1978 Moto Morini 500 almost done!

[canuck750]

Very lovely job Jim,

Sorry to hear about the missing bag with important parts. Almost happened to me too when rebuilding the Alfa motor, it took a while to find the right box where it was hiding. It will surely come out of hiding the day your new parts arrive. :)

-Ulrik

Yep, in a week or two that zip lock bag is going to rise up out of the corner its been hiding in!

[canuck750]

Engine is back in the frame. it's so much lighter than a Guzzi big block and though it takes some careful protecting of the painted frame one person can get it into place. I dropped some rubber sheet pads around the bottom of the frame to slide the motor on while I threaded the bolts through the back of the frame to get it into position before fitting the front engine plates.

NLM is shipping me the parts that went 'missing' so I can button up the motor in a week or two.

Meanwhile installing all the electrical harness sections I made. I found the clear plastic caps I fitted are too big to fit into the fuse box or connector block so I had to cut off all the fresh crimped ends, reinstall the black plastic covers and recrimp everything.



Spaghetti junction is coming together. Now that I have started to refit all the wires it's starting to make sense to me why Moto Morini chose all of these independent harness sections terminating at the fuse box. It's all pretty easy to follow. The shop manual wire diagram is hard to read but by snapping a picture on my I Phone then enlarging the picture I could make out the tiny writing of such things as the 6 wire leads on the ignition switch and other multiple connections. As well Scrambler Cycle in the USA has on his web page access to a colour wire diagram for this model of 500cc twin, very helpful!

Many of the harness sections were cut off or bodged, previous owner gave up on the electric starter and the wires for the motor and switch were cut off, the idiot light wires were cut and taped, a few cheap crimp connectors here and there, the usual 'fixes' to wire harnesses these old nails get after a few decades of use.

Looks worse than it is!

[canuck750]

The bike came with a pair of Mikuni carbs, sacrilege!!

NLM recommends fitting the stock air box and filters

Rebuilt the stock Dellortos



Slide is all corroded, need new ones



Main jet holder is also the bowl retaining nut, smart!





New boots, need more clamps



can't figure out where the one blue lead goes to near the fuse box??



And the horn is supposed to plug into the main wire harness, the only available wire is a red one but its a thick one??



The usual sorting out a bike that's been bodged for decades, and trying to get it back to stock.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Blue wires are usually grounded on Morinis. That red could very well be the horn power wire.

[canuck750]

Blue wires are usually grounded on Morinis. That red could very well be the horn power wire.

Thanks Charlie

[canuck750]

Blue wires are usually grounded on Morinis. That red could very well be the horn power wire.

Stuart from NLM confirmed the red wire is 'likely' the horn wire and that despite no such information on any of the wire diagrams 'some' Morini rectifier's white wire is a ground and that the stray blue wire coming out of the harness near the fuse box is also a ground. Apparently Moto Morini changed wire colours and patterns regularly

This is what Stuart had to say about the Morini wiring diagrams:

We always imagined that Morini made bikes, and they made wiring diagrams, but they never made one that matched the other; so you have been more fortunate than you know

On another mystery solved item, NLM sent me four new rubber boots for the carbs and these plastic split rings.



Stuart confirmed the plastic split ring goes between the rubber boot and jubilee clamp at the cylinder head intake to carb boot, this prevents splitting of the rubber boot from over tightening the jubilee clamp around the head intake spigot and rubber boot.

Its almost looking like a motorcycle again

[Rick4003]

As always Jim, it looks marvelous, great to see the little bike coming back to life!

-Ulrik 

[canuck750]

I have found a little  time to keep on with the Moto Morini 500 build, I find I keep needing one more part and getting parts from the UK is slow and pricey compared to getting Guzzi parts.




I got most of the motor back together but I found I am missing a seal for the clucth basket, I can get that localy



Exhaust ceramic coated, new head exhaust gaskets, replated the cinch parts that go around the header and is squeezed by the header nut







                                                 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Looking good! Just an FYI: Herdan Corp., the US importer of Morinis back when, is slowing putting up parts on ebay, username "dellortousa". I needed the exhaust head pipe half-rings and they recently listed them. Four more pieces that I won't have to make, or buy from NLM! 

