Next (personal) project - Moto Morini 3 1/2 Strada

[Canuck750]

Ignition pickup, plug wires, carbs, and throttle cables, then I can run it from a bottle. The tank needs lots of "love" - rusty inside, one dent. Need to save up enough $$ (not spend any on Pantah) to have the bodywork and paint done.

If you need any ignition bits my 500 Morini has been swapped to a Sasche coil ignition, the original transducers and cam pickup are redundant to me, PM me if you can use them. I have kept the stator for charging the battery. Good luck with the tank, I hate rust! I am using diluted muriatic acid these days to attack stubborn rust but its serious crap and the usual precautions from breathing the fumes are essential.
Looking forward to your startup report!

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

If you need any ignition bits my 500 Morini has been swapped to a Sasche coil ignition, the original transducers and cam pickup are redundant to me, PM me if you can use them. I have kept the stator for charging the battery. Good luck with the tank, I hate rust! I am using diluted muriatic acid these days to attack stubborn rust but its serious crap and the usual precautions from breathing the fumes are essential.
Looking forward to your startup report!

Sending you a PM regarding the ignition bits. The rust won't be too difficult - diluted milkstone remover (available from Tractor Supply here) will make short work of it. IIRC, it's main ingredient is phosphoric acid.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Carburetor cleaning today! Now my clothes stink of old gas and carb cleaner... Not terrible, but a good coating of tar-like goo and brown fluffy crud. "Only" five hours later they're clean and ready to install. With all of the bits I had replated, they really look nice. The bowls were a bit corroded, so I wet sanded and polished them.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Manifold installation today. First, removed the rocker cover so that the assembled manifold can be rotated. Installed the carb and rotated it into the correct position.   



This is where it gets "fun". On the last engine I did, I just applied thread locker, positioned the manifold where I wanted it and ran the lock ring down to secure it. But, that leaves a gap between the end of the manifold and the cylinder head. This time, I decided to use a crush washer to fill the gap. The problem is, I calculated that I would need a 1.3 mm thick crush washer on the left, and a 1.05 mm thick one on the right. Plus, the crush washers I have on hand would need the inner diameter opened up (besides being thinned). To thin them down, I made a plastic holder and then rubbed them back and forth on a file. To open up the i.d., I used a small oval-section file. As you can imagine, this took a while. But, I got it done.


Crush washer down in the port.


Installed the manifold again, tightened it down against the crush washer - perfect! Mark the position.


Apply thread locker, thread in until the marks align, spin the lock ring down and tighten.


Before I put the rocker cover back on, I wet sanded the areas to be polished.


Repeat for the other cylinder.

[Dave Swanson]

Nice solution.  Looking good!

[Canuck750]

Nice work, that certainly took patience!

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I would have the throttle twistgrip and cables on if the new cables actually fit. Free length is approx. 8 mm too short. It seems that Venhill can never make a cable correctly...  I need to source or another pair, or I may just send the originals to Barnett and have them make duplicates.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

A little over a month later...





Two beautifully crafted throttle cables arrived yesterday. I had hoped to install them today, but it looks like I'll be doing snow removal (again!) instead.

[Dave Swanson]

A little over a month later...





Two beautifully crafted throttle cables arrived yesterday. I had hoped to install them today, but it looks like I'll be doing snow removal (again!) instead.

Barnett is an amazing outfit.  That they will fool with these little jobs is rare in today's market. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Cables are on and fit very nicely. But, the job didn't go totally smoothly - I cracked the plastic block that holds the cables at the throttle. Looks like mine had previous been cracked and glued, it's not looking any better now.










These are notoriously difficult to find and I was fearing a lengthy wait before I could find one and get the bike running (soon). Then I remembered that my Ducati uses the same switch/throttle assembly as the later electric start Morinis. Could it be the same as the one for the metal bodied, no switch throttle? Yes, yes it is. 

Now I just need to find one for my Pantah. It would be nice to have one made of aluminum, but 3D printing might be easiest.

[Canuck750]

That is an excellent candidate for 3D printing, you could market them!

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

That is an excellent candidate for 3D printing, you could market them!

Several Morini guys are working on it apparently. They're in lockdown, it cold and snowy, so they're busy writing the program. 

[Canuck750]

About 8 years ago one of my sons had the V7 Sport headlight plastic socket made for me with 3D printing, he hand built the mesh measuring the original with a micrometer. Those days of detailed input are a thing of the past, now a full detail 3D scan can be taken with your smart phone and send the mesh to a 3D printer over the web in munites.
Autodesk was a leader with '123D Catch' but they dropped the program, Scandy Pro is a newer piece of software you download onto your smart phone to take a 3D scan, remarkable tech for dirt cheap. Ten years ago the tech to accomploish this would have cost tens of thousands of dollars and taken umpteen hours to build.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91HX5gep-I8

I am going to get scans done of the Morini stator coil spools.

The things that can be scanned and printed is unlimited, think about those pesky LeMans switches that go for stupid money in beat up condition!

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I am going to get scans done of the Morini stator coil spools.

IIRC, Paul Compton has 3D printed spools.

John Bancroft, on the Morini Facebook group, 3D printed a small batch of the throttle piece and is sending me some. 




