bad move as there are a few bits that are getting difficult or expensive to source find.

A general plea to all serial bike re-builders who "fancy a Morini next", please do not strip and rebuild original machines, and then start asking for information about the "original paint colour". If they are working they are best left alone as many of the clips and fittings such as original tank badges, instrument bezels, original seats and all the little use once clips are unobtainable.
There are many tatty Morinis that you can rebuild, that have been already been bodged and crashed and modified and stripped and combined with other bikes so that they are no longer recognisable for what they were, with all the priceless parts consigned to the skips. Strada drums fitted in later cast wheel sports to make them look like drum sports, Stradas with sport handlebars, the list is long. Also never be tempted to throw away the air box because you think K&N filters look better.
I would also suggest not splitting the engine unless it is broken, there is no need to replace parts that are not worn out, do not be fooled into replacing valve seats so it can run on unleaded petrol etc.

David

[Gian_Maria]

Guys this is the warmest welcome to a forum since my Internet exposure, thanks a lot fella!

I totally understand your point of view and I am one that quite often prefer a "conservato" (Italian for kept as it is) rather than a "restaurato" (re-built), that was just tip for your Italian searches.

This GT (or Strada for the non Italian markets) has got spread rust over the frame and the tank/side panels, spikes are dark orange and wheels are scattered of those dots ready to become rust.
If it was just in need of polish and a patience and sensible work that wouldnt have scared me, because it is rusting and need to take everything apart so I decided to revamp things. try as i might to keep it as much as original as possible and ensure another 34 glory years, should petrol be still around by that time.

Engine is blocked, I have bought as it was, owner guaranteed me it ran before he left it forgotten in the basement, so I have seen it and made an offer, seller accepted and I came back with a van.
If worst comes to worse I'll buy a 2nd hand one for a few hundreds, there are quite a few for sale in Italy.

As for the shiny bit, agree I dont want it to be messed for kind of a guzzi or ducati brand-new-models-but-looks-like-those-old-bikes.
I like to use things everyday not to show off. In that case I'd bought an Electra Glide.

[rod100]

Hi

my name is Rod and I live in the 'moulds of Gloucestershire'. I bought a Veloce a few weeks ago (the red 3X demonstrator some of you may remember) and biking has suddenly woken up again for me - it was beginning to feel a bit seen-it-all-before, but no longer! What a bike! Good to see the club is thriving and looking forward to belonging to it.

Previous bikes Ariel OG 250, Tiger100, BSA Road Rocket, T140V, Laverda RGS, Kwacker 750 GPZ, Ducati 900, GPZ 900R, Yamaha EXUP, ZZR 1100, Fireblade, Fazer 1000.

Going by the sound, I'm sure someone in the Stroud area rode past my place regularly during the summer on a Corsaro or maybe a 3 1/2 -- let me know if it could have been you . . . . . . . . . R

[AusVeloce]

Hi all from Maitland - NSW Australia (approx 160km north of Sydney),

Proud owner of a 08 Veloce. Previous bikes include:
73 Norton Commando 850
Ducati SS
Honda ST1300

Love the Veloce particulary the power. Looking forward to comparing notes with fellow enthusiasts.

AusVeloce

[Hutch NZ]

Hi there - I'm based in Auckland, NZ and recently aquired a 9 1/2 which I just love.

I also have a 3 1/2 Strada and 3 1/2 'Wallaby' (Camel lookalike) which have been malingering in the garage awaiting the Big Rebuild for more years that I care to mention. They followed me out from the UK years ago - I was involved in MRC in the 80's and hosted the Chiswick London W4 section and did Cadwell a few times.

I'm looking forward to rejoining now that I've actually got a rideable Morini again.

Talking of Cadwell - am currently on a visit to the UK (use of a Triumph Sprint) and see that its on this week! I would love to come along to Cadwell to watch and talk Morini's - who can I talk to about that ?

Cheers

Ian H.

[HoveActually]

Hi there - am in the process of joining the club and just signed up to the forum.

I live in Hove (yes actually) and recently acquired a lovely 78 3.5 Strada. A real pleasure to ride (back to basics) especially when my other steed is a BMW K1300S, all 170bhp of it!

The 3.5 is getting a good going over (valves, timing, carbs, electrics, etc, etc, (lucky I had a well spent youth) so she will get me to/from Northern Spain in Oct - I hasten to add via Brittany Ferrys to Santander.

This is so I can take part in the Moto Piston Rally - goto http://mcpiston.com/ingles/icolombres.htm

I'll give a report and post some photos in due course. In the meantime here is one of my pride & joy.

1978 3.5 Strada .jpg (199.16 KiB) Viewed 22286 times

[buzby]

Welcome to the forum.

I have a strada the same model as yours but nowhere near as smart!

ps there is a "hove actually" on northstandchat is that you or a spooky coincidence.

Dave.

[HoveActually]

ps there is a "hove actually" on northstandchat is that you or a spooky coincidence.

Thks for the welcome but no - we must be good breeders!

[nicko]

Hi, I'm Nick and my first foray into Morini is a Corsaro 1200.

Unfortunately it seems to be eating relays at the moment which caused it to overheat and spray coolant everywhere.

[corsaro chris]

Hi Nick, and welcome to the MRC forum..

Do you know if the bike has had upgrades including the chunky lego connectors under the pillion seat? They should have been fitted by the supplying dealer, but not all did so; ask if you're near or talk to the previous owner. That may not be the reason, but it's a good start.

3X or NLM are the ones to contact for help, although some of the forum guys are pretty knowledgeable with fixing stuff like this.

Hope to see you at one of the club events sometimes soon - you've just missed 'tea and cakes' near Devizes, which was great - where are you based?

Good riding,

CC

[nicko]

Hi Chris,

I believe that the bike has had upgrades as the clocks were changed under warranty according to 3X. As far as contacting the previous owner goes that might well have been yourself.....

I am based in Salisbury and hope to get to one of the events soon.

Cheers
Nick