Just bought a 1974 Sport

[Db7gtgrigio]

Hello there

Chris from Sydney Australia. I have had Italian bikes for the last 25 years but just bought my first Morini. It's a 1974 double drum Sport Frame No A1 05196. It was acquired from NLM by the previous owner in 2007 and shipped to Australia arriving early 2008. Since then it has only done 500km, so I have some recommissioning to do. It starts and runs pretty well however idle speed is 2200rpm and I can't get it lower so a new set of gaskets and o rings will be purchased.

The fuel was horrible so have drained and replaced, but there was some rust so I want to seal the tank, what is the recommended tank sealant these days?

The bike was imported into the UK in 1993 from Italy. It is in very nice but not perfect condition.

First question- did early Sports have indicators? There is a bill in the history from NLM to fit indicators, so at some point someone wanted them fitted, but a) they vibrate and I think they might eventually damage the rear taillight bracket and b) they look ugly so I am include to remove them.

Cheers to all

Chris

[Steve Brown]

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new bike it sounds like you should have a good one there. In reply to your questions, indicators were not fitted as standard then so it's your choice whether to keep or not (unless your local laws say otherwise!) Not sure if the lugs for indicators were there in '74 but by the time of my '76 model there were two lugs welded to the rear frame loop, just behind the seat hump. I don't think the factory ever fitted indicators to the rear number plate holder as it's quite thin and likely to crack-mine did when I tried that - so needs re-inforcing if you keep them there. Also, the indicators the factory did use later were made by CEV. Most people fit the '70s Lucas lamps as they are available and look quite like the originals. If yours has these then they definitely weren't fitted by the factory!

As for the tank job. I've used the POR15 kits from Frost Automotive (are they in Aus?) made by a US firm. Best look at them as you get a rust remover chemical as well as a liquid to dissolve the old fuel gums and residues that need stripping off before you put the liner in. If the rust isn't too bad, then just clean the tank and de-rust it but don't use the liner as they can bring their own problems in years to come, possibly. So if your tank isn't leaking after cleaning and is not thin in places from corrosion just use it as it is.

Hope that is of some use and that you enjoy the bike,

Steve

[Db7gtgrigio]

Thanks for the reply Steve that is very helpful.

The indicators are CEV they look identical to the ones fitted to my Guzzi Le Mans only chrome not black. The rear ones are fitted to the pressed metal bracket that holds the rear light and number plate bracket. Sounds like NLM just drilled holes in there . I am worried that the vibration will crack the pressing and since bike never had indicators and Australian rules don't require them on a '74 bike off they go!

I suspect the rust in the tank is due to the fact that the previous owner left the bike sitting with only half a gallon of fuel in the tank. There are no leaks so perhaps as you say just a clean will suffice. Any suggestions on what substance I can use to clean out the rust and stabilise it. Someone suggested a vinegar solution to clean the inside........

[AntietamClassicCycle]

Some ideas on how to clean the tank: http://www.thisoldtractor.com/moto_guzz ... ating.html

[EVguru]

It starts and runs pretty well however idle speed is 2200rpm and I can't get it lower so a new set of gaskets and o rings will be purchased.

First check that you actually have slack in the throttle cables and that the ignition timing is correct.

If it's not either of those, then I'd suspect a manifold leak.

The fuel was horrible so have drained and replaced, but there was some rust so I want to seal the tank, what is the recommended tank sealant these days?

Don't seal the tank!

A little bit of rust in your fuel is far, far less trouble than a failing tank lining. You don't hear much about the former, but you hear a lot about the latter.

I used this method ; http://www.realclassic.co.uk/techfiles/ ... moval.html to clean the tank of a 500 that had sat in damp UK garages for a decade or so. I didn't even use inline filters, just dropped the float bowls each time for the first few tanks of fuel.

[Steve Brown]

Thanks for the reply Steve that is very helpful.

The indicators are CEV they look identical to the ones fitted to my Guzzi Le Mans only chrome not black. The rear ones are fitted to the pressed metal bracket that holds the rear light and number plate bracket. Sounds like NLM just drilled holes in there . I am worried that the vibration will crack the pressing and since bike never had indicators and Australian rules don't require them on a '74 bike off they go!

I suspect the rust in the tank is due to the fact that the previous owner left the bike sitting with only half a gallon of fuel in the tank. There are no leaks so perhaps as you say just a clean will suffice. Any suggestions on what substance I can use to clean out the rust and stabilise it. Someone suggested a vinegar solution to clean the inside........

I've heard of the vinegar and other solutions like Antietam suggests above but never tried them. For me it was easiest and quickest to get the POR15 kit which has the cleaner, rust remover and sealer all in. It does all work too and I'm happy with the results. You can get the cleaner/rust removers seperateley from them too. I just bought some more in larger quantities as I have three othe tanks in need of attention.

As for your indicators-I'll have them if you don't want them! What would post to UK cost and any idea how much you want for them?

[Db7gtgrigio]

Thanks for all the helpful comments. The indicators are going in my box of bits, I learned years ago never to get rid of stuff, you just never know when you might need it.........

