Moto Morini 3½ Sport
MOTO MORINI 3½ SPORT
CYCLE WORLD TEST
An Expensive Alternative For Those Who Demand the Unusual
Four-stroke motorcycle engines of V-Twin configuration have a special place in the hearts of motorcyclists around the world. This affection must begin with the distinctive sound that a V-Twin produces
and with the feel associated with the sound that invokes the image of power, whether the power is there or not.
Harley-Davidson is the most famous and well known V-Twin motorcycle, with cylinders cocked 60 deg. apart. Ducati is yet another make of this design, with fewer owners because of its rarity, but cylinders on the Ducati are spaced 90 deg. to one another, giving a much different feel and sound. Moto Guzzi has a transverse VTwin which is really a bird of a different color and offers distinctiveness.
A V-Twin is thus different from other motors and from other V-Twins. Our case in point: the Moto Morini 3‘/2 Sport shown here.
The Morini V-Twin was born and designed in 1971, the work of Franco Lambertini and Gino Marchesini. They had ideas of their own. A 60-deg. V is compact, a 90-deg. V is smoother. But the Morini designers needed an engine to fit an existing frame, and they needed space between the cylinders for the camshaft operating the overhead valves.
They began with a 72-deg. angle between the cylinders. To get the extra room with this rather narrow angle, they in effect pulled the cylinders apart: the bore centers intersect below the crankshaft center line. Next, the Morini’s cylinders are offset from the chassis center line, with the forward cylinder a bit to the right, the rear one a bit to the left.
The offset allows the two connecting rods to share the crankshaft’s single throw. The firing order is simply 1-2, obviously, while the unusual angle of the V contributes to a different sound and different firing impulse. More important from a technical standpoint, because the two pistons are never in the same position at the same time, there’s never a pause in the pulses. This has allowed Morini’s engineers to use a featherweight flywheel, thus saving weight and space and letting the engine rev with a quickness unmatched by any other production engine that comes to mind.
Cam followers have a flat base and are made from steel. The large bearing surface is slightly offset to the cam so they rotate in use. Duraluminum pushrods have steel ball ends at the bottom and fit in cups that are set deep in the base of the followers to minimize side thrust. Pushrods are short and feature steel cups at the top that engage adjustable ball ends on the rocker arms. Because the setup insures short pushrod travel with rigidity, controlling the valve gear at high rpm is no problem even with relatively light valve springs. The camshaft rides on two ball bearings.
Heron cylinder heads are used on the Morini. The heads have a flat face and parallel valves with the combustion chamber recess in the top of the piston crown. This type of head is less expensive to produce and also has some good technical advantages, such as excellent fuel economy and high torque. In the automotive world, such products as the Jaguar V-12. Rover 2200 and the Repco-Brabham FI car. which won a world championship back in 1966. all used or use this type of head.
The crankshaft is a forged one-piece unit that looks to be very strong. It drives the camshaft with a Gilmer belt. The crank is located laterally by a large ball bearing main bearing on the left (drive side) of the engine and a smaller slip-fit ball bearing on the right. Primary drive is via helical cut gears and a worm gear drives the halfspeed oil pump.
Ignition is supplied by Ducati Elettrotecnica and consists of a transistorized CDI system with an alternator. Dual coils are used and one of these activates the tachometer (which never seems to keep up with whatever rpm the engine happens to be running).
The Morini V-Twin is unusual. It looks it. The engine also looks just fine, with typical Italian attention paid to styling the fins, the ventilation slots in the sculptured cases, the buffed highlights and the silver paint every place they couldn’t polish or plate. The Morini engine is pretty enough to be displayed on a wall.
