1977 3.5 Sport Restoration

[Steve Brown]

Agreed, that is coming along nicely. Keep on at it!

[sheddweller]

Paz,
Looking good! It's great to see a bike being built primarily for riding. One mod I think is well worthwhile is to put some seals outboard of the swingarm bushes. These are readily available to suit both the OD of the bushes and the Pivot shaft, so it is an easy job. You will probably be checking that the Pivot shaft is free and greased anyway. My swingarm hadn't been shimmed to take up end float either.

[EVguru]

You don't shim the swingarm for side play unless your frame/arm combination has excessive clearance. The swing arm pivot is adjustable for side play.

Convert to a stainless pivot with PTFE bushes and you'll never need to grease again.

[Daddy Dom]

By this stage I am falling for the Morini and starting to understand why people own multiple bikes.

Small-run, hand-made, motorcycle jewellery is very addictive and you're rebuilding it the same way it was constructed - by hand. Nice work!
DD

[MickeyMoto]

By this stage I am falling for the Morini and starting to understand why people own multiple bikes.

Small-run, hand-made, motorcycle jewellery is very addictive and you're rebuilding it the same way it was constructed - by hand. Nice work!
DD

Probably why they went broke if it took that long to build a bike. Have you had August off and been on strike a few times during the build?

[RedVee]

Looking really good there. Do you want to do another when you have finished that one? Mine could do with a tidy up

[hombre]

He was indeed called Agusti and was very helpful during the entire process. Am I to believe that Morini's are so rare that everyone is known around the globe?

I met the guy too! I was in Spain in april and got some parts from him. We actually staid in a small cottage from an English Morini-rider who lives there and who I only know from mailcontact. A small world indeed

Lovely bike btw! I think these are the rarest of the Sports, built only in '76.

[Paz2112]

He was indeed called Agusti and was very helpful during the entire process. Am I to believe that Morini's are so rare that everyone is known around the globe?

I met the guy too! I was in Spain in april and got some parts from him. We actually staid in a small cottage from an English Morini-rider who lives there and who I only know from mailcontact. A small world indeed

Lovely bike btw! I think these are the rarest of the Sports, built only in '76.

Agusti was a real gent, he put up with my constant questions (not having owned a Morini 350 before) and kept going back to get me pictures on his phone. He also prepared the bike really well for its long trip to Ireland.

Being possibly 'the rarest' sport, am I doing the right thing by not restoring to original. I plan on either cutting and reshaping the side panels or possibly just getting some new ones made. I am going for a cafe look with the final bike. See below.

[Paz2112]

OK so a question that I have had in my head since I started this project is whether to restore to original spec (on the basis that this is a rare model of sport and therefore of importance) or to restore to my vision of the bike which is a cafe racer/bobber to use with my young children for Sunday runs (I am not bringing them for a run on the Aprilia!).

With the cafe racer in mind I wanted a bike that looked fully serviced, clean, well maintained and in race trim (if it is not needed then remove it) but with a comfy seat and my own unique stamp on the final bike.

I have already made the decision some weeks ago to chrome the tank (if possible, which it proved to be) and to recover a strada seat in old tan leather but in the 70's style. BTW, I also still have the cafe seat that came with the bike and I am having this one recovered as per original black and humped.

A picture of the seat will follow when I get a chance to take a picture, for now this is the tank and a quick (I couldn't help myself) picture of it on the frame.


New Enamel Badges for both the tank and the side panels was sourced from Italy.


This gives some idea of my plans. I am thinking of triangle side panels in Itilian red with white 3.5 logo.


Question 1 : So what does the Morini community think? Am I creating a a monster and destroying a classic or is the new take on a superb bike an 'in keeping' refresh?

Question 2 : What colour would you do the side panels in light of the fact that the tank is chrome and the seat is old tan leather?

Question 3 : Side mirrors or not?

[Haboola72]

Great job so far ...re. your questions.

1. Follow your instincts. Ignore public opinion but don't do things that can't be undone at a later date..and that includes cutting or re-shaping OE.
2. As above
3. Safety first...always.

Agusti is a great Morini enthusiast. He's a carpenter by trade but loves to wheel and deal in his spare time. He professes to have no mechanical knowledge of Morinis, which is a good caveat if you happen to deal in them. I should add that he's totally reliable and a thoroughly nice bloke...'look forward to seeing the finished bike!

[MickeyMoto]

Looking good - only thing missing is the 501 engine...

Original? What's that? I'm sure it has had new tyres and oil since being made

Do what you think is right for you (just don't hacksaw the frame!).

[norbert]

That looks great, keep on with your dream, that´s the best you can do!!!

Here in Germany one mirror is obligatory (and makes sense!), the second one you only need if the bike is younger than 198?.

One sugestion maybe allowed: I would not guide the "steel"-tube of the frontbrake through that ring of the "rubberholders". It will scrub there! To me the tube looks a little bit too long.
And I would look for some ... where you put yor feet on ... more to the back. That makes riding a Morini much more comfortable

As far as originality is concerned: This is ought to be a 350T from 1974 (at least the frame ) I wonder wether I`ll ever finish it

k-repariert!.JPG (78.4 KiB) Viewed 23313 times

norbert

[Steve Brown]

'Original' is a minefield and it probably wasn't original within weeks of its first registration! As Haboola says, it's your bike to do as you will but probably best not to cut up parts which are relatively common now but will be harder to find with every passing year.
I have the same model which I bought new in 1977, that was non-original in a very short time too. The thing I regret most was cutting the seat to allow the fitting of a large alloy fuel tank... I never thought that 30 odd years later I would be struggling to give the bike a standard look again. That seat is a one year only bit.
I also kick myself for throwing the original tank in a skip after I wrote the bike off one dark wet night. A clip on broke off and punctured the tank, it could have been fixed but I bought another similar but not quite the same (one year out! Ken Bruce) Oh yes and the original clip ons are worth looking for as they fit in nicer with less compromise than the others on offer.
In this club the vast majority are NOT rivet counters and won't moan at your personal interpretation of the bike. Later owners though, may curse you if they want a catalogue correct bike. Trouble is they will have great difficulty working what was original on their bike on the particular day it left the factory

[EVguru]

A chrome tank has already been done. A black and Chrome drum braked Sport has been to the track day a couple of times. Very nice it was too!

[hombre]

One of my alltime favourites is the first discbrake sport, like this: http://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/ ... 1138_1.jpg
I wouldn't have chromed the tank unless it's more like the one in Norbert's post. But then again, it's yours so do as you please, just enjoy it!