Video: https://flic.kr/p/2kBZmKJ

[Scout63]

Hi Charlie. It’s been great watching this build.  I don’t know Moto Morinis at all, but if the electronic ignition is the same Bosch setup as the v50ii, I have a complete system that’s yours for the asking.  I went to a Sachse system.  Ben

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Hi Charlie. It’s been great watching this build.  I don’t know Moto Morinis at all, but if the electronic ignition is the same Bosch setup as the v50ii, I have a complete system that’s yours for the asking.  I went to a Sachse system.  Ben

The Morini system is Ducati Electronica and as far as I know is only used on Morinis. My Pantah (in another build thread) has the same Bosch system as a V50 II. Canuck750 (Jim) sent me a complete system off his 500 for the Morini and I have spares for the Pantah already. Thanks for the generous offer though.

[mogu83]

Here's something you likely never saw.  A 3 1/2 with a sidecar bolted to it.  Kind of like hooking a race horse to a plow.  A friend got a new Morini for almost nothing and built a side car to match in.  Spent time in my garage till the kids got too big for it.

[leroy_can]

Cables are on and fit very nicely. But, the job didn't go totally smoothly - I cracked the plastic block that holds the cables at the throttle. Looks like mine had previous been cracked and glued, it's not looking any better now.










These are notoriously difficult to find and I was fearing a lengthy wait before I could find one and get the bike running (soon). Then I remembered that my Ducati uses the same switch/throttle assembly as the later electric start Morinis. Could it be the same as the one for the metal bodied, no switch throttle? Yes, yes it is. 

Now I just need to find one for my Pantah. It would be nice to have one made of aluminum, but 3D printing might be easiest.

  Hi, Here is a picture of the similar block from a LMIV also hard to find but Harpers has them in aluminum or at least they used to. To quote a French Canadian instructor from Bombardier who used to give us refresher training "it,s exactly the same but different"

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

A gentleman by the name of John Bancroft, who lives in the UK, 3D printed four of the throttle pieces and sent them to me for free! Big thanks to John!



Other than that, the only "progress" is I bought a battery for it. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Seven months since I last accomplished anything. That changed today. Rainy day, so I stayed home and worked.




First up: retension the kickstart spring. I thought I had it right, but the lever wouldn't return. This time I followed the procedure in Paul Compton's video.




Going back together. Lever returns nicely now.




That job (re)done, moving on to the ignition. New sheathing on the pickup wires, pickup installed along with the later style rotor that Canuck750 sent me. Connected at the transducers.




I never liked the reproduction taillight I initially installed. Two separate bulbs (one a festoon), and a black housing. This one (also a repro) is more like an original CEV.




Has a chrome housing and just one bulb.




Muffler clamps installed.




Finishing up some wiring at the front. Signals and headlight connections.




Turns out the Autopal headlight is a bit too deep and the plug hits the back of the bucket.




I bent the bulb connections off to the sides, removed the terminals from the block and connected them individually. Now it fits.




Connected the front brake switch, slipped a cable boot over it.

[Canuck750]

Glad to see progress, I was getting worried 😉

Your build is motivating me to finally pull the motor out of 3-1/2 and rebuild it this winter.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Glad to see progress, I was getting worried 😉

Your build is motivating me to finally pull the motor out of 3-1/2 and rebuild it this winter.

Just never seemed to be a good day to devote to the project. Wouldn't have happened yesterday if it was a nice day.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

A little more progress this evening. Modified the (not the greatest quality reproduction) gauge rubber mount so that the (non-original) speedometer that I'm using temporarily fits better. Just used the little drum sander in the Dremel to make a few notches.




The speedo is a n.o.s. unit I bought years ago. I don't want to remove the mounting studs since it's not permanent. The original works, but the needle is warped and rubs on the inside of the glass.




Test fitting a signal to see if the stems I modified (came with Lucas signals) were going to work.




There's supposed to be a metal piece that is shaped like and fits over this rubber vibration isolator. Despite my best efforts, I never was able to find a pair, so will likely make some from stainless sheet.




For now, a fender washer does the job well enough.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Rethreaded the other stem and installed the right signal.




Need to make longer signal wires so that they can be tucked under the taillight bracket.




Wouldn't matter too much with the long dual-seat, but they're exposed with the Sport seat.




Stuck the bodywork on to see how it looks. Tank and sidecovers still need to go off for dent removal and paint.







I have a replacement seat cover from the original manufacturer of the seat. Anyone following will have no doubt what's ahead of them. 

[Pescatore]

I have a replacement seat cover from the original manufacturer of the seat. Anyone following will have no doubt what's ahead of them. 

That explains it.
I was going to ask how you printed on the seat cover. 

[Canuck750]

Lookin great Charlie!

Are you going to paint it a red / black scheme as per one of the early year series?

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Lookin great Charlie!

Are you going to paint it a red / black scheme as per one of the early year series?

No, back to the same (original) color and pinstriping that's on it now.

[Canuck750]

No, back to the same (original) color and pinstriping that's on it now.

good choice, I would probably do the same and keep it original

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

A few "milestones" reached.

My friend Robb gave me a set of plug wires originally meant for his Kawasaki KZ1000 but never installed.



One made both plugs wires. And spark!


Tied up the wiring on both sides around the steering head.


Ran the rocker breather hoses.


I'm not happy with this main breather hose, so will be replacing it with one a bit more flexible.


Battery installed. The first electrical test didn't go well - nothing worked except for the light that meant the key was on.


Then I remembered I hadn't installed any fuses yet! Once the fuses were in place, everything worked.



Thinking ahead. I bought these mirrors for the V50, but could never see anything due to the short handlebars. I think they will work on the Morini.




They came with a nice handlebar mount that almost perfectly matches the master cylinder clamp.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Only a few minutes to work this evening. Did get the wires tucked away under the taillight.




And, installed the grips - Emgo copies of my favorite Pro-Grip 714.