One could argue about the Morini truly needing six speeds in the transmission, which it has and which we like. Though the 344-cc engine pulls well from low rpm, having a good choice of ratios on a machine designed for sporting riding is the right way to go. Federal requirements being what they are these days, Morini had to switch from rightto left-side shifting, and leftto right-side braking. They did an admirable job of hooking up a clever linkage system to accomplish the task, but the machine doesn’t seem to shift quite as crisply as the last one we tested, which utilized a right-side gear shift lever. Clutch pull is about the lightest we’ve ever experienced on any machine regardless of size or type, due in part to a teflon-lined clutch cable. The clutch itself consists of six plates and it’s dry rather than the far more common wet-plate affair.
Though the Italians have made a concession to labeling switches and warning lights, it’s obviously a last minute effort evidenced by the use of stick-on lettering that is not of high quality. But then, Ducati owners never complain about the niggling little incidentals, and neither will the Morini folks.
The Morini factory follows normal limited-production practice of using every component in as many applications as possible. In the engine’s example, the front cylinder of the 3lA is used for the solo cylinder of the Morini 125 an! ¡he basic 350 engine is expanded into the electricstart Morini 500 just now going into production.
The actual 3Vi engine is used in two models, the 3 V2 Sport tested here and the 3‘/2 Strada, which has slightly less power, a dual seat and touring bars. To compound the confusion, the Strada (Italian for street) sometimes arrives as the Standard and the Sport is also known as the Cafe Special.
Cafe Special is a good name for the Sport. It comes with the duck tail rear section, the long seat with padded back to keep the rider in place, a higher state of tune and clip-on handlebars. Both models come with cast alloy wheels and with single front disc and rear drum brakes. The test machine here had been fitted with an optional double front disc.
Being the flashier of the two models Morini sells in this displacement class, the Sport version features snazzier styling designed around the perimeters of one rider. There are no passenger pegs and the seat is one of the better cafe racer types we’ve ever sampled. There is enough rise at the back portion to keep a rider’s posterior > secured on those quick trips through a canyon or the like, and the clip-on type bars lower the rider down out of the wind. What makes this particular machine a bit of a problem in operation and in review, is the footpeg location.
The test 3½ Sport was the only one on the west coast at time of writing and it was within our reach because Herdan Corpora tion. Morini's U.S. distributor, took one of its two examples and shipped it to Rickey Racer, of Pomona, California, the western outlet for the make.
The test bike was an early example of the 1977 3½ Sport. The specifications call for pegs mounted well to the rear of the chassis. The bike arrived with Strada pegs, which are supposed to suit a rider sitting in touring position in the middle of the ma chine. The Sport requires a forward tilt to the body, with butt snug against the back of the seat. For all our riders 5' 9" or taller, having feet directly below chin made the Morini awkward to operate, especially after half an hour or so. Prospective buyers might keep this in mind. Either be sure your 3½ Sport arrives with rear set pegs, or be ready to fit them yourself. The bike needs them.~
As is the fashion with sporting motorcycles from Italy. the Morini defi nitely caters to the performance-minded rider who puts handling at the top of the priority list. The double downtube chassis is rigid enough for the power of a larger displacement engine, meaning it's well within the speed capabilities of the 350. The glossy black finish on the frame goes well with the red and black paint scheme found on the tank and side cover portions of the machine. There's some orange peel but it's easy to overlook when one dis covers that the striping is actually done by hand.
Hefty knobs release the seat from the machine and provide access to the tool kit and tray and the smallish battery. The same type of knobs also fasten the side panels. Under the right one sits a neat array of wiring connections in one easy-to get-to spot. Under the left cover is simply the side of the battery.
Fenders and chain guard are stainless steel, which adds a touch of brightness to the overall appearance. We found that the machine really caught the eye of informed motorcyclists since it is both rare and at tractive. Coupled with the cast wheels, the bike is one of the most striking around.
While we have sampled handlebar switches that are much better than the MorinIs for placement and operation. we were surprised at the ones that are on the machine. Everything seemed to work when it was supposed to. and the horn is one of the most authoritative we've come across. We especially like the flasher switch that allows the rider a chance to make whomever is in the lane in front angry when the headlight is flipped.
The ignition switch is down in an awk ward location under the left rear portion of the fuel tank. One position of the key activates the rear taillamp. the other the ignition, indicated by the glowing of a red light on the instrument panel. Two Del lorto 25-mm carburetors are used and have awkward little choke levers on the tops of each. After lifting these levers, the bike can be kick started. Since the starter is on the left, some find it easier to kick the lever through by standing to the left of the machine and kicking with the right foot. Others find it just as easy to stand on the pegs and kick with the left foot.
One or two kicks should do it. One discovers that with chokes on, the engine> immediately revs to about 5000 rpm, roaring merrily while the rider searches for the choke levers. With the chokes clicked off— unfortunately there are no intermediate stops—the throttle must be nursed and feathered until the engine starts to get warm. It will burp and make signs of protest if an attempt is made to take off before it’s ready. Once warm, the engine happily accepts throttle and motors away, making one of the sweetest sounds in motorcycling.
MOTO MORINI
3½ SPORT
$2100
SPECIFICATIONS
PERFORMANCE
ACCELERATION / ENGINE AND ROAD SPEEDS
FRONT FORKS
REAR SHOCKS
Marzocchi fork, HD 68 oil Fork travel....................................5.3 in. Engagement................................5.0 in. Spring rate..............................32 lb./in. Compression damping force..........8 lb. Rebound damping force..............16 lb. Static seal friction........................15 lb. Forks on the Sport are slightly stiff. At 32 lb./in., the springs don’t yield much to small road irregularities. Dual seals compound the problem. Gut the top seal in each leg to reduce friction, and switch to a 20/30 (approx.) progressive spring if a softer ride is desired.
Marzocchi shock, rebuildable Shock travel ..............................3.25 in. Wheel travel ................................3.5 in. Spring rate............................115 lb./in. Compression damping force..........0 lb. Rebound damping force..............90 lb. No question that the 31/2 is a handler. But its hind end punishes the rider’s, because of fairly stiff springs. A less harsh ride could be achieved by swapping the stock 115 lb. springs for a set of 90 lb. springs.
Tests performed at Number One Products
Gear changes are smooth and precise— not as precise as a Ducati and with more travel required of the shift lever, but still awfully nice. Neutral is easier to find if the rider shifts into it while the bike is still rolling.
Acceleration is brisk, although not up to the snappiness of a Yamaha two-stroke of the same displacement. For maximum performance one needs to let the Morim engine rev before the next gear is selected. It’s the kind of a motorcycle that only a purist will appreciate.
In traffic the bike idles happily enough and easily steers its way through the maze of automobiles. The Morini has no tendency to want to fall on itself while rolling slowly in heavy traffic, often a failing of this type of motorcycle.
Once clear of the snarls of city and traffic, the Morini starts smiling, as does its rider. The combination of rigid chassis and proper geometry, plus a steering damper unit, allows the Morini to follow exactly the rider’s will. No wiggle, no wobble, no twitch. Ground clearance is also more than ample for even the go-hard rider, though things will touch down if one gets really serious.
The choice of tires fitted to the test bike left room for some debate. The rear, a 4.10 x 18 Pirelli MT11, grips fine. Just what we'd pick. But the front tire was a heavilyribbed Pirelli 3.25 x 18 Supersport. It felt less sticky than the rear, which limits the cornering extremes of both ends. The guys at Rickey Racer have a Michelin front tire on their production racer, which seems to us to be a better choice.
Suspension is by Marzocchi at both ends. The rear needs a more progressive spring rate than the high rate it has. Front suspension is about right. In hard cornering the front forks performed well but the rear shocks could definitely use some attention.
Perhaps most riders would have a hard time justifying the purchase of a solo machine that provides, in practical terms, the performance and vibration of a 350 Twin at the price of a 750 Four. The Morini 2>Vi Sport is expensive, demanding and impractical.
What you get for your money and emotional involvement is a motorcycle that moves you and makes you feel good. For the lucky few. the Morini is worth what it costs.
