Newish member with a 3 1/2 Sport
Posted: 02 Apr 2012 18:58
I'm going to be rolling up my sleeves and getting stuck into my 3 1/2 Sport this year, so, although I joined nearly a year ago, I thought I'd introduce myself and my bike a bit because I'm sure I'm going to be trying members' patience quite a lot this year.
I bought a '75 double drum from NLM this time last year (thankfully for somewhat less than one went for recently), but working away from home meant that I had little time to ride it last year other than a few hundred miles on familiarisation and to convince myself that I had done the right thing. Fortunately I had, it's a great little ride, even for a fairly big guy like me, despite my aged brain struggling to establish neural paths to accomodate the right foot change (actually it's the left foot braking that's more of a problem, esp. in emergencies). I thought the box was riddled with false neutrals at first until I'd lowered the angle of the lever a bit to get a more positive upstroke and adapted to the slower change - now I'm hardly getting any, which is a relief. Also, I'm quite enjoying the action of the drum brake now that I've adapted to the self servo effect (it's my first bike with a front drum brake).
The bike was imported by NLM in 2001 and sold to an owner in Dursley, who sold it back to NLM prior to me buying it. It carries a sticker on the front mudguard suggesting that it came originally from Concessionario Bonacchi Learco of Pistoia in Tuscany. It presents quite well, with a recent paint job on the tank and side panels, good wheels, mudguards and seat but the paintwork on the frame is poor, so, depending on how successful my touching up is this year, I might well strip it next winter for a proper frame repaint.
I went for a double drum, while realising that the later disc braked versions are better all rounders, because I like the look of the things and, during my teenage years when everyone else fancied larger, more fashionable machines, there was something about this giant killing 350 with its odd model name that really appealed to me. I didn't actually get a license until my late 20s (so not born again, just born very late) by which time I was into 2-valve BMW GSs (which I still am) and had somewhat forgotten about my earlier Italian passion. About 9 years ago I bought a Gilera Nuovo Saturno (I'd always fancied one) which brought the revelation that not only could I fit onto a smallish sports bike but I could actually enjoy riding them as well. The Saturno is a keeper, but having a bit of spare cash around last year gave me the chance to try something similar and when I got to thinking about it, I remembered the old Morini enthusiasm and here I am.
Aside from the swing arm greasing thread I just posted, the next challenge is getting the carbs to co-operate with each other and the engine. Currently, the bike is becoming increasingly ready to stall at tickover when hot (a major pain in traffic and junctions, although I've now mastered left foot kicking while astride the bike sometimes getting back into neutral is tricky) and is a bit rougher at part throttle around the 4000/5000 rpm mark than I really think it should be. There are some good threads on carb balancing and such and I might start another to record my experiences - just got to find my lost strobe gun to pre-check the ignition timing before I start and wait until the neighbours are out when I'm in!
I bought a '75 double drum from NLM this time last year (thankfully for somewhat less than one went for recently), but working away from home meant that I had little time to ride it last year other than a few hundred miles on familiarisation and to convince myself that I had done the right thing. Fortunately I had, it's a great little ride, even for a fairly big guy like me, despite my aged brain struggling to establish neural paths to accomodate the right foot change (actually it's the left foot braking that's more of a problem, esp. in emergencies). I thought the box was riddled with false neutrals at first until I'd lowered the angle of the lever a bit to get a more positive upstroke and adapted to the slower change - now I'm hardly getting any, which is a relief. Also, I'm quite enjoying the action of the drum brake now that I've adapted to the self servo effect (it's my first bike with a front drum brake).
The bike was imported by NLM in 2001 and sold to an owner in Dursley, who sold it back to NLM prior to me buying it. It carries a sticker on the front mudguard suggesting that it came originally from Concessionario Bonacchi Learco of Pistoia in Tuscany. It presents quite well, with a recent paint job on the tank and side panels, good wheels, mudguards and seat but the paintwork on the frame is poor, so, depending on how successful my touching up is this year, I might well strip it next winter for a proper frame repaint.
I went for a double drum, while realising that the later disc braked versions are better all rounders, because I like the look of the things and, during my teenage years when everyone else fancied larger, more fashionable machines, there was something about this giant killing 350 with its odd model name that really appealed to me. I didn't actually get a license until my late 20s (so not born again, just born very late) by which time I was into 2-valve BMW GSs (which I still am) and had somewhat forgotten about my earlier Italian passion. About 9 years ago I bought a Gilera Nuovo Saturno (I'd always fancied one) which brought the revelation that not only could I fit onto a smallish sports bike but I could actually enjoy riding them as well. The Saturno is a keeper, but having a bit of spare cash around last year gave me the chance to try something similar and when I got to thinking about it, I remembered the old Morini enthusiasm and here I am.
Aside from the swing arm greasing thread I just posted, the next challenge is getting the carbs to co-operate with each other and the engine. Currently, the bike is becoming increasingly ready to stall at tickover when hot (a major pain in traffic and junctions, although I've now mastered left foot kicking while astride the bike sometimes getting back into neutral is tricky) and is a bit rougher at part throttle around the 4000/5000 rpm mark than I really think it should be. There are some good threads on carb balancing and such and I might start another to record my experiences - just got to find my lost strobe gun to pre-check the ignition timing before I start and wait until the neighbours are out when I'm in!