Sad news, think I need to sell

[thormagnus]

So a lot of you have seen on another thread I posted that I found my dads old 3 1/2 in his garage. I didn't know exactly what it was but have since been able to determine its '75 Sport. Thanks to everyone who help work out the details on that one. The mechanic is nearly done and I'll have the bike this weekend. I'm stoked!

Hard rush of reality:
I don't have a garage to store it. It would sit outside all winter and easily deteriorate in quality. I'm worried about rust buildup.
Mom could use the money to help pay for some services.
I'm new to riding and worry about dropping it.

Overall I feel like anything I do will decrease value or ruin an otherwise really special bike. Mileage this low on anything from that year is amazing. Now that it's running it will still have under 800 miles by the time I get it home. I feel like I should either sell now or keep it forever.

My question is this? Do I list it on Ebay? What's a reasonable sale price? Earlier posts people guesstimated $5k US - $11k. That about right?

Outside some minor cosmetic flaws (scratches on the tanks), missing tank badges and a scrape on the right side tailpipe (Bub's pipes) this thing is nearly all original.

What are your thoughts Tres e mezzo?

[MarkB]

No, don't sell it! You'll regret it for a looong time. Find someone with a corner of a shed you can borrow, hone your riding skills on a cheap commuter bike and look forward to the Morini in the future. You could even get an evening job to help your mum out.

If you really must sell it, some clearer pictures would help give a better idea of what it might be worth.

Good luck, Mark

[mgill]

If someone offered me 11K for mine I'd sign the papers over in a heart beat.
Then I'd buy another Morini, AND maybe a Guzzi or two.
The one that sold on ebay for that much was a pristene example,
and sold shortly after a short story appeared in CycleWorld creating a bubble of interest
in the States.
More realistically, the prices of recent sales in North America are in the $3-3,500 range,
for a nice looking, mechanically sound bike.
and the last 4 or five I've seen on e-bay have failed to reach reserve, only reaching
around $2000.
There's been a VERY nice 350 for sale in Canada, for the last 4 YEARS, the price is $5500 cdn.
Oh, and 800 racing miles is a lot...

Keep it, learn to ride it. You will love it.

Mathew

[mantaray]

and the last 4 or five I've seen on e-bay have failed to reach reserve, only reaching
around $2000.

with disc brakes i guess ?

@thormagnus
Yes, you'll regret it.
But they told me the same when i married
...... and i dont

[thormagnus]

@mataray - I love the marriage analogy.

Thank you guys. Seems like there's really some disparity and it's hard to say really. I could always post it for sale and test the waters? If it meets a minimum reserve then I could sell. If not I have my answer.

Truth is, if it's only worth $3k then I'm not too concerned about putting miles on. I love the way it looks and of course my personal history with the bike. But if it generates some serious interest and bidding then I probably need to part ways...

[mgill]

with disc brakes i guess

Yes all mag wheeled bikes, but low mile, sound looking examples.
A later K model with only 6K miles failed to sell, only reaching $2200.

Should Morini's be worth more than, say, a Ducati single?

The guy asked for our opinion, let's be realistic.

How much will you give him for it?


M

[John Bunting]

Hi Thormangs,
Please don't sell even if you bought another Morini later it would never have the sentimental value of your fathers bike.
Good luck
John

[mantaray]

Yes all mag wheeled bikes, but low mile, sound looking examples.
A later K model with only 6K miles failed to sell, only reaching $2200.

K models and early sports that's a big difference.
Prices if seen here are:
Early sports (disc and borriani's) 2.5 à 3.5 K€
Early strada's 2.0 à 3.0K€
End 70's (disc and alloy's) 1.7 à 2.5 K€
K's 1.2 à 1.7 K€

Or look on the nlm list

There's a drumbrake for sale in Italy @ 5.000 €
The onlyone i found.

In 2 weeks there's an oldtimer market in Imola, let's see what the prices are doing there (if there are drumbrakes)

Should Morini's be worth more than, say, a Ducati single?

Scramblers ?
Mk3? same situation as Drumbrakes
Seen scramblers 3.5 à 5 K€

The guy asked for our opinion, let's be realistic.
How much will you give him for it?

Not the 11.000$



Im not an expert only writing down what i have seen last year

[EVguru]

Hard rush of reality:
I don't have a garage to store it. It would sit outside all winter and easily deteriorate in quality. I'm worried about rust buildup.

Don't you know what living rooms are for, it's a piece of sculpture as well as a bike!

Seriously, correct preparation and a really good breathable bike cover should cope. Can you not find anyone who'd give it a dry home for the winter?

Mom could use the money to help pay for some services.

That's a better reason.

I'm new to riding and worry about dropping it.

A well set up 350 Morini is one of the very best bikes for a beginner. Granted that oversize front drum can be a bit fierce, but properly set up with modern shoes it should be fine.

Overall I feel like anything I do will decrease value or ruin an otherwise really special bike. Mileage this low on anything from that year is amazing. Now that it's running it will still have under 800 miles by the time I get it home. I feel like I should either sell now or keep it forever.

The bike has two seperate vaules, a purely financial one and an emotional one linked to your father. To get the highest value in the US market probably requires something the would be considered very much 'over restored' by UK standards. As long as you give it reasonable care, I really don't think you're going to knock much off the value by riding it. Given the reputation of Veglia instruments, I wouldn't put a great deal of faith in the recorded milleage, it may well have been replaced.