[canuck750]

Looking good! Just an FYI: Herdan Corp., the US importer of Morinis back when, is slowing putting up parts on ebay, username "dellortousa". I needed the exhaust head pipe half-rings and they recently listed them. Four more pieces that I won't have to make, or buy from NLM!

Thanks Charlie for the heads up.  Stuart is a great guy but it takes a long time to get stuff and the shipping is not cheap.

I can't find the fine thread nut that goes over the end of the cam to secure the electronic ignition unit, I must have at least 50 metric nuts that look like they should fit but don't. One more small road block.

The two exhaust heat shields that came loose with the bike don't fit, must be off a 3 1/2.

And lastly the bike came with home made rearsets but the pedals that came with the bike (three of them) don't fit this bike. I bought a set of Excalibur 500 brake and shift pedals with linkage off German Ebay last week hoping I can make something work out of the lot.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Thanks Charlie for the heads up.  Stuart is a great guy but it takes a long time to get stuff and the shipping is not cheap.

I can't find the fine thread nut that goes over the end of the cam to secure the electronic ignition unit, I must have at least 50 metric nuts that look like they should fit but don't. One more small road block.

The two exhaust heat shields that came loose with the bike don't fit, must be off a 3 1/2.

And lastly the bike came with home made rearsets but the pedals that came with the bike (three of them) don't fit this bike. I bought a set of Excalibur 500 brake and shift pedals with linkage off German Ebay last week hoping I can make something work out of the lot.

The nut is an M7-1.00 nylock type on the 3 1/2 Sport, is that what you need? If so, I have 9 of them and will send you one (or more). Do you have the special dished washer that goes on first?

[canuck750]

The nut is an M7-1.00 nylock type on the 3 1/2 Sport, is that what you need? If so, I have 9 of them and will send you one (or more). Do you have the special dished washer that goes on first?

Thanks Charlie that would be great!! ( I have the special washer for it ).

Cheers

Jim

[canuck750]

I found the 'missing' exhaust heat shield hanging from a wire right above my head in the shop, duh !!



Fitted the crank case breather hose with new clamps



The local seal shop had the clutch basket seals I needed to assemble the clutch

Lock tab washer



new nut and oil seal



clutch plates looked good so I am reusing them



handy clutch bolt tool I got off Ebay, works on the Benelli clutch and the Benelli dash idiot lights as well



The clutch activation rod is in three pieces plus the big fat dowel on the opposite side



then the clutch cable arm



and the cable, the new rubber boot goes over the stamped steel clutch cable arm



left side cover back on



It is a dry clutch and it is very stiff! hopefully when I get the cable adjuster fitted on the clutch hand lever, get the bike running and work the clutch cable the plates will feel right

next job is to tackle the right side case cover that holds the starter motor with its drive chain, it is an amazingly complicated little piece of engineering!

[canuck750]

After installing the air box I noticed a nasty crack in the plastic and found another one after removing it and separating the two halves

The plastic has gotten hard over the years and the plastic tube seal is hard and brittle, clamping the two halves into the deformed seal just stresses the case more



I got this plastic welder last year and it works pretty good



The welder works like brazing, you get the iron real hot and melt the braising rods into the original plastic and build up the joint



This plastic tube with a rigid wire in the center is the seal, its past its prime



After trying some other rubber tubes and wires the gasket still didn't fit, its a poor design at best

I just bolted the case back together and then sealed the joint with black silicone, when the filters get replaced the silicone will need to be redone, Morini has a nice filter box but changing he air filters required removing the box from the frame (3 nuts) and then separating the case - 1o fine machine screws, not a quick job!



Cracks sealed, box sealed



A friend gave me an original Cycled magazine from 1979 with a detailed road test of the Moto Morini 500, there are lost of nice pictures (B & W) of the chassis with the gas tank off and plenty of detail shots of wire and hose routing.

I had the breather hoses routed incorrectly, this is how they should be placed, at least in 1979 



That took an evening to get the box off, fixed and back together, just to fix two cracks.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I was advised by the Morini importer (Herdan Corp.) to discard the seal between the upper and lower halves and rejet to suit if needed. That made a huge difference on my first K2 - it went from struggling to rev past 4500 rpms, to shooting up to 9k like a two-stroke (almost).

