Project Kanguro Moto Completed

[robinh44]

Hi,

I have posted this in the Kanguro section but as I have changed it to a full road going version I thought you tre e mezzo guys might be interested.

Well after just over a year of building my frankenstein Morini is completed. I purchased the 1984 Morini Kanguro X1 350 in May 06 and have been mutilating it ever since. Combining parts from the best bikes in the world I now have a machine with comprising of parts from Moto Morini, Ducati, Husqvarna, BMW, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM, Yamaha, Royal Enfield and even a shim in the clutch from a Rover Mini ball joint!!

This is what it started as>


After a day I had what I wanted from the Morini>


And this is the final result>


The headlamp nacelle was my nod to the Manx Norton, I needed something to fill the gap between the headlamp and the forks and hide all the wiring and relays as there is not room under the seat.


The casing below just over week ago had a 2 inch hole in it when the flywheel nut came off during a test run, thanks to JB Weld and my local Morini parts shop 100 miles away I repaired it in a week>


Due to the Husqvarna forks and Suzuki Bandit wheel not getting on I could not fit the Suzuki speedo drive. So I fitted a Trailtech Vapor, absolute top piece of kit, also used the Morini ignition switch and as I rewound the alternator coils myself fitted a Royal Enfield ammeter to keep an eye on them>








The Ducati 996 silencers sounds and look good, also they tuck away nicely. I made the tail fairing from a sheet of perforated stainless steel using a vice mounted sheet metal bender.The fuel tank is from an 80's Honda FT500 known as the Ascot in the US and the rear light is from a Suzuki Hayabusa!>



The seat is a heavily modified single seat from a BMW R850R, I also recovered it in leather, assisted by my local shoe repairer who glued and stitched the patchwork of pieces for me to staple on>


Final views show the distinctive Morini 3 1/2 badge fitted to the road going Sport & Strada 350's of the 70's and the front end sporting the Ducati 996 brembo 4 pot caliper and Ducati monster mudguard with my homemade bracket fastened to a Micron aluminium fork brace>



After some de-snagging have removed the shrouds from the airfilters and fitted an old cutdown fork gaitor to each filter to prevent turbulence affecting performance. Refitted rear brake caliper after 2 bolts fell out!! and refitted the original lower chain roller after my new replacement also fell off!!. I do own a torque wrench and stud lock but have maybe missed a few bits over the year. Hope you like, the engine runs well, first time start on first kick. The ducati pipes sound good will post video soon.

Regards

Robin

[3potjohn]

A very nice bike indeed. I note the BMW switchgear.Lovely. I have some BMWs myself all with different switchgear. I get confused sometimes.I have just fitted mini indicators to my 350 but ommitted to wire in the idiot light,which I note is not even present in the back of my panel. Does the wiring run from each front one,I haven't figured it out yet.Or had the time, but a bit of guidance would be appreciated.

[robinh44]

John

Thanks, yes I know some people dislike the BMW switchgear, but I find it very easy in use and have got used to its colourful appearance. I also used a BMW wiring loom of sorts mainly for integrating their indicator relay which has about 12 connections against the normal 2!!.
Regarding the indicator idiot light it normally connects to the feed coming from the indicator relay. In practise it will be easier to find the feed coming to the handlebar switch and tee of that wire for your idiot light, it will then flash whenever the relay is powered up.

Regards

Robin

[Ballacraine]

Smart job!

Nicely done!

IMO That tank HAS to go though....Think roundy, curvy ;0)

Please tell me more about the Trailtech Vapor....Looks interesting.

Nige :0)

[robinh44]

Nige

Regarding the tank, I was originally going for a sort of XR750 harley look and the FT500 was quite close to this, and I admit a nice teardrop shape would go better with the seat and tail fairing. Although in some respects there a plenty on straight angular line for it to blend in with, and I have been looking at it for so long I cannot see the wood for the tree's anymore so I appreciate the comments.
Regarding the trailtech vapor, this is an excellent piece of kit. I was intending to use a conventional speedo but the suzuki front wheel and husqvarna fork combination did not leave room for the suzuki speedo drive, the trailtech uses a magnet and hall sensor pickup, I JBwelded the magnet to the front disc and made a bracket for the hall sensor which fits to the front caliper. Main features of the vapor are speedo (mph or kmh), rev counter in bar graph or digital readout ( note for morini set to 0.5 pulse per rev to get correct readout), has to program leds that can be used as shift lights and over rev warning currently I have the set at 5500 rpm and 7000 rpm. Also has hidden menu to reprogram mileometer so can be matched to original mileage. In addition the unit gives ambient air temp, date/time and for watercooled engines it has a water temp sensor, you can get an aircooled engine temp sensor. There are also all sorts of distance and time calculations, beware the unit remembers highest speed travelled!!, due to air filter and carb tuning issues not got much over 75 yet. I bought the additional option of the indicator lights that fit round the outside (the bulbs are a little dim in daylight). Still getting used to having a digital speed readout, would ultimately prefer the old speedo needle as with digital you get no impression of rate of change but I am sure I will get used to it.

Regards

Robin

[Ballacraine]

Yes, I can follow your thoughts, but stand by my earlier comment!

Trailtech sounds pretty useful.....

Where did you get yours from?

Nige.

[robinh44]

Nige

I ordered mine direct from trailtech uk's website at the following link:-

http://www.trailtechproducts.co.uk/store/erol.html

Regards

Robin

[Ballacraine]

Thanks for the link, Robin.

Nige

[Gruff]

Hi Robin, This project Morini is looking real nice, I can appreciate the work that has gone into it as I am only restoring my Kanguro and just putting things back where they came from gives me head aches.
I do like the idea of a round headlamp and would like to know what size you have used. I have measured the standard fork spacing and it comes to 7" which seems to be a standard size for mid range bikes.
But not sure if this would look to big on a Trail bike?

By the way, how does the bike handle compared to the original Kanguro?

Regards

Gareth

[robinh44]

Gareth

Thanks it is still coming along, last job was the tank re-paint to the colour I wanted it in the first place. Still to do this winter is to lower the swing arm pivot to get more chain clearance and I might possibly 'decore' the ducati silencers time permitting. I will measure the headlamp later and report, it came from a Suzuki SV650 and I used the headlamp brackets from a Suzuki Bandit 400. I preferred the look of the round headlamp and ultimately you have a bigger reflector so the headlight should work better or at least throw more light onto the road.
Regarding the comparative ride to the standard Kanguro, I rode it in standard trim for about 20 miles from the guy I bought it off, got it home and immediately dismantled it, so I don't know. Personally I like how it runs and rides currently, but it would be good to compare. I suggest we meet up at a mutually convenient bike meet/show and swap bikes to do a true comparison, probably best wait till next year when both our projects are complete.

Regards

Robin