My question is this? Do I list it on Ebay? What's a reasonable sale price? Earlier posts people guesstimated $5k US - $11k. That about right?

Who knows, but I would have said more in the range US$3000-7000. Prices in the UK seem to be all over the place and US prices are VERY location and condition dependent. Double drum Sports are 'investment' machines, but also cult interest (definition of a cult; not enough to form a minority).

A few years ago I paid £625 for a December 1974 Sport 'restoration project' and some people felt I'd paid too much. The next month a front wheel sold for £700 and some time later I bought a wire wheel disc braked rolling frame and engine for £250.

[Steve Brown]

Dear Thormagnus,

I strongly agree with everything said above, I would have said exactly the same.
The really difficult thing for you must be how to help your mum out. If you do go for selling it, you may just be unlucky and only realise a disappointing price. The sort of money you would hope to get will only (normally anyway) be offered for a mint restored example. As it stands, most people will be thinking of restoring it (sad too) and they won't care it was your Dad's bike, so low offers only.
Others have said above, raise money for your Mum by some other means-sell your car? get a(nother/extra) job? A few months of extra labour/enterprise will soon raise the sort of cash the bike would. Sell the bike and it's gone for good, you'll regret that for sure.

There you go, just repeated what everyone else said

Did anyone mention family heirlooms?

Grease the bike up while you get busy, you'll be glad you did and so will your kids (even if they only sell it )

Steve.

[thormagnus]

Thank you everyone! I agree whole-heartedly that if I can avoid to sell I will. After reading everyone's responses and talking to a few people off the forum it seems the value can really be all over the place.

Bottom line is if I can get on the high end for this bike than I'll have to part ways. But if we're talking $5k and below, I'd be very happy riding this bike. More than any other budget commuter.

Thanks for all the great feedback. I'll continue to keep everyone posted on the status of the bike. Right now we're still doing some fine tuning but she should be running soon!

Cheers.

[Daddy Dom]

Hi TM,
sadly, this is so true:

they won't care it was your Dad's bike

If I can help you decide, I keep my Sport under a cover around the side of the house. It is reasonably well sheltered but not 100% by ANY means. I call it my daily rider but in reality I use it a few times every week or ten days. It always starts (especially with my new NLM transducers) and is always a joy to ride. They are resilient bikes, "fragile" is not a term thrown around loosely in Morini circles.
Ahh, except occasionally when discussing electrics.

Undoubtedly, they are sculpture too but the crux will be in the ride. When I last read your tale, you hadn't ridden it yet. Your decision will be made right there. And when you do, remember that they like to rev.

Perhaps you don't know, but in their homeland these were very popular and would have been daily riders. Generally speaking Italy's weather is varied but usually pretty destructive to motorbikes - hot, dusty, cold, snowy, salty sea breezes, salty roads, bad roads, everything! These bikes are survivors - just look at yours!

I don't know which Morinista/o originally coined this phrase (or something similar) but they say you'll either only ever own one Morini forever, or you'll own lots throughout your life. Looks like your Dad fitted in the first category.

HTH,
Daddy Dom

[spub]

Very good advice posted above, and if the choice was mine and it was feasible, I would keep the bike. Of course financial considerations are important, and, at times, determinative, but an early drum sport is a plum, and well worth keeping. Many non Morini owners feel these bikes are quirky and underpowered, but you have to appreciate them for what they are: light, great handlers. While not having huge HP powerplants, they can be quite brisk and can show their rear fender to many higher output bikes on a twisty mountain road...another virtue that I feel is not as apprecited on these bikes is how well thought out and designed they are, and how simple they are to work on. Heads, carbs, pots interchangeable; valves accessible and easy to adjust; take off the tank and side covers and there is nothing you cannot reach. Fiddly electronics, but outside the stock ignition I would say no more so that other Italian bikes of the era....wait, that really is not saying much....but you get the idea...and last, but not least, I would have to say a early drum Sport is one of the most stunning designs to come out of Italy.... ever...(well, perhaps a Bevel Supersport or drum brake MV 750S would be exceptions)....

[corsaro chris]

TM;

Years and years ago I had an old bike, a Velo, that one day broke down. And so I took it apart to fix it. Then I bought a modern, reliable bike, and then a Morini...

We moved house, time over time, and that Velo moved with us. Over the years the crate got more bits, and the frame was stripped. The kids used to ask me what that old bike used to look like, and I'd show them photos and restored bikes at shows (funnily enough, never on the road...). They kidded me that I needed to fix it while there was still a chance that I could start it!

Finally in 2002, when the kids were older (and I had some spare cash) I started work on putting it back together. Earlier this year it ran for the first time this century thanks to the help of friends and spending some money, and I have a photo of eldest son grinning as he sits on the bike... It'll be his when I can no longer ride it, and I hope that he enjoys it. I certainly am, and wish I'd done the work years ago - I might even have bought a few less Morini!

It looks like when I first rode it back in the late 60s, only cleaner, and the boy says that I have to get the Strada out now so that if we ride out together hes got an appropriate steed instead of his modern Triumph.

Keep it, and let the memories live on;

Good Riding,

CC