I now think that the idle speed is not too bad but it is in fact the tachometer that is inaccurate. At 110km/h (68mph) tach is showing 7,000rpm. That just not seen right. I would have though 5,500 more realistic at that speed. I'm pretty sure the speed was about right. Are these electronic tacos known to get very inaccurate ? Can they be recalibrated?

While on tahometers, mine has redline at 8,000rpm. It has been suggested to me that a Sport should have a Veglia taco redlined at 8,500rpm, and that the unit fitted to my bike is in fact from a Strada. Any comments.

I did 200km today on my first real ride on this bike and all I can say is WOW what sublime handling. I had forgotten the pure joy of a small light good handling bike on a twisty road. The guy on the 848 Panigale who could not shake me off was similarly impressed

[Brett]

Hi,

Yes I have one that was built in late 1973 which was one of the first, no they weren't fitted with indicators and yeas the sport had the 8500 redline Veglia tacho, the Strada had the 8000 redline tacho.

This is mine after a 2.5 year total restoration, the speedo when restored maintained the original kilometre reading.

http://www.philaphoto.com/imageLibrary/ ... album=1580

Yes they are a fantastic handling bike and almost know the corners better than the rider!!

Cheers

Brett

[Brett]

Sorry I forgot to mention yes the Veglia electronic tacho is renowned for being a tad inaccurate. They basically rev like a two stroke.

Have fun with it

[EVguru]

They're not nicknamed 'Vauge liars' for nothing.

If the needles are stable and don't wobble or bounce, they your instruments are working fine. They do tend to over-read by quite a bit, but 1000rpm per 10mph in top is close to what I'd expect, which does tend to indicate your Idle is rather high. I don't try to get them much below 1500rpm anyway.

The 350 twins, especially the Sport, are very willing to rev and my Sport will pull nearly an indicated 10,000rpm https://youtu.be/vr0GRSzl5ew

Although an 8500rpm redline would be correct for a Sport, that doesn't guarantee that it wouldn't have come from the factory with an 8000rpm instrument. Morini would not have let a detail like that prevent them from getting a bike out the doors.

[MarkB]

Hi Chris, I'm glad you're finding out how wonderful Morinis are! Regarding gearing and revs, you are using 6th gear aren't you?! With standard sprockets (14 and 38 teeth) both my 3 1/2s (one Sport, one Strada) cruise at 70mph at 6,000 rpm (speed measured on the Satnav). As EVGuru says, they're not called vague liars for nothing: the speedometer on both bikes over-reads consistently by 8mph, even at rest!

Regards, Mark

[Db7gtgrigio]

Yes Mark I am definitely using all 6 gears........

7000 rpm at 68 mph can't be right. Assuming they are geared for 100mph at 8500rpm redline then engine should be doing 5,950 at 68mph not the 7000rpm I am seeing, appears to be 1000 rpm out. Idle speed is 2500rpm on the clock but it does not feel that high perhaps that is more like 1500 rpm in reality.....

Is it worth trying to get the taco re calibrate So?....of should I just get used to this as an Italian bike idiosyncrasy ?????

[Daddy Dom]

Welcome along from the NZ contingent, there are a few of us over here. I used POR 15 in my tank a few years ago and it's been okay so far, touch wood. We in NZ don't have anywhere near as much ethanol in our fuel as in the UK and that may be why UK riders shy away from it. Just a guess, though.

With such piss-poor drivers in NZ I actually fitted bigger indicators than the ones originally on my bike. Mind you, they were those awful microscopic Oxford mini things and now I use the rectangular Morini originals.
Cheers,
DD

[Db7gtgrigio]

So today I did my third ride since buying the bike and I am up to 700km. Sadly the gear change quality seems to be deteriorating rather than improving. Finding neutral with engine running is almost impossible and the clutch is noticeably dragging. When stopped in gear I can feel the bike edging forward even with clutch lever to the bars. Gear selection is also difficult on the down change. I have to give a decent blip and still the pressure on the lever is excessive. Impossible to move the gear lever with engine on and stopped. With engine off gear engagement seems fine.

I had before today's ride adjusted the clutch actuation to give 15mm between the lever and engine case and also 4mm free play at the handlebar lever but it is still poor. I did ride today a friends Morini 500 with LH shift and it was excellent with very positive gear engagement and easy neutral selection so clearly they can be made to work well. FYI my RH gear change has Tarozzi rear sets.

I removed the clutch cover. There is some oil in there but a very small amount. It does not look like the plates are contaminated, but admittedly hard to tell. When I pull the clutch lever to the bars the plates only seem to move about 2mm in the clutch basket. The clutch plate securing screws are a little burred so it has obviously been apart before (bike has 41,000km).

Where do I go from here? I did see a few posts suggesting that the 15mm gap from operating lever to engine case is not necessarily the optimum and I could increase the leverage by widening the clearance. Or is it a case of removing all the clutch plates, cleaning and inspecting?

What can cause clutch drag.

Thanks for all the helpful advice.

Chris.

[MickeyMoto]

Grabby clutch and drag is standard. I thought the measurement was 12mm at the clutch fork?

Try removing the plates and cleaning them up. Also there is a 'special' plate and a washer in there. See other posts for help in putting it back together. I can confirm the left foot change bikes are better, although some will disagree.

Mike.