It was already missing from my present K2 and I left it out on the 3 1/2 Sport restoration project. 

[canuck750]

I was advised by the Morini importer (Herdan Corp.) to discard the seal between the upper and lower halves and rejet to suit if needed. That made a huge difference on my first K2 - it went from struggling to rev past 4500 rpms, to shooting up to 9k like a two-stroke (almost).

It was already missing from my present K2 and I left it out on the 3 1/2 Sport restoration project.

Well that's interesting!

I will just pull the silicone out of the joint, the gap was surprisingly wide, a lot of air is going to find its way in, probably not a bad thing now that I think about it.

Thanks for the tip

[Rick4003]

Hi Jim,

Looks spectacular as always, it is going to be a super nice little Morini! I just spotted one of the newer Morini's when I was on holiday in Berlin this week.

Is it just a optical illusion on the picture or isn't there a crack in your crank case breather hose?

-Ulrik

[canuck750]

Hi Jim,

Looks spectacular as always, it is going to be a super nice little Morini! I just spotted one of the newer Morini's when I was on holiday in Berlin this week.

Is it just a optical illusion on the picture or isn't there a crack in your crank case breather hose?

-Ulrik

Your eyes are better than mine, its a crack and the hose needs to be replaced. I have a new hose from NLM to fit.

Yesterday I played around with fitting the starter motor, the motor is attached to the right hand engine side cover, NLM sent me a rebuilt one. The set up is quite ingenious but overly complex IMHO.

There is a shaft in the side cover that rides in a pair of ball bearings, the starter clutch rides on the shaft. The starter clutch has a sprocket that is joined by a chain to the starter motor.



Drops down as unit like this



There is a sheet metal guard and a tensioning lock bolt and tab.





The whole unit then flips over onto the engine and the starter clutch nests into the outside of the rotor.

On another note I am having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to fit brake and shift pedals, the parts manual shows the UK model with right hand shift, the North American model had a left shift and the previous owner had fitted home made rear sets.

I have gathered up several sets of pedal mechanism for a 500 Morini but none seem to fit. From period magazine literature I can see the brake pedal was on the right hand side and a cable was routed to the left hand mounted rear master cylinder, my bike still has the threaded frame tab for the brake cable. On the right hand side of the frame beside the foot peg there is a threaded boss to accept a pedal but there is nothing on the frame to secure a cable to.

I have strong suspicion that the previous owner cut off tabs for the pedal mechanism, there is what appears to be evidence of weld marks on both sides of the frame where some lugs were attached.

The shift shaft exits the right hand side of the engine and I have several sets of shaft sleeve and rods that supposedly work the shift pedal. Attached to the underside of the frame is a hollow tube that appears to accept a shaft, I have several of these shafts, a knurled end on one side and an oblong tab with a hole drilled through it on the other. I am guessing the shift pedal sits on the knurled end of this shaft and somehow the tab end connects to shift linkage on the right hand side. I can not find a shift pedal in my lot of parts that fits on the left side of the engine.

I am considering throwing in the towel and just refitting the rear sets that came with the bike, they are set up for right hand shift, left hand brake.







If anyone has some good pictures of a 78 to 80 Moto Morini 500 brake and shift pedals and linkage to send me I would be indebted.

Thanks

Jim

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

If anyone has some good pictures of a 78 to 80 Moto Morini 500 brake and shift pedals and linkage to send me I would be indebted.

Thanks

Jim

Check with Kevin Hahn at Scrambler Cycle.

[canuck750]

Check with Kevin Hahn at Scrambler Cycle.

Thanks Charlie,

I sent Kevin an email

[canuck750]

Kevin from Scrambler Cycle was kind enough to take pictures of his 78 Moto Morini to identify how the control pedals attach, as I suspected the previous owner did the unspeakable, mutilated the poor Morini frame and cut off the tabs and lugs that held the pedal and linkage, unforgiveable   

This of Kevin's Morini left side showing the lug that carries the shift lever



And this is the same spot on my bike, the remenant of the tube post that carriers the shift pedal remains



same strorey on the otherside of the frame. tabs missing that stop the brake pedal and hold the brake cable.

