Prices

[Harry]

For those members who were dreams in their fathers ball bags or still in infant school in April 1981. the 250 cost £1345
Strada £1595, Sport £1695 and the 500 £1895.

[Emmohaswheelsagain]

If I recall correctly I paid £1,625.00 for a brand new 500 Strada in March 1981.
Prices did vary.
I don't believe anybody paid full retail.
Chapmans at York, long gone I should imagine.


Paul

[MarkB]

My 3 1/2 Strada cost its purchaser £766 in 1976, including a £100 trade-in against a Norton ES2.

[Emmohaswheelsagain]

First 350 Strada purchased 1977 from Freddie Friths in Grimsby, £775.00.
Ex demo, drum brake, tin switch gear and they never failed me.
Chrome didn't fair well through the winter. Only form of transport you see.
Sold it for a shiny new Honda which was the first and the last time I sold a Morini for something inferior.
Anyone else for a trip down memory lane.


Paul

[morinipete]

I was a bit of a late comer. paid 750 quid for my '80 Strada but it was 'just' S/H at the time with less than a 1,000 mles on the clock. Not such a bargain as it turned out as the leftside main bearing went almost immediately due to the bearing cage being all rust damaged on the bottom run (must have been standing after a short run and condensation allowed to settle ?).

Next scare was jet washing it at a local garrage, with a mate on his GPz-thingy.

His was fine but the wash stripped half the paint off my tank revealing red paint direct on metal. Not a trace of any sort of under coat. Never let me down once. well appart from the snapped cambelt two up, going up a hill (I've snapped two belts with no harm, but up hill both times), electric start jamming ON with me riding 20 miles before realising, big ends running twice (it has done nearly 100,000), transducers (3 times), pick up (once), rings once (its amazing what compressed crankcases do for what comes out of the breaters ! I gave a free "wax oil" to about 200 cars before I noticed what had happened ). Them were't days..................

Still got it needless to say, and a better bike than my 500 to be honest. A complete tatty heap so f sold t now I'd probably get................yup my 750 quid back. OK for a 30 year "borrow" then

Pete

[72degrees]

First Strada bought in 1975 from Devimead. I sold an AJS 31 CSR and Monza outfit to help pay for it. Can't remember the price, but more than an RD350 at the time.

I would have kept it longer but I won a BMW R90/6 after just 3 months. After keeping that for four years I traded it in for, yes you've guessed it, a Morini - but a 350 Sport this time. Shortly after that I bought a ratty Strada and built my first Morini speed hill climb bike. I sold the Sport to concentrate on the hills.

That was fun but then I looked at the 2C tests and a 250 SWM I had also got for the hills and thought Hmm! So a 250 Morini was acquired from Hollywood Yamaha and the bitza trio was the result. 350 in 2C, SWM with 350 forks, 350 with SWM forks and 250 motor in ISDE style (christened 'The Wombat"). The Wombat was surprisingly competent off road but was soon sold. The SWM got me a 3rd place pot in the NHCA 250 championship. The 2C/350 I still have 30 years later. The biggest grin factor bike I have ever owned. The 85 350 K2 I had for a while was a bit disappointing.

Then there was the road racer. A 2C frame with 350 forks and rear wheel and the 250 Rotax disc valve motor from the SWM - but that's another story.

I fear I'm not really a shining example of preserving shiny original Morinis am I ?