Joining the Booster Clu
JOINING THE BOOSTER CLU
Chalk up another name on the hig. pressure motorcycle list. Moto Mor ini is the third factory to officially ar nounce a turbocharged motorcycle though rumors of turbo Kawasakis an Suzukis keep floating around.
Morini is one of Italy’s smallest motor cycle manufacturers, but surprisingly turbo cycle is a comprehensive package It’s not just a turbocharger hung on existing model, which, in the case of Moi ini might not be a good idea. Providing th boost for the Morini turbo is a new 40mr Italian turbo, a much smaller unit tha any currently available in this country aiq noticeably smaller than the turbo Honda’s CX500. The small turbo siz should work well with the Morini’s 500c ohv V-Twin engine.
Even the frame of the Morini is entirel new. Rather than continue with the doubl cradle tube frame used successfully on the existing Morini V-Twins, the turfc gets a new single downtube frame th ^uses the engine for the bottom stressed member. By moving the engine lower in the frame and keeping the frame design simple, there is more room within the frame for the various pieces of hardware required for a turbocharged motorcycle. At the back of the frame is a new aluminium swing arm.
One of the shortcomings of the standard Morini 500 is less-than-perfect throttle response. This can be a greater problem with a turbocharged motorcycle, so the Morini Turbo uses an electronically controlled enrichening circuit in addition >to the 36mm Dell’Orto carburetor. There’s also a switch on the Morini that bypasses the turbocharger so the intake runs directly from the carb to the cylinder heads.
Another novelty of the Morini turbo is the air-to-air intercooler. Intercoolers are ^found on most competition machines with any type of supercharging because high boost pressures heat the mixture consider-
ably, reducing the density of the charge. An intercooler runs either air or a cooling liquid through the incoming mixture via some kind of radiator, reducing temperature and increasing density.
To make all these pieces work the Morini turbo relies on its bodypanels. The pieces are shaped so the rear cylinder has cooling ducts, the intercooler has an air intake and an oil radiator gets its own air supply. And because the turbocharger is mounted behind the aft cylinder, the exhaust is routed under the seat through the back of the bodypanels and out the tailpiece, much like most of the current 500cc GP bikes.
As far as the numbers go, we don’t have information yet about price or acceleration. Morini claims 70.5 bhp at 8300 rpm, a reasonable figure for the claimed 8 to 12 psi of boost used. Deliveries are expected next summer by the U.S. importer, Herndan Corp., Rt. 61, Port Clinton, Penn. 19549.