The original rearsets go back on

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

 

[canuck750]

I was setting up the clutch and sitting on the bike trying to row through the gears but the shifter is very stubborn, it seems to hang up at times and not want to move. I stripped out the clutch sied of the motor, no better so I bit the bullet and pulled the motor ( a pretty easy job on the Morini) and put the motor back on the bench. Aftewr getting no where examining the outside of the cases I split th ecases and removed the transmission gear set and selector. Shifting is very reluctant. Thankfully Charlie Mulendore sent me a handy alignm ent tool that grasp ass four tenamsion related hsfats at once to allow for shift adjustment and shifting with the gear set in the left hand engione case.

I think the trouble is down to a worn selector arm pawl.



This is what the top of the sdelector drum looks like as I move the shift lever through the gears.

Pawels not in position on 1st



Pawls not cenetring in 2nd



Pawls not cenetriung in 3rd



The pawls are bot cenetrd in 4th



It does not apper tahte 5th is being engaged

[canuck750]

Stuart from NLM came through again for me.

I ordered a new selector arm but Stuart consulted his mechanics and felt that I had misplaced a shim on one side of a shaft, sure enough asfter striping down the parts I was missing a thin shim between a shaft and the ball bearing in the engine case.

Once I fitted a shim I could shift up and down all 5 speeds and neutral. I am surprised the difference this thin shim made.

I fitted each shaft or drum one a a time in the crank cases, bolted them together and checked the movement and play of each piece and then added one component at a time, once satisifed I put the engine back together and hopefully once running it will shift crisply.

[canuck750]

After sorting the gear change out I can close up the sides covers, I had the side cover of so many times fiddling with the clutch that I tore the gasket. To try and not damage another gasket (not like I can just drop into a parts store to find one) I cut the heads off a11 old long 6mm bolts and then loosely threaded them into the engine case



Then I slipped the new gasket off the studs



Then I could pop the side cover over the studs and press the side cover home and one by one remove a stud and thread in a permanent 6mm bolt



Put the clutch basket back together











my Morini 3 1/2 came with this great clutch holding tool from NLM



Peended the lock washer over the centre nut





New clutch discs, the thin one goes in first



Then the cupper steel plate









The pick up over the cam, the nut is an odd 7mm thread



right side done



right side I fitted the clutch arm and cable and fitted a new rubber boot over the stator wires leaving the engine case

[canuck750]

After a lot of fitting and some machining I finally got the left hand rear set bracket to fit without binding the brake pedal to the exhaust. A previous owner made the 8mm aluminum brackets from scratch, he put a lot of thought into them, the left bracket fits over the 25mm diameter stock foo peg stud, the second hole fits into the centre of the swing arm pivot. I drilled out the 6mm threaded hole that was in the end of the axle into a 8mm threaded hole. The bracket has to straddle the exhaust, support the brake pedal and allow the brake rod to master cylinder clear the header.

I made the alignment cap from stainless, it takes a 8mm bold in the foot peg stud.





A real tight fit!



and the home made brake pedal just clears the 8mm bolt



To use the kick starter the left rear set peg needs to be folded up, I hope the electric starter works!

[canuck750]

I got the chain installed and then the left side cover with the starter motor inside it.

I don't love the home made shift pedal that came with it, might try and find something that looks like it was stock





Clutch cable and adjuster fitted



Carbs test fitted, still waiting on he new slides







I bled the brakes and checked the nuts and bolts, almost done

Now to fit the throttle and choke cables and attach the last of the electrical wires

[canuck750]

The Moto Morini 500 is almost done, I am waiting on a pair of handle bar grips and the new carb slides, today I set the valve gap, fitted new spark plugs and rocker cover gaskets, installed the choke and throttle cables and put the body work on. I need to order a pair of petcocks, the electronic petcock is not working and the other stock one that came with the bikes is in pretty rough shape as well, at least it looks done, I have not tested the electrical, that will be the next job.

Other than the rear sets and the Ikon shock absorbers she is pretty much stock, the bike would have come with chrome exhaust as well in 78'.

I think she is a pretty sexy red head.

[mjptexas]

Simply amazing.  Now you need to add a Parillia and an MV Augusta to your Italian collection :)

[Paul Brooking]

